We are happy to be here at Highborne Cay one more day. Isobel is with her friend spend a long time on the beach making castles, burying each other and making cars around each other. Lara hunted for shells and Bill took a walk down the beach to look around the north point of land.

One thing that is notable here, and that we saw in Chub Cay also, is the amount of sponges washed up on the beach. thousands and thousands. We wonder if Hurricane Irene ripped them off the reef and that they are still washing ashore.

The wind is still blowing 20 to 25, and yet it is so comfortable tucked in here behind the land. And so nice to have a beach right here. The water is soooo clear and of course an incredible color of blue, well, many shades of blue. We have found that cameras just don't catch the amazing color. We have taken photos which we will post when we have an internet connection. This post, as well as the last one and probably the next few are via SSB.

SSB stands for Single Side Band Radio. This is a High Frequency (HF) radio that allows us to send and receive brief emails, receive weather information and talk with other boats all over the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Every morning at 6:30 am Caribbean Weather Center transmits from Central Florida weather for the Bahamas and the Caribbean. We have signed up with him, so we can ask specific questions about weather that relates to our route. After his net, we chat with other boats we know that might be as far away as Panama (limited by the radio frequency)

In emergencies we can also talk with the US Coast Guard and the Maritime Mobile Network. For instance, when we were in the Bahamas two years ago and the earthquake struck Haiti, we were able to talk to someone on the MMN who was based in Minnesota... he was able to talk with ships around the Bahamas and Haiti.. and relay to us that we had nothing to worry about as it related to Tsunamis.

Often we find other boats in the anchorage (now there are 20) who don't have an SSB. We use the VHF radio to update them on the weather we have heard. The VHF, standing for Very High Frequency, radio will connect with other radios within line of sight. Most sailboats put their antennas on top of their masts which make the range about 25 miles. Shore side radios at the USCG and Bahamas Defense Force are on very high towers which increase their range. We occasionally hear a USCG transmission here, even though we are hundreds of miles from the Florida coast.

24 42.975'n 076 49.889'w