Reunions (02-10-13)

Long Gone and Windward have arrived!  We met Windward last year in Marathon and have had numerous encounters over the year from their passing through Charleston in the spring to seeing them in Canada when both Ian and Rob had hernia surgery at the same facility just weeks apart.  We crossed paths in St Augustine and Warderick Wells on this trip and are excited to see them again now. 

They have been hosting guests for just about their entire cruising season and still have two more coming in the weeks ahead.  If we’re looking for “what to do” in an area, they are sure to know since they’ve been showing people over and over since December! 

Anyway, we were also excited to see Long Gone arrive.  We met them in Lake Sylvia this year and did the big boat parade and Santacon night in Las Olas together.  After reuniting in Dinner Key, we crossed to Bimini together, then the Grand Bahama Bank and finally the Berry Islands.  At that point, they headed north to meet up with their cruising buddy boat, Coyote who arrived with them this week as well.

We enjoyed returning to the grotto with Windward and then rounded the Fowl Cay cut to find a bed of huge starfish and a 6’ spotted eagle ray that we had fun following around for a while.  After cleaning up and regrouping, we gathered at sunset for an amazing BBQ potluck and talked until well after cruisers midnight (9pm!).

Yesterday we returned to Black Point to try to catch up on phone calls and so Windward to return their guests to the airport there.  We went into Staniel Cay one last time for the Valentine’s Day Library fundraiser complete with book and bake sale, flea market and BBQ but after seeing the lunch menu contained mostly conch (Rob’s nemesis if you recall) we decided to head back to Moonshadow for a more healthy option. 

The wind was in our favor and we had a beautiful sail back to Black Point.  As we sat on the bow enjoying the breeze, sunshine and gentle movement, we both marveled at how we’ve changed.  To be happy with moving 4mph toward a destination – that’s quite something for the Kramer duo!

Black Point feels like “home”.  With the laundromat, restaurants and unique characters here, it’s always a great place to come back to.  Long Gone decided to stay in Staniel and Windward had a final evening out with their guests so Rob and I rounded up the crew from the neighboring boat, Puffin, and had a wonderful sundowner with some new folks we’re looking forward to getting to know better.

We plan on staying here until we find a weather window to get to Georgetown – 46+ miles southeast.  The winds kicked up to over 20 knots last night and are expected to stay that way for the next few days so we’re here enjoying the company of friends old and new until the next leg begins.