White Sand, Blue Water

Jul 04, 2019| 2 Comments

Tuesday, July 2nd – A very still morning with a bright sun shining in a cloudless blue sky greets us. Sitting on deck enjoying a late breakfast, the world around The First Mate is a friendlier one than it was in the dark of night. A group of small sailboats with bright yellow sails is being towed out from the Aquatic Center. A sailing class is underway, but on a Tuesday with youngsters? Maybe The Loyalty Islands have a different vacation schedule than the mainland, for over there their 2-week vacation is now over. Could this be a school activity? If so, how great for the kids! Like a string of ducklings, the little boats, each occupied by 2 youngsters, bob along behind the tow boat. We can hear their laughter and chatter out on Avante. Waving to them, the kids all yell and wave back happily.

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Well out from shore, the string is let loose, but due to the lack of wind and the obvious novice class, the little sailboats do not get anywhere. The kids are having a grand time never the less. Laughing and splashing each other, they drift down toward Avante until the instructor zooms in to turn them all around and back toward shore. A few of the more enterprising youngsters start hand paddling. Whatever it takes to get to shore on a near windless day.

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Aboard Avante, we discuss our next moves. It is getting time for us to head back to the mainland, but we want a brisker wind than we now have. With no wind forecast for the next few days, we are stuck here. “Stuck” is definitely the wrong word, for now that the rain has stopped, the storm clouds have gone into hiding and the sun is out turning the waters around us their gorgeous shade of blue, there is a dreamlike quality to this place.

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Raising anchor, we set off for Lekiny where  we will anchor below the Hotel Paradis Resort for the duration and even make a second attempt to have dinner there. We know there will be a few other cruiser boats there which is now a good thing for us. On the way there, we make a very slight detour to a small group of islets not far off the coast. These small upturned limestone mounds are supposed to have decent coral nearby and are popular with cruisers and tourists alike. They are also surrounded by reefs so care must be taken around them. Ile Gece is the most accessible of the grouping, and it is to that one that we head. 

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Circling around the western side of Ile Gece, we find it much too deep and too close to the coral heads for Avante to comfortably anchor. We motor back out into the lagoon and anchor well offshore, then lower the dinghy to head out for our exploration.

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As advertised, there is plenty of coral. Motoring over to inspect the recommended anchorage with its nearby coral, we are very glad we have Avante safely on the other side of the island. Reef extends far out in all directions. This is certainly not a place to be approaching on a dark and stormy night. Under the light blue water, it is easy to spot the coral and motor clear of it.

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Look at the color of this water! Under the bright sun, the whole bay extends out in this shimmering field of blue.

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 Off the end of Ile Gece is an interesting rock formation. From different angles, a ram, a turtle, a camel or a Golden Retriever can be imagined. 

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Now anchored off the resort, we have at least 2 days before the wind is forecast to pick up, and this certainly isn’t a bad place to be biding our time! Endless white sand can be seen in each direction along the coast beckoning us out each morning for a long walk along the beach.

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Leaving the dinghy over by the bridge, we walk the up the beach from that point. This time we discover that there really is plenty of sea life around that bridge. One just has to be there at slack tide. We watch skates swirling through the water and startled turtles dashing away from us. Brightly colored tropical fish can be seen as well as schools of bigger ones. A solitary shark is spotted calmly moving through the water. Not seeing the white tips of the non-threatening reef shark just confirms The First Mate’s lack interest in being in that water.

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From the bridge and across the sand bar at this end of the island, Avante can be seen serenely resting at anchor. From here, it is hard to imagine that there is any trouble brewing in this Paradise!

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Two other boats are at anchor near us. One is s/v Sundowners. Scott’s friends from Raby Bay have arrived, and we invite them over for Happy Hour on the boat. Mel and Ross are a delightful couple. Exchanging contact information, we hope to get together with all of them when we get to Raby Bay at the end of October. 

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After they leave, we head ashore to the resort for dinner. How nice after 36 days of eating dinner aboard the boat to be out on land enjoying dinner cooked and served by someone else! A delicious dinner it was, too!

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Thursday, July 4th – While our country is forced to publicly commemorate our National Day of Independence with a bully show of weaponry orchestrated by an insecure, unstable head of state, we on Avante pass the day quietly. Our daily hike along the beach is undertaken in the early morning followed by a breakfast eaten out on the cockpit. The afternoon is spent reading or involved in whatever project of interest either of us cares to undertake. 

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Tomorrow continues to look good for the sail back to Grand Terre, and unless that forecast changes that is what we plan to do.

Despite the initial dismal weather of our first days here in the Loyalty Islands and the disquieting feelings caused by news of that piracy attack, we have enjoyed our time here. The Loyalty Islands are serenely beautiful. Good for body and soul they are.

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As if in appreciation of our kind thoughts, a final beautiful sunset is given us with a crescent moon illuminated against the black sky.

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