Meeks Patch, Current Cut and The Cove

We left Spanish Wells about an hour before low tide with a plan to go through Current Cut two hours after low tide in Spanish Wells. We received that advice from Bandit, who is a professional boat pilot and also collected the money for our mooring. Since we needed only about two hours to get to Current Cut we thought we would stop and anchor briefly at Meeks Patch, just outside of Spanish Wells. We wanted to try some new techniques in a place known for good holding. After dropping the anchor and letting out the chain I put the throttle in reverse at low rpm, just enough to put some tension on the chain. Then I put it back in neutral and let the chain relax. I repeated this two more times before testing the hold by slowly revving the engine up to 1800 rpm in reverse. Hooray, it held!
After spending about 20 minutes at this pretty, uninhabited island it was time to move on to Current Cut. We had been warned by the guide books and by Bandit that the currents through the cut were very strong and had to be properly timed. Sailboats or trawlers might not have enough power to go through against the current. We sailed from Meeks Patch to Current and were about 1/2 an hour early. We dropped the sails and decided to give it a try and follow Desiderata, who went through about 1/2 hour before us. The current did not seem strong as we approached. We had about .1 knots against us as we entered and .3 with us as we exited the cut. (George took the photo just after we exited Current Cut). We sailed most of the way to The Cove, another highly recommended anchoring spot. We used the same technique as before and the anchor buried nicely in the sand (we checked it by putting on our suits and snorkel gear and going out to look). Also, George let out all 100 ft of chain and s
ome of the rope rode. We wanted to check the splice connecting the rope to the chain and also test how the rope goes through the windlass.
Before I forget, we saw a dolphin in the harbor before we left Spanish Wells and a rainbow at The Cove just before we dropped anchor. Good omens!