Saturday, March 3rd

At 6:30 AM, the single sideband radio aboard Cutter Loose crackles to life with an ominous weather forecast.  The weekend weathermaker is a vigorous cold front making its way across the Florida peninsula.  Winds are expected to strengthen out of the south today in advance of the front.  We have been monitoring the progression of this cold front on Sirius marine weather, a satellite subscription service that portrays the current weather map on the Raymarine chartplotter.  The front is expected to pass through the Northern Bahamas sometime on Sunday.  The strategy for today is to move Cutter Loose to a location that is protected from the northwest and north.

The anchor is up at Great Sale Cay at 8 AM.  In light of the forecast, our destination for today is Spanish Cay Marina, a harbor of refuge some 40 miles to the southeast.  Our initial course takes us north of Great Sale Cay to Little Sale Cay where we turn east, leaving Sale Cay Rocks to starboard.  Early morning winds are 15 knots out of the south.  Cutter Loose  lopes along on a comfortable beam reach.

From Sale Cay Rocks, our course bends to the southeast, avoiding the shallows of Carters Cays Bank to the north en route to Hawksbill Cays, just north of the small fishing village of Foxtown on Little Abaco Island.  This course adjustment brings Cutter Loose closer to the wind, her bow now pounding into the southerly swells.  Wind speed is now 20 knots and Cutter Loose is rounding up into the gusts...a signal that the time has come to reduce sail area. 

The wind continues to build as we sail alongside Center of the World Rock en route to the cut that lies between the Hog Cays to the north and Crab Cay to the south.  At 8 knots over ground, we will cover the remaining distance to Spanish Cay in less than an hour,  But Cutter Loose is now heeling excessively in 25 knots of wind on a close reach.  Sheets of sea water are crashing on deck...time to de-power by reefing the sails even further.

On the horizon, Spanish Cay Marina is a welcome sight.  There is a rock jetty and seawall surrounding the marina, which offers some protection within the basin.  But this facility is located on the south side of the island and is therefore exposed to today's fresh southerlies.  While this makes docking a challenge, it is a small price to pay for wind protection from the north when the front arrives tomorrow.  In anticipation of the inevitable wind shift, every dockline that we can find aboard Cutter Loose is strewn between the boat and the network of pilings that surround her slip.  She gives the appearance of being trapped in a spider's web.

[caption id="attachment_3143" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Spanish Cay Marina"][/caption]

At the ultra low cost of $1 per foot, Spanish Cay Marina is an excellent place to batten down the hatches in the face of the advancing cold front.  There is a paved runway on Spanish Cay, but no scheduled commercial flights land here.  Access to this island is by private boat or charter flight.  This funky tropical resort is still recovering from damage sustained as a result of Hurricane Irene in August, 2011.  Perhaps it is the commonality of having survived Irene.  Or maybe it is merely the comfort afforded by being in a protected place in the face of adverse weather.  Whatever the reason, it feels good to be here.