Jan. 9 The adventure for the day was a snorkeling expedition to several spots nearby that we had never checked out. John escorted Mike and I as we looked at the various places. We even found the nest of the ospreys we had been seeing over the last month here. It was perched on a small rock island on the seaward side of the island. Some of the spots were definitely better than others. We saw a Lion fish which is not native and poisonous. Their population is growing and the locals are trying to spear as many as they can find. We landed the dinghy and walked the beach a bit to warm up. Dinner and a movie finished the day.

Jan. 10 It was overcast so Mike and I decided it was jigsaw puzzle time. We worked on it most of the day till Chris and Corey, his girlfriend, arrived. John had gone to get them from the airport and they looked like drowned rats when they finally stepped aboard. We all had a jolly dinner and went to bed early.

Jan. 11 We spent the day swimming and beach combing right in our anchorage area. The boys dove for sand dollars right under the boat to boot. It was too windy to go too far afield. That night the Biriba tournament started.

Jan. 12 It was up early and get into our bathing suits because today was scuba diving day. We had arranged with the new local dive operation to take the boys diving and Corey and I went along and snorkeled above them on their second dive. We had never gone in the area and the boys said it was good but not great. Our dive master was American, young, and very easy to be with. The water was cold from the previous windy days and we were all freezing by the time we got back aboard. Hot showers all around! After lunch, Windermere and crew went out the cut and up the chain to Warderick Wells. This time, we anchored off the western side of the island but we had to stay quite a ways out because the water was shallow. At least the wind wasn’t blowing.

Jan. 13 We all went into the Park Ranger station and had a good time feeding the Banana Quits sugar which they love. Then we hiked on the island over to several pretty beaches. The ground is basically limestone type rock and it is sharp and uneven. I had to really concentrate not to loose my footing and fall. Then we took the dinghy back to the boat and left for Shroud Cay which was further north up the chain but still in the Exuma Park. Lunch was enjoyed along the way and we arrived with just enough time for the kids to take a sunset kayak to a big protected beach. Dinner and Biriba rounded out the day.

Jan. 14 Shroud Cay is mostly made up of mangrove lined canals that zigzag across the wide island. Some are deeper than other and many are dead ends! The northern canal, John and I had explored two years ago so that was our destination. We all had to get up very early to catch the high tide. We all loaded up into the dinghy and towed the two kayaks alongside. When we reach the entrance to the mangrove canal, the kids then got into their kayaks and paddled along. Mike had his own and Chris paddled Corey who sat facing backwards on the back end of the kayak. We escorted them through the canal and to the beach on the sea side where we all walked around and climbed a hill for the view back across the island to Windermere in the anchorage. The paddle back was against the current but we had timed it so that the current wasn’t too strong. Once everyone was safely back on board and showered, we left for the trip south back to our old stomping grounds. We needed some groceries, so we anchored just west of Sampson Cay while John went in and got some goodies. We were also waiting for the tide to rise as we wanted to try to navigated Windermere through a gauntlet of small islands and shallows back to her spot between the Majors. After much concentration, we were back at anchor in our spot for the night. During the night, we rocked and rolled in the swell coming in through the cut south of us. We had never been there for a SE wind! Not pleasant!

Jan. 15 First order of business was to move to a calmer spot. We decided to go back behind Thunderball Grotto where it was calm. After anchoring, Chris said he wanted to explore a nearby rock outcropping and cove area so we all hopped into the dinghy and went over to see what it looked like. We spent the rest of the morning exploring up and down and all around with great success. Chris then treated us to lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. I had my first lobster salad there and it was delicious! After lunch, we all swam over to Thunderball Grotto and snorkeled all around the island. We finished up the card tournament and John and Mike were the winners by a wide margin. Chris, Corey and I working as a team just couldn’t do it. During the middle of the night at low tide, we bumped lightly off and on for more than an hour. The aft part of the boat was just touching a sandbar behind us. I couldn’t sleep so I sat up and took periodic depth readings off the stern with our handheld fathometer.

Jan. 16 First order of business yet again was to move about 30 feet and anchor in deeper water. John then loaded the kids up and took them to the airport for their flight to Nassau and then home. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry and chores and unwinding.