Hot and Rainy days in the Abacos

• Natalia: It's raining...
• Ernesto: Yes, but it's not going to last, it's only once cloud.

I keep going through this sophisticated dialogue as the water keeps pouring more than 3 hours later. But I don't say anything, because you never question the captain. Ever. Except maybe to make fun of him. Which I did.

Up until now, the weather has been perfect. Hot and sunny during the day, cool and breezy during the night. Sleeping has never been an issue. We simply opened the 12 portholes, 7 hatches and 2 companionways, and let the cool breeze in. The only times they stay closed is for the occasional squall.

But then the rainy season started. Our return to the Abacos has been plagued by daily squalls. Sometimes more than once a day. Many times they bring strong winds and lots of water. When we see a squall coming, a ritual starts aboard Taia to close all of the 21 portholes, hatches and companionways. It gets stuffy quickly aboard a boat when the outside temperature is hot and so as soon as the water stops pouring, we open the 21 of them again. Sometimes (very often lately) mother nature likes to play with us and starts raining as soon as we open all the “windows” and so the ritual starts again. And again. And yet again.

But we don't complain. For rain brings fresh water and fresh water is welcome aboard Taia. Whenever it pours, Ernesto gets out to scrub the deck with soap and then lets it rinse. The goal is not only to remove the sea salt from the deck but also to open our water tanks to collect rain water. We have filled both our water tanks more than once. We love free fresh water!

The beauty of the squalls is that they don't last long. They go as fast as they come. Afterwards, the sun shines again and life keeps going as if nothing happened.

A squall coming to the Sea of Abaco, from the West.

A squall going to the Atlantic Ocean (the dark blue water)

After Man-O-War, we went to Marsh Harbour to do some provisioning. It's a real pleasure to go to a store that has more than a few dozen items in total. After that, the goal was to go to Great Guana Cay and Scottland Cay but the anchorages didn't provide good protection for the winds. Reluctantly we skipped them and went straight to Treasure Cay, which is beautiful. The basin is very protected and you have to pay to use a mooring ball or even anchor. But you get free wifi and you can use the marina's pool, which the kids loved. There's also showers! (And we took full advantage of them; 10-minute showers is a luxury we haven't had in a very long time).

We stayed three nights. We went to the beach, but mainly stayed in the pool, which was a nice change. The kids made some new friends too. Although beautiful, Treasure Cay resembles more an all-inclusive resort than a Bahamian Cay.

In Treasure Cay where we experienced our first restless night because of the heat. It was very hot with no wind at all. Ernesto and the kids slept in the cockpit for a few hours. Lucky for me, I don't suffer the heat very much (and I secretly welcome it!).

Treasure Cay

Treasure Cay Beach

After Treasure Cay, we went to No Name Cay, where we saw more pigs. Although, as the kids say, they are not as nice as the ones in Big Majors. But there were tiny pigs that Camila and Matias kept trying to touch unsuccessfully.

Having a walk in No Name Cay, quickly, before the next squall comes in.

Collecting shells.

Our next destination was going to be Green Turtle Cay. But the weather forecast appeared to indicate that a crossing to the USA was going to be favorable in 3 days and so, much to my despair, we kept going and set anchor in Powell Cay. There I dedicated a whole day to cooking for the passage. The crossing to Jacksonville is going to take us more than 48 hours and I wanted to have 5 meals prepared in case I get seasick (which I do most of the time).

The next stop was Allens-Pensacola Cay. After a few hours at the beach and snorkeling and meeting yet another nice family from the USA, we all went to sleep. If we thought our night in Treasure Cay was bad, we were wrong. Not only was it hot and dead calm there, but it was full of mosquitoes and no-see-ums. Hundreds of them! We put all the mosquito netting that we have to no avail. The regular mosquito repellent didn't do anything. The darn things kept coming and coming. By 6 o'clock the whole crew of Taia was up and full of red dots on our bodies. And itching everywhere.

After hearing the weather forecast and learning that we have to wait a few more days to cross to the USA, we quickly turned the engine on and got the hell out of there. It took 4 hours of sailing and lots of Raid to get rid of them.

We are now in Spanish Cay. We'll keep watching the weather but it looks like we might be able to head back to the USA on June 18 or 19. The same day my niece or nephew is going to be born. I guess I won't find out until a few days later, when we have internet access again :(