Dec. 30 Some friends had told us of a new snorkeling spot just south of Staniel Cay so after a leisurely breakfast, we headed down there on our first expedition of the day. This new spot proved to be wonderful. Two rock islands with an underwater  gorge in between them made for interesting topography and there were lots of fish. Most of the reefs around here are more sea garden with soft corals, sea fans, and a few brain corals. This was the same but covered an extensive area. John sat in the anchored dinghy enjoying a cigar and listening to music on our new tiny speaker that connects to our ipod! He was in seventh heaven. On our way back, we went ashore at Staniel and collected some debris wood for our bonfire and delivered it to our pirate beach. Staniel was having an auction and free dinner that night for everyone so we headed there to feast and bid on items in the auction. The place was jammed but we managed to find a spot to sit and eat on the dock.

Dec. 31 This morning’s adventure was to watch the Bahamian sailboat race off of Staniel. Everyone loaded into their dinghies and motored over to the start. This year there were three boats entered which made it a bit more exciting. The Bahamian crews on each boat gave team t shirts to the cruiser members. They all start lined up at anchor with their sails down. On the whistle, they all raise their sails and pull up the anchors and they are off. For the last few years, the crew has been a mixture of Bahamians and cruisers which adds to the fun. The course is a triangle so they can sail different points of sail to test their skills. We brought along some lunch to eat while we watched. I got some good photos of the action. In the afternoon, we took a long swim to the cut by Fowl Cay and did some shelling. Late in the afternoon, many of the cruisers in the anchorage met on pirate beach for cocktails, shared nibbles, and a bonfire to ring out the old year. Our friends on Pirate had brought a new wooden picnic table and faux thatched umbrella to add to the scene and some of the men had built a buffet table too. The kids enjoyed meeting all the characters.
Back on the boat, we had a duck dinner and watched a movie to try to stay awake. The kids managed to stay awake long enough to watch the fireworks over Staniel from the flying bridge.

Jan. 1 The first day of the new year was a good day! We got the laser down and Chris and Corey took it to Sandy Cay which is a deserted island at the entrance to our bay. Michael and I toodled around on it in the afternoon and John circumnavigated Big Majors again! He only flipped once. I love being on that little sailboat when ever I can- the freedom to go wherever you want-feeling the wind in your hair and the sense of speed without an engine.