Headquarters and beach at Exuma Land and Sea Park

After anchoring at Black Point we went back to Staniel Cay to get water and fuel, hide from some windy weather and get Tommy to an airport. Tommy had injured his back on one of his diving expeditions during his three week stay aboard Moonlight Shadow. Tommy flew out of Staniel Cay to Nassau and then connected to a Miami based flight that took him home to San Francisco. We really enjoyed having Tommy aboard. He and Brian did a great job keeping our freezer topped off with fresh fish, conch and lobsters.

We enjoyed the week at Staniel, walking Sassy each morning and evening, snorkeling, paddle boarding and swimming at Pirate's Beach where Cathy started her Exuma shell collection. She intends to make some unique and memorable jewelry from her varied assortment of shells. We were also able to stock up on some fresh produce before beginning our journey back to the US. We also saw green flashes at sunset on two consecutive nights.

Now that Cathy and I are on the boat without added guests, Cathy's wardrobe has really improved-------- much smaller and of course cooler tops and she has even found some of her one piece bikinis.

Cathy had been in communication via email for the last two weeks with her family about her Mom's cancer diagnosis and deteriorating health. We have started to schedule Cathy's travels to Biloxi to help her Mom and Dad and share some quality time with her family (aunts, uncles, brothers and sister and some of their spouses) upon our return to the US. This will be the first time in over 40 years that all five brothers ans sisters are together at the same time.

After the strong winds died down we were off to the Exuma Land and Sea Park. This spectacular and pristine park only allows moorings. There are no public docks, facilities (water, restrooms or showers), stores and no anchoring allowed. All trash needs to be taken with you when you leave. There is also no fishing or removal of any sea life or natural artifacts such as shells and driftwood.

The snorkeling is some of most spectacular in the Bahamas with displays of tropical fish, lobster, rays, sea turtles, sharks and coral that is beyond your imagination. We would swim, paddle board and snorkel each day. We took Sassy several times a day to the beach where she would willingly swim and actually seem to relax and enjoy her time in the water. We had to carefully choose our water activity time to correspond with the significant tidal changes.

We met up with Richard and Carol Walker, friends from our winters docking at Marathon Marina in the Florida Keys. It was great to share some quality time and wonderful meals aboard their M/Y Holiday VII. One of the great benefits of a cruising and boating life is being able to meet and establish friendships in our different ports of call. Friendships that are a wonderful blessing and fill the pages of your life experience album full of treasured memories.

During our first dinner aboard Holiday VII several people from a nearby moored boat dinghied by and asked us if we had any ice to spare as they were well into one of their crew's birthday celebration. Richard had plenty of ice in one of his ice makers and gave them a large container of ice. When they returned the container they gave us four lobsters as a token of their appreciation. Well, you can guess what we grilled for dinner the next night.

After four nights of watching gorgeous sunsets and anchoring under the vast expanse of endless star filled skies, it was time to head for home. We stopped at Highbourne Cay for water and fresh produce. While at Highbourne we took a bike ride to a deserted white sand beach lined with coral reefs and enjoyed a most relaxing and peaceful two hour stroll. Cathy added to her new shell collection while we were busy picking up pieces of plastic and trash that were scattered along the beach from passing boats and nearby islands. After depositing our large bag of trash in a nearby trash can, it was back to Moonlight Shadow to get ready for an early departure the next day for Nassau and Florida.