Had a very peaceful night at our private anchorage. We only have about 25 miles into Georgetown, so we decided to take the morning off and go explore. Dinghied into a sandy beach to see if there was a trail head that would lead to the Columbus monument. No trail, but we hiked the beach and found a few shells. Dinghied around the end of the island and found a creek that led back to a tidal lake. Went up the creek a few hundred yards, far enough to land, and found a trail. Hiked to the monument – not much of a monument but great views. Overall, being off the boat for a while, getting in a hike, and a change of scenery made a nice little adventure.
Headed off toward Georgetown by noon. There are two directions to come into Georgetown – it is hidden behind a barrier island. Due to a change is wind direction, we chose the northern entrance and that course allowed us to motor sail most of the way. Then there is a tedious path through the channel to the anchorage area. There still appear to be several hundred boats here, a big contrast to what we have seen recently.
Decided to head to shore for dinner, only to find nothing open on Stocking Island. Back to the boat for stew. Will go explore Georgetown tomorrow.

Time to try to clear in to the Bahamas, again. Pulled in to Flying Fish Marina, across the harbor from our anchorage, about 8:30A. They had already called Customs to send an official for another boater, so by the time we tied up, I was in business. I had some question whether they would honor my previous cruising permit because it had Becky’s name on it, but they took a look and did not object. Marty felt relieved – he can now leave the boat. Fueled up, cast off, and we were on our way north. Fun fact: after 3+ days of traveling, I topped off the tank with 15 gallons of fuel! Unfortunately, the assisting wind that had been with us for several days started to diminish, and it became a day of motoring. Threw out the fishing lines – caught a couple of barracuda. Cannot seem to land another mahi – may need to buy some bait. We chose Cape Santa Maria as a good destination for the day and made it in to the anchorage by 5P. One of the most beautiful spots I have seen on this trip – and not another boat in sight. The picture shows the cape – on top is a Columbus monument. Story is he stood on this hill to survey the surrounding area – it is the 2nd highest hill in the Bahamas. May go check it out tomorrow.

Left Atwood Sat AM uncertain how far we would proceed; 1st anchorage was fairly short distance, 2nd choice would be Clarence Town (about 70 miles). We made such good progress yesterday, we wondered if we could do it again. Started well with the spinnaker flying. This was the second day of sizeable swells coming from the rear, and based on the angle of tack, you get a lateral roll in the boat as they go by. Flying a sail helps to stabilize the boat. When the swells get large, the boat still rolls and the sail goes from fully powered to slack, and back. Vigilance on the sail tending and navigation keeps this to a minimum. However, after a couple of hours of 6+ knots progress, a fitting failed and we had to pull in the spinnaker. No damage, just a minor setback. Reconfigured to mainsail and reefed genoa, we were back on track at a slightly slower pace. We still reached turn-off point for the first anchorage early enough to believe we could make Clarence Town before sunset. So we pointed to Clarence Town, motored up to give a little extra push, and watched for the next hour as the wind began to diminish. We also watched another sailboat pass and pull away from us that had a different style of rigging letting them fly more sail. Oh, well.
Being the seasoned navigators that we are, we waited for the wind to decide to help us out, and indeed it did. Before too long, the breeze stiffened, shifted slightly for an improve angle, and off we went. Arrived at our anchorage in Clarence Town by 6P, had time for a swim (and anchor check), cold beverage and some dinner. Due to good weather and persistence, we have made an incredibly good start to our trip. Tomorrow AM we will take another shot at Customs.
The last couple of nights, with clear skies and remote anchorages, have given us some incredible star shows. Lights out.

Did not make Marty get up before dawn today. We actually had some breakfast and coffee before pulling the anchor and heading toward to Atwood Harbor in the Acklins.

The wind was pretty much right off our stern all day, mild to mid. We decided it was time to pull out the spinnaker and see what we could do (see below). We averaged 6+ knots for over 6 hours - incredible!

Made Atwood Harbor by 2:00P. There is nothing there but a place to drop an anchor. I was determined to find my Top It Up cards, so decided to dinghy to shore. My charts indicated a road that in 2 miles would lead to a settlement (a loosely defined term). Marty was feeling like an illegal alien at this point, and decided to stay on the boat. Since I had previously cleared into th Bahamas, and never officially cleared out, I figured "Ey mon, I be cool."

So I put on my running shoes, headed to shore, ran about 20 ft up this road, said Ey mon, it is ot; and walked the two miles to...

Another road. I scientifically analyzed that it appeared more cars turned right than left, so I turned right. So far I had not seen a habitable house or any people, not to mention any stores.

So I walked a bit further until I came to a house, and in front of the house was a car, and leaning into the car was a person - and the story begins.

No, nobody around here sells Top Up Cards - Esrell down the street used to but she moved away - you have to go to Masons Bay or maybe Spring Point. This was Treo(??), my new best friend. I put on my saddest face, and said "That is probably a pretty long walk, huh?" Treo agreed, and thought it through, and offered to give me a lift. I told him I was very appreciative and would give him some gas money, and he said give me a minute...heads to the house.

10 minutes later he returns with a plate full of food (his dinner), gets in the car, says come on, and off we go on Treo's dinner cruise. Turns out this guys is a hoot, works for the electric company (we traded digger derrick tales), likes Trump better than Hillary (I am serious), and he knows everyone on the island (maybe a few hundred people). He also fishes or fun and profit, has built several buildings for various reasons, and was totally entertaining. He drove about 20 miles (i guess) to Spring Point to the Airport Bar & Inn where I was able to purchase $40 in Top It Up cards ans a couple of bottles of Guiness (hey, it was another 20 miles back). I asked Treo if anyone cared if we drank in the car, and he said he didn't. He drove me all of the way back to my dinghy, made sure I could cast off alright, and we said goodbye. I told him how pleased I was for his trouble, and he replied that he really liked the chance to talk to an American!

Dinghied back to the boat - I think Marty was glad to see that I had not deserted him. Took a swim, had some dinner and another beer. Said, it is time to load those Top It Up cards so we can call the ladies and read our e-mail. BTC service was down -no kidding. Life on the islands.

Left early (4:30A) to make an early enough arrival at Abraham's Bay on Mayaguana to try to clear customs and fund my BTC phone data plan. Great sailing with a roll-y sea. Never saw another boat in about 10 hrs!

Mayaguama actually does not have a customs station (or much else). They do have an Administrator that can clear you, maybe. Called in and was told he would be gone for the day after 1:00P, about 2 hrs earlier than we could arrive. How about tommorrow? "Oh mon, I ma be by after 9:00". How about if we clear in at Clarence Town or Georgetown? "Ya mon, that be cool."

So on we sailed, avoiding Abrahams, and headed to the west end of Mayaguana for an anchorage.

Then I called BTC, only to be told they could no longer take a phone credit card to fund an account - I needed to log on. They could not explain how to log on through my data plan that I cannot fund. They also could not explain where I buy a Top It Up card in the Mayguana Passage. More on this later.

Found the anchorage - but our on our first try we found lots swells (not swell). Move up the coast a bit and found a good spot for a restful night.