On the 4th we departed Long Island for Exuma. It was a downwind leg so we deployed the spinnaker and were making great time. With asymmetric chutes you are not supposed to sail dead downwind. We were in a narrow channel surrounded by reefs on each side and did not have an option to head up or jibe. I was surprised we continued to move along at a good pace on this point of sail with wind in the low teens . The sail looked odd in that the clew went high and the belly shifted in front of the boat. Around 11:30 we received a radio call from SV Gemeaux. They were sailing to the Ragged Islands, just recovered a dinghy south of Hog Cay, and were trying to contact its owner, SV Hang Time. We attempted to relay the news to Hang Time in Elizabeth Harbor but heard no response. Gemeaux then messaged Hang Time on Facebook and they responded they were indeed in Elizabeth Harbor, our destination. I guess sometimes Facebook is not the epitome of evil. Anyway, here is where it gets tricky. Gemeaux was on the south side of Hog Cay Cut, a body of water that shows six feet deep at high tide, and we were on the north side. The tide had gone down so Gemeaux, a low draft catamaran that passed through earlier, was locked out. No problem, Gameaux now had two dinghies, so he anchored, towed his dinghy through the cut, left Hang Time’s with us, and was able to continue to the Raggeds. The dinghy was a larger console model so we proceeded slowly the rest of the trip under genoa only. We entered Elizabeth Harbor, spotted Hang Time, anchored next to her, and they excitingly recovered their lost family member. It turns out the dinghy was lost on the northern tip of Long Island, so it had drifted around 25 N miles. Mission accomplished!
