Jan. 23 The wind was blowing from a good direction to explore the Exuma Sound side of the islands so we loaded up the dinghy with our snorkel gear, etc. and headed out the cut to explore the back side of Staniel Cay. There were extensive reefs off the beach so we anchored the dinghy Boone them and snorkeled around for a while. There was alot of old coral and sea fans and some fish but it was a bit disappointing. We then continued down the island to the lower cut and came in to a narrow dredged creek that parallels the airport runway. This is the new building area on the island and there are several new houses with small docks now finished with more in the works. We had seen a large steel trawler at a dock in this area from the other side of the airport and had wanted to check her out. She was sitting at her dock waiting for her owners to come down for a visit. Next, we worked our way back around the southern end of the island and up the Bank side towards the yacht club area. As we were going along, the outboard suddenly lost power. Not a good thing! Thank heavens it didn’t happen on the outside of the island. We were able to proceed slowly so we went over to a friend whom we knew about outboards. He looked at the motor and took the prop off, and low and behold, the rubber lining inside the prop was worn. He suggested we go over to the general store and order another one. Meanwhile, he lent us his extra prop till the new one arrived on the mail boat. We then went to town and got groceries and did e-mails. Later, our hero, came for dinner. He is the Towboat U.S. man in Block Island, RI and had lots of funny stories to tell. He also has gone to Antarctica to help count penguins many times and told us about those adventures.

Jan. 24 The night was rocky and rolly because the swell from the Sound was working its way up between the Majors and into our little haven. We tolerated it till high tide in the mid afternoon and then decided to move yet again. We went back out through the “gauntlet” towards Sampson Cay but this time it was high tide and the depths weren’t as scary. We then went to the Big Majors anchorage and anchored for the night.

Jan. 25 It was sunny but still windy and John was able to get the weather forecast for the next few days so we decide to move just a bit within the anchorage to be in a better position for the next bout of wind.

Jan. 26 Spent the morning cleaning to get ready for the arrival of our next set of guests, Joan & Peter Ross from Mystic. They had never been on any of our boats so this was a special occasion. They were also going to be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary during their stay. In the afternoon, John went to pick them up at the airport. They arrived only a little worse for the wear with our trusty garbage bags over their duffles. Peter had never seen the boat so John gave him a quick tour. He thought the boat was totally awesome! We let them settle in and then had a welcome to Windermere dinner of duck a l’orange.

Jan. 27 It was still windy but in the late morning we were able to take them to the Fowl Cay cut to snorkel and then to the nearby beach. I had planned to swim with them there while John was the safety boat but the current was too strong. John let the stern painter out behind the boat and we grabbed hold and were towed. Peter was at the end of the line and said afterward that he felt like shark bait! We all enjoyed sitting on the beach in the sun out of the wind looking out at the turquoise water and the boats in the anchorage. That night, we taught them Biriba and the tournament (boy vs girls) started.

Jan. 28 Happy Anniversary day! The morning expedition was to Thunderball grotto and they loved it. Joan and I swam through the island and out the other side and back around the outside. Just as we came around the final corner, a 5ft across spotted eagle ray swam under me! Wow! For the anniversary dinner, we all went into Staniel Cay Yacht Club for a delicious dinner and lemon cake that had been specially ordered for the occasion.

Our dinghy ride back to the boat was lit by an almost full moon.

Jan. 29 Finally, we were going to take them for a ride on Windermere down to Black Point. It is only about 10 miles and we let Peter steer for part of the time to get a feel for the boat. Once there, we anchored, went in to the dock, walked around and had pizza at Deshmon’s restaurant. The Rosses enjoyed seeing another town and meeting some of the people. Next, we moved back north a bit and went into the Bitter Guana Cay anchorage to swim and feed the large iguanas there. They liked our apple peels and red grapes and came right up to us to get them. Finally, we took the boat back to Big Majors for the night. Biriba, dinner, and a movie were the evening’s line up.

Jan. 30 The expedition for the day was showing them Sampson Cay Marina and resort. We took the dinghy there and they walked around a bit and really liked the layout. I told Joan to bring her credit card because there was shopping and she was glad she did. They both got sun proof fabric shirts with the Sampson Cay logo on them that looked very chic. Back at the boat, Joan and I had a final swim together. That night, we had our friend Victor for cocktails and then finished our Biriba tournament, had dinner and watched a movie.

Jan. 31 Departure day had come so there was much packing and striping of beds, etc. On our way to lunch, we swung by pig beach and threw them some food scraps. You have to be quick because they swim right out to the dinghy and are hungry! Next, we took them between the Majors islands as the wind was less going that way. We were treated to a final lunch at the yacht club and took a cab to the airport to see them off. When we got back to the boat, we moved her up to just off Sampson Cay Marina. John had to fly to NYC for some more tests related to his prostate cancer so he was leaving Windermere and me in the marina for safety.

Feb. 1 We were able to bring Windermere into the marina without a hitch on a very high tide and tie her up for the next few days. He returns on Feb. 5.....