BUMP! in the Night

Dan spies something for his dinner plate...

Dave of s/v Vivace I  quickly got the hang of cleaning conch.

Captain Dan and I were sitting below playing a friendly competitive game of 500 Rummy as we do after supper on many evenings.  I had just taken the lead after an extremely bad start that tallied my score into negative numbers.  Our morning had been spent lobstering with our Canadian friends, Lesley and Dave, of s/v Vivace I which yielded a beautiful catch…of conch.  We met them on the beach mid afternoon with their dog Sadie- the cutest little critter you've ever seen. Dan taught Dave how to clean conch while we girls relaxed in the warm surf.  Later we sipped sundowners and enjoyed a huge pot of conch chowder on board Exit Strategy.

The bump is part of White Island near Carriacou.

 
Then B U M P !  We instantly dropped our hands on the table and scrambled up on to the deck. Oddly enough, we found s/v Vivace I ever so slowly passing along our starboard side!  The BUMP! jolted  Lesley and Dave from their sleep and they jumped out from below onto their deck. 

Exit Strategy and Vivace I had been anchored at Saline Island just off the cut between it and the reef.  During the past two days and nights, we had observed Vivace I dosadoing about her anchor and come within 20 feet of Exit Strategy more than once, but we felt like we were a safe distance apart. Obviously, we were WRONG.

The current in the cut controlled Vivace I's every movement.

The four of us stood stunned until the current slowly spun Vivace I around again pushing her straight toward us.  We hurriedly hung fenders along our starboard side as she threatened to kiss our hull a few more times.  We diverted her bowsprit by hand while Lesley and Dave used their boat hook to push Vivace I away from Exit Strategy. Then Dave- who is a happy-go-lucky sort of guy- faced us in the dark and politely asked, “What do you think I should do?”

It was decided that the best plan of action would be for them to re-anchor Vivace I although no one relishes the thought of doing that at night.  In the moonlight I could see the W shape on the bottom of the bay where the sand and weeds met.  I knew our anchor lay there and I pointed it out to Dave.  We shortened our anchor rode to give them more space to pass freely.  They pulled up anchor and motored well forward of us and re-anchored in a spot somewhat more protected from the strong current that flows through the cut.

In the morning, Dave & Lesley dinghied over to see if they had done any damage and thankfully none was found.

Lesley, Dave, and their pooch Sadie have been our sailing
buddies since we met in Antigua last April.

   
PS: Captain Dan won the card game after all. 
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