First Guest!!

Since we were involved in so many things yesterday, the boat cleaning had been totally neglected. So, I was up with the sun this morning in an attempt to reestablish some semblance of cleanliness to our floating home. Cleaning wasn't a huge task as I try to keep the boat mostly clean anyway and it is so small that it usually takes no longer than an hour. The biggest task of my day was to empty out our Vberth. While we are traveling, we use the front berth area as our garage. Everything is stored up there - sails, food stores, pet food, extra blankets and towels. This works great 95% of the time. But, when we have a guest visit, suddenly everything needs to find a new home - not an easy task on a boat that is already stuffed full. This task took my significantly longer, but finally, after much shifting, readjusting and lots of cramming, I managed to safely find everything a new home. Add sheets and pillows and voila! guest quarters!

Since we had a bit of extra time on our hands, due of course to my incredible ability to multi-task - we headed over to watch some of the fun volleyball games that some of our friends were playing in. Fun volleyball happens everyday at 2pm on the main beach. During the regatta, it is only held once during the week and it is turned into a competition. Although, I will use the term competition lightly. Fun volleyball consists of 9 people on the court, any types of hits are legal and there is no maximum number of times it can be hit on any one side. Their motto is "No one moves, No one gets hurt." It is the antithesis of the regulation volleyball that we play, but everyone has a lot of fun and it is fun to watch.

Finally, at 2, Brad headed in to pick up Holly and I finished getting the boat in order. By 3pm, Holly was safely on board and moved into her new room! It was perfect first day for her - the wind was light, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. We headed to the beach for a bit just to let her get a taste of our paradise. At 5, we dinghied over to the middle of the harbour where a dinghy raftup was in progress. This is pretty much exactly as it sounds. Everyone meets in a predetermined location and ties up to the dinghy next to them. People bring their own drinks and a snack to pass around and we all just sit, float and chat it up until sunset. It was a great time for Holly to meet some of our friends and a really fun event for her first night in town. Hopefully we can keep up the excitement for the rest of her visit!

First Regatta Flags!

Monday was a busy day for us as we had signed up for two events. We started first thing in the morning with the Scavenger Hunt. This, of course, was my idea. I'm like a 12 year old when it comes to these things. I was so excited I could hardly stand it! We had teamed up with two other boats, whom we did not previously know, and were going to split the list into thirds. There were five other teams of 6 competing as well, so we would have to be fast!

The list was long - two whole pages - and we had two hours to complete the hunt. We quickly went over the list and separated the items into areas around the harbor. Meaning, one team went to town, one went South and Brad and I went North. Some of the items we had on our boat so we were able to run and get those and then others were things that we had to collect off of other people's boats or questions about buildings around the harbour - how many butterflies are on a wall, who is the contractor of this building, etc...

We made it back before the allotted time and were thrilled to find that our team had collected all but one very elusive item (a cruisers regatta tshirt from 2000?!). We gathered our items and had the judge check us in. Once all the teams had returned, they announced the results - and we came in First Place!!! I was so excited! We each got a blue Regatta Flag and a gift certificate to a local restaurant. It was already shaping up to be an excellent day!!

Next, we wandered over to the beach to watch the small boat races. These were very entertaining, especially the blind rowing race. Two people were in a rowboat, the rower was blind folded and the other acted as a guide. They had to row quite a ways out around two buoys and back in. It was hysterical, with boats ramming into each other and going far in all kinds of wrong directions; most boats ended up having to be towed back in, but it was very entertaining to watch. There were also kayak races and downwind dinghy sailing races (homemade sails only).

In the afternoon, we, along with our friends on Hello Texas, had entered into the Coconut Challenge. This involves four people in a dinghy with no outboard, rowing out to collect as many coconuts as you can from the 1000 coconuts that they dump into this little inlet. The kicker is, you can only use snorkel fins as paddles and there are over 30 other boats in this tiny area with you, all trying to collect coconuts. Every team member must wear a life jacket in some way. Sinking other boats and soaking other players is encouraged. Unfortunately, we got stuck in a bottleneck and couldn't get out fast enough. We did not get anywhere near enough coconuts, but we had a blast anyway. And I think it is just as funny to watch this event from shore as to participate, if not more so. Watching adults paddle with fins, flailing around in the dinghies and acting like 10 year olds has to be an amusing sight for all.

All in all a fantastic day and when we got back to the boat, we had a flag raising ceremony and hoisted our first Regatta Flags up. Tomorrow Holly comes and more regatta events commence!

Cruisers Regatta

Every year in Georgetown, the Cruisers hold their annual Cruisers Regatta. This is a week long event that consists of sailing races, of course, but also smaller events that everyone can participate in. They are fun, goofy and the first place prize is always a bottle of rum! It is a great time to get involved and get out and meet all the other cruisers. And with over 300 boats here in the harbour, there are lots of people to meet!

The week started off with their annual Variety Show. Unfortunately, this occurred on a very cold and windy night here, so the turn out wasn't as great as expected. This is a talent show, so to speak, although I think it should be called the talentless show. It is a great way to spend the evening and is filled with people singing and various skits making fun of the daily lifestyles and habits of sailors. The locals provide food and drinks and the proceeds go to help fund their island regatta race in April.

The next day, Brad and I both played in the Softball game. Every year, the cruisers get a team together (no skill required) and we practice for about 4 weeks, twice a week. I haven't touched a softball in an ungodly number of years, and as such, was terrible; I was just there to fill their "girl quota". The night of the game, we had a great turnout, and with the proceeds of the concessions going towards the local schools, it looked like it was going to be a successful night.

The only other game we were here for (4 years ago) was really just a fun event. The cruisers were terrible and the Bahamians killed them. But the cruisers made it more about fun and show than the game itself. So, I thought this game would be the same. However, in the first inning, when we had scored 3 runs, it seemed that we may actually have a chance to finally win a game (for the first time ever!) so everyone buckled down and it was a real game. Everyone gave it their best, but we came up just short in the end. But, this was the first year that anyone could remember where we actually had a chance of winning, so everyone was in good spirits. And we got free t-shirts!

Our new boater friends on "Hello Texas"

Our first trip down, we pulled into the harbour right around the start of the regatta and as such, did not participate in many events. This year, however, we have signed up for almost every game. So stay tuned to see how we do!

And, as if this week couldn't get any better, we have our first visitor in on Tuesday. Holly, my friend from college, is coming in from snowy Baltimore to play in the sun and sand with us for the week!!

Valentine's Day Celebrations

For Valentine's Day, we had an unexpectedly wonderful day. We started off playing volleyball (of course!) and after a few hours play, we were asked by some fellow cruisers to join them on their go fast boat for an afternoon at a secluded beach south of the harbour. So, after tiring ourselves out in volleyball, we headed home, made up a few shareable snacks and were soon picked up for our afternoon excursion.
Us, along with two other couples, headed South out thru the cut and around the this beautiful secluded beach in shallow waters. We set out our picnic and lounged around in the sun while we snacked on everyone's goodies. It was wonderful! With the sun bright overhead, we had a great time laughing and getting to know each other a bit better.

After lunch, we all waded out to cool off in the surf. Once we had sufficiently cooled down, we packed up, jumped back in the boat and went out in search of a reef for spear fishing. Unfortunately, the water was a bit choppier than we had all anticipated, so while we found a good reef, the visibility was poor and it was a bit hard to snorkel. Myself and another of the ladies opted to sit on the boat since the conditions weren't great. Everyone else donned flippers and masks and, grabbing their spear guns, jumped overboard. After about a half hour, everyone headed back to the boat empty handed. Conditions were just too poor.

Everyone loaded back up and we headed back home. The day was very enjoyable and we came home and still had a delicious dinner. It was one of the best Valentines' Days I can remember.

Baby steps

While we have been having so much fun here in Georgetown, we have absolutely been putting off getting any boat projects done. By the time we get home in the afternoons, we are too tired to do much of anything except have dinner and watch a movie. But, begrudgingly, we have actually gotten a few projects done recently.
We have started changing out some of the lines on the boat - some of our lines are sure to be the originals and thus 20 years old. Although most are in good shape, some are showing signs of age and are chafing. We bought some line before we headed over and have been slowly replacing them on some of our afternoons.

Before:

After:

Major Chafing:

We have also starting catching up on some cleaning that has been neglected. The bilges and the window hatches all get a bit mildewy (is that a word?!) if not kept clean. So, armed with gloves and bleach water, I have tackled a few of those as well.

Our XM antennae, which we had so cleverly wired into our main panel and run through the ceiling and outside where it was sewn in to the dodger, was sheared off in an unfortunate sail incident. Not having XM for a few days was devastating as we quickly realized how often we use it and how poor our CD collection is. Once we reached Georgetown, we found someone with a spare and made sure to make an immediate repair. After all, baseball season is almost upon us....

Although these are all small tasks and the master To Do list grows daily, we are lucky to have accomplished at least these things. With an impending guest visiting next week, we are sure to eventually get our butts in gear, but for now - we are enjoying dragging our feet and living life here in Gtown.

Furry Friends Part 1: The Moo

Although all of our friends, family and strangers that we meet are interested in what we do as sailors and in our travels, our furry friends top the list of intrigue and we have found that our most asked questions are about our four legged crew members, Koa and Moo. So I will devote a couple of posts to them and answer some of the pressing questions that I know you all have. ;-)

When we bought the boat, we already had the pets and it was never even a discussion between us, just an assumption: if we go on the boat, so do they. Luckily, they were young enough and adaptable enough that it has never been a problem. Moo was the easy one, so we will dedicate this post to our feline crew.

Although he doesn't love sailing the high seas, he loves the outdoors and so he quickly decided that the boat life is not too shabby. We call him our sentry because we often find him prowling the deck, making the rounds searching for birds that dare to land on his floating home. He has the run of the boat and will run from bow to stern and back again over and over throughout the night. And much to our chagrin, he has made the canvas on our boat his lounge area. This is not optimal for us since it causes our canvas to sag, but it is old and in need of replacement anyway and there is no way to win the battle, so we let it be. He can usually be found hanging with his head down in between the dodger and bimini spying on us from above. Or his new favorite spot is on top of the mainsail cover, where he has an unobstructed view of the whole boat. He likes to have us in his sights though so usually he is hanging head down in a hatch on deck keeping an eye on everything down below.

His litter box is lashed down on the floor of the Vberth and he has claimed the entire Vberth for his own room. Since we don't often have guests, like many other cruisers, we have turned the forward cabin into our "garage" of sorts. We store all of the things that don't fit anywhere else up there. This includes extra food rations, wine, beer, pet food, cat litter, paper goods and our spinnaker...just to name a few things. Whenever I stow everything, I make sure to leave a blanket on top of a storage container available for Moo to use as his bed. Although it seems these days he just prefers to lay on the spinnaker...a true sailing kitty I guess.

For the most part, Moo stays on the boat, although he has fallen in three or four times. While at the dock is when we have had the problems with him. He will attempt to jump from the boat, over the netting on the lifelines and onto the dock. Most of the time he makes it, but there have been times when the wind will catch the boat suddenly changing the distance he has to travel and in he goes. After the first time, we invested in a large fishing net to scoop him out. While we have had to use the net twice, we is usually able to climb back up the pilings and make it back to the boat by himself. Good thing he has nine lives...

Typical to cats, he insists on laying right in the middle of whatever we are doing and he always settles close to wherever we happen to be at the moment. He loves small spaces and takes particular interest whenever I pull out one of our many bags.

He is outside to greet us whenever we come back from a dinghy trip and he is the first to greet new visitors who come to the boat. In his mind, everyone visits with the sole purpose of petting him. At one dock, he visited our neighbor on her boat for over a week before we even knew about it! She would feed him cheese and lunch meat and so he kept going back....she loved him!

He keeps us constantly entertained with his antics and for that, we are glad he is part of our crew!

Bucket Laundry

On longer cruises, where we may not get somewhere with reliable laundry facilities for over a week, it sometimes becomes necessary to wash our laundry by hand. And sometimes, just to save a bit of money, I wanted to wash the smaller laundry items by hand to cut down on our load size when we take them into the laundromat.

Unfortunately, doing laundry on the boat is something at which I have never been good particularly good. No matter how clean I thought the clothes were, they always came out smelling a bit musty and I would have to take them to the laundromat anyway. So, onto the internet I went for a thorough explanation of how to clean clothes on a boat. Luckily I did not have to search far, as one of my fellow boaters had the answer written out neatly in her own blog! So, thank you Windtraveler for helping me discover this little gem of a secret.

The answer, as it turned out, is Ammonia. I had a hard time believing this as ammonia is definitely NOT what I wanted my clothes to smell like but, trusting her experience, I gave it a try. Surprisingly, that was the key component I was missing. No idea why this works (as ashamed as I am about that with my chemistry background) but I am glad to have finally found the solution.

Here's the process I use:

1. Fill a bucket half full of water, add a heaping capful of ammonia and a small amount of laundry detergent (I use the liquid kind).
2. Add clothes and use a small toilet plunger to agitate the clothes.
3. Let sit for an hour or longer for dirtier clothes. If I have stains, I try to pretreat them, and if that doesn't work, I will scrub them by hand at this point.
4. Agitate occasionally throughout the soak period and then agitate again at the end.
5. Rinse clothes (I do one piece at a time) in a second bucket of clean water.
6. Squeeze them out well so that they dry quicker and then hang them on the lifelines to dry. Voila! Clean Clothes!

Lesson learned: always use adequate clothes pins - especially on windier days!


Now I am a master at bucket washing our clothes! And a dollar saved is a dollar spent on rum!!

The Gtown Workout

Coming to Georgetown is always a shock to the system. While we lead a somewhat active lifestyle, we are not against lounging around the boat for half the day after spending the morning at the beach. Once we get to Georgetown, there are so many activities and friends to spend time with that we barely even see the boat!

We definitely stay active here and have in fact been doing so much that we are exhausted by the time the sun sets and are frequently in bed by 8pm (mind you we are up with the sun...so don't judge!) Not only are we exhausted but we are finally realizing that we are no longer in our 20s and exercise comes with a price - pulled muscles, aching muscles that we haven't used in forever and bruises galore.

Regardless, we have joined the cruisers softball team and practice twice a week for a couple hours. We also wormed our way into the competitive beach volleyball group = a "prestigious" group of about 10 men who play 3 on 3 and are very good. Somehow we have been allowed to play and we do that every day for a few hours. Add to that at least an hour on the beach swimming and playing with Koa in the afternoons and before we know it, it's dinnertime and we can both barely keep our eyes open through an entire movie.

On the nights we have sundowners with other boaters, we come back from the beach, do a quick rinse off so we are presentable, grab a snack and some drinks and head over to socialize until just after sunset. On those nights, we don't even bother with dinner - some lite appetizers and a few drinks and we are good for the night.

In our "down time" we work on boat projects, blog, check the weather and explore all the trails on the island with Koa. Brad also participates in poker twice a week - he has to live up to our boat name after all....

So on those few days when we play softball all morning and then decide to skip volleyball and lounge on the beach all afternoon, we love to just relax and soak in the sun and the leisure. And although we stay busy here, we love it and wouldn't have it any other way. So bring on the sun, sand, muscle aches and pains, and bottles of advil - we are here to cram as many good times and memories into our short visit as we can!

Georgetown or Bust!

1.28.15

Today we left Lee Stocking early to ride the tide out of the cut and headed out into open water. The wind, as usual, wasn't exactly where we wanted it to be so we decided we were going to just do one long tack and go out about 7 miles offshore and then come back and make it to the Georgetown cut around lunchtime.

Usually we like to sail instead of motor, but today the waves were big and they were on our stern throwing us and I was not thrilled about this decision to sail the whole way. This would add an extra hour onto our time out in open messy waters and that was the last thing I wanted. I was bummed about heading to Georgetown so early anyway and then to have these seas behind us was not my idea of a fun day. But, Brad was intent on sailing the whole way, so up went the sails and out to sea we headed.

I decided that since we were going to be in deep water for so long we were at least going to troll for some fish. After talking to a few other sailors along the way, I had learned that the Mahi were biting on pink squid lures. Lucky for me, I had a pink and white feather squid lure in my tacklebox!! So, I rigged one up and put a cedar plug on the other line and threw them off the stern. We had gone about 3 hours into the trip when we got a hit on the squid line! I was ecstatic!! I ran to the line and started to bring him in.

Now, this is easier said than done on a sailboat with 6 foot waves on the stern quarter rocking you from gunnel to gunnel and with no autopilot. So, we switched places and Brad got in place to reel in the fish while I reeled in the other line with one hand on the wheel. In between waves, I was throwing cushions up off the benches and grabbing the gaff and generally getting everything out of the way for when he could get the fish on board. When he finally got the fish, a small but decent sized Mahi we could now see, to the stern of the boat, he couldn't gaff it because the leader was so long. So, again with one hand on the wheel and one eye on the waves, I leaned back and swung the gaff in the general area that I knew the fish to be. SUCCESS!! I am one good gaffer!! We drug him on board and poured some vodka down his gills and then rejoiced in our catch! Brad filleted him up and I was so excited to have fresh fish that I threw the line back out again (although Brad wasn't thrilled about having to fillet another fish). Luckily for him, we did not get another hit for the remaining two hours of the trip.

We made it through the cut at lunchtime and had a thankfully uneventful trip in and headed straight over to anchor near town. We were in desperate need of provisions and water. After a few trips back and forth in the dinghy, we had gotten groceries, dropped off our laundry and filled our water tank. Just before dark, we weighed anchor and headed over to anchor on the Eastern side of the harbour where we would be protected from the winds and closer to the other boats and the beach! Tomorrow starts our true vacation and we can't wait to kick back and enjoy our time in Georgetown!

Lee Stocking

1.25.15


We made it down to Lee Stocking Island today, trolling a fishing line the whole way....no fish. I am totally bummed! I am in desperate need of some fresh fish!

Anyway...we made it to beautiful Lee Stocking, where the remains of a recent NOAA research center lay. The center was once a huge success down here and offered cruisers daily tours of the facility. Unfortunately, as with most good things, the center went by the wayside due to lack of funds. Lucky for us, there are mooring balls right in the little alcove of the island and the area is protected from everywhere but the South. We picked up a ball and were excited to have protection from the West Wind this time and not be bouncing around all day.

We headed into land with Koa and took ourselves on a tour of the island. The buildings are still in decent shape and it is kind of eerie because it seems like everyone just left one day. There is still furniture in most of the houses and equipment in some of the buildings. There are even decompression chambers that they never took with them!??!

Most impressively, there is a house on the top of a hill overlooking the cut to the North, the Ocean side and the sound side - with views all around their wrap-around porch. I fell in love!! I was ready to unpack the boat and move on in.

We later found out that a German man has recently bought the whole island and so the house is not available. What a schmuck - the whole island?! Seriously?!! How can I compete with that?!

We did have a visitor in the evenings that was great to see! Just a nurse shark, but he was huge! And with the clear water is was easy to watch him wind his way through the anchorage.

While wandering around the second day, we met another couple on a catamaran moored out by us. They invited us over for happy hour later that evening and it turned out they had invited all the other boats in the anchorage (only 4) so we expanded our cruising friend base that evening. We all enjoyed a great happy hour and said our goodbyes. We headed back to the boat, hoisted the dinghy and got the boat ready to head to Georgetown tomorrow. Although we missed some key stops and are getting there sooner than we had planned, we are both happy to get to Georgetown, relax for a bit and partake in some of the cruiser activities.

Swimming Pigs!

1.24.15

We made it to the island of the infamous swimming pigs! We anchored only about 100 yards off the beach and so were able to watch the tourists feeding the pigs all day. And, much to our surprise and my utter enjoyment, there were lots of little piggies this year! Due to our experience the previous year with a large pig almost coming completely into our dinghy, Brad refused to take us close enough to feed them. But we did venture over to take a closer look. All those little pigs were so adorable and I wanted to land the dinghy, but all the deflated remains of dinghies scattered about the shore are warning enough for any sailor.

The first day we were there, the weather was great - sunny with light winds. We dinghied over to Staniel Cay Yacht Club and had a meal at the bar - our first meal on land since we left the states two weeks ago! We enjoyed sitting at the busy bar and people watching all the "yachties" that frequent the docks. Later, we were able to stock up on some groceries, although the mail boat had not come into town that week so the supplies were quite picked over. And, most importantly, we stocked up on rum! Thank goodness!!

The following day, the wind arrived and we spent a miserable day bouncing around on the boat. It really wasn't even too bad except that after about 8 hours of bouncing, I was ready to have my feet on solid ground! That was not to be, as the wind continued overnight and into the morning.

At first light, we hauled up the anchor and headed even farther South in preparation for another front that was hot on the heels of this one. What's with all this West Wind?!!

A Few Days in Heaven

1.21.15

This is the best place on Earth….we have officially decided. We have been to almost all the islands in the Exumas and this is the best. There are mooring balls because it is inside the Exuma Land and Sea Park boundaries. It is hard to get into – only during mid and rising tide can boats with a 5 foot draft enter. And, although it is in the Sea Park, no one ever goes there. We have anchored there 4 or 5 times and have only had another boat there once.

There is a beautiful crescent beach and plenty of hiking. There are surrounding sand bars that are beaches to explore at low tide and most importantly, again, there is no one there! It is fabulous! We let Koa off leash to run amuck as he pleases and we can relax and watch all the other boats pass us by as we enjoy the anchorage all to ourselves.

Always fun for everyone!!

After two days of this peace and tranquility, we usually move on South. We headed this time to Warderick Wells, park head-quarters. We enjoyed a day there, exploring the beaches and meeting some of our fellow cruisers.

Unfortunately, as we are beginning to notice as the trend of this trip, another front was rolling through and we needed to get to a more protected anchorage. So, again, much to our chagrin, we skipped over many of the beautiful Exuma islands and headed South to Staniel Cay, home of the infamous Swimming Pigs.

Anchor Annoyance

1.18.15

We left Chub Cay at first light to head to Nassau. Unfortunately, the winds weren't in our favor and we ended up in West Bay on...you guessed it....the West end of New Providence. We only lingered for the evening and left early the next morning due to impending West winds.

As planned, bright and early we weighed anchor and headed out of the Bay. Because a strong North wind was predicted, we had planned on just going a half day and tucking in against the back side of New Providence. However, we were making great time and realized that the 40 mile sail to Allens Cay in the Exumas was absolutely attainable. So, we set our course for the Exumas….excitement mounting as we approached our favorite islands in the world. The wind lightened a bit and we even had a chance to fly our spinnaker!!

We made it to Allens well before dark and headed inside. Allens Cay is a small cluster of islands that has protection from almost all directions. However, since it is a cluster of islands and not one large piece of land, the inside is filled with strong current. We have anchored here before and not had a problem so were confident heading in. That was a mistake….
We made it inside and were scouting out our anchorage when we suddenly realized the depth was shallowing up. We immediately turned around and found the current on our stern pushing us quickly towards another anchored boat. Our engine wasn’t responding quickly enough and as I was at the helm with Brad on the anchor I yelled for him to just drop the anchor so that we wouldn’t drift into the other boat.
Once we were securely in one place, we stopped and analyzed the situation. We couldn’t stay in our current spot as once the tide dropped we would be on the bottom. So, after much over-analyzing and arguing, we finally hauled up the anchor, threw the engine as high as it would go and barely skimmed past the boat next to us. We re-anchored in a better spot and went to bed happy with our current spot. At 9:30 (yes, we go to bed really early these days) I woke up and took a peak around and yelled for Brad to get up. Because of the wind and the current, we had fallen back on our anchor facing South but the catamaran behind us, despite the current was being pushed over and in front of his anchor. This put us within 40 feet of his bow. And with the amount of swinging we were doing, this was a very uncomfortable situation. It seemed with every swing that we may actually collide with him.
We sat outside and pondered the situation for a bit and finally, around 11 decided that neither of us would sleep well with us being so close so we would just re-anchor. Well, easier said than done. Re-anchoring in the middle of the night in a narrow (read 90 feet wide) channel with current and wind is a daring feat. Nevertheless, we thought this was our best option. So, up goes the anchor and we managed to safely reanchor in another spot far away from that catamaran.
Unforunately, this new spot (yes, our third in this anchorage….judge not!) was even worse. As the wind switched from North to more NorthWest, we realized that we had anchored dangerously close to the rock wall that was to the West of us. So….instead of moving again we opted for the anchor drill. One of us would stay awake at all times. I chose first watch. So, front midnight till 3 in the morning, I stayed awake, sitting outside, staring at the rock wall and willing it to move farther away so I could get some sleep. At 3, Brad relieved me of my duties so I could get some sleep. By 5:30, we were both awake just waiting on the sun to come up. At 6am, as the first light peaked above the horizon, we hoisted our anchor and high-tailed it out of there. We were greeted with 2-4 foot seas, in only 15 feet of water (?!!) and strong North winds. Although it was rough, we hoisted the sail and with the strong winds and the wind on our stern, had a nice sail all the way down to Hawksbill Cay. The wind died a bit through the day and the waves calmed some and by the time we got close to Hawksbill, the water was tolerable enough to anchor and relax. Finally…some peace and quiet. We were sad to have jumped over a few islands, but the wind wasn’t conducive to visiting those other islands so we were happy just to have a calm anchorage. And, after the night before with little sleep and strong winds, we were happy to have a full day of relaxation in our favorite anchorage in the islands!