We spent our time at Raccoon Cay working on boat projects, cooking and walking on the small beach at the end of the little cove where Sapphire was anchored. Eventually, the wind abated to around 18 knots so we weighed anchor and headed further south to Hog Cay where many of the cruisers had spent the last windy days. There was a beach party that evening where we caught up with friends and met a few people that we'd heard on the radio but had never actually spoken.

About a week ago we had radioed in the Maxine in Duncan Town placing an order for some Vegetables to be shipped out of Nassau on the mail boat. Steve and Kim had made the long dinghy ride to town to pick it up and dropped it off that afternoon.

The next day we did some exploring in the dinghy and decided to move down to South side Bay which is the southernmost anchorage in the Ragged Islands. There is another front expected south side offers great north and west protection.

We spent a couple days there with "Fine Lion", "Night Hawk", and "Sam the Skull" fishing and exploring. From the anchorage we can walk into town where internet is available at the school and a few provisions can be purchased at Maxine's. Sometimes gasoline is available at the bone fishing outfitter's place if they have extra. It's a long hot walk but the road in new. Most of the time it is shared with hundreds of wild goats. On one of the trips I was got a ride in the back of a pick up where there were three goat skulls ... so I'm assuming goat is often on the menu here.

Many of he houses have conch drying on lines for shipment up to Nassau where they are sold to pharmaceutical companies. They look look a little like smashed chickens pinned in a row on a clothesline.

After a couple of days we were joined by more friends ... "Far Niente", "Savage Son", "First Edition" "My Destiny" and "Synergy" who were there for some north protection as we were. "My Destiny" had transported one of our propane tanks from Long Island alone with 5 gallons of gasoline for the dinghy.

The crews of all nine boats got together on the beach during the afternoon where we sat in the warm shallows and drank a few cold beers. We had a great time joking around with friends that we hadn't seen for a while. That evening under a full moon we reconvened for a raft up in the middle of the Bay for dessert....It's a tough way to spend a day.

After a few days the wind moved to the east and "Sapphire" started to roll with the swell working through the cut so we got the anchor on board and sailed north to Raccoon where we spent a few days hunting, reading, and relaxing. Groups of 5 and 6 boats were arriving daily in the Jumentos and things filling up. Gone were the days of no masts in sight.

After a month in the wilds, we were getting a little low on supplies and with Abby and Jake arriving in a couple of weeks we decided to take advantage of a nice weather window and begin the trip back up to Long Island. We sailed up to Buena Vista Cay the next morning (a trip of about 5 miles) and after lunch headed out to the north for a little hunting. The only other boat in the anchorage at the time was "Lady Marie" which is a Bahamian fishing boat form Spanish Wells. With professional fishermen in the area we were not overly positive but I needed a swim.

On our way to Little Nurse Cay the skiff belonging to "Lady Marie" blasted through the cut aiming directly at us. I altered course and they still were aiming at us so we stopped and they came along side Ivan introduced himself and we chatted for a time before he forced a number of lobster tails on us that were large enough to keep but too small for commercial use. He also had 4 or five lion large lion fish that we was taking back to "Lady Marie" for dinner. I ask him about how to avoid the poison barbs on the fins and got an detailed lesson. In the future, I'll shoot the ones I see.

Our hunting trip was a bust and by the time we returned "Night Hawk" and "Sam the Skull" were anchored next to us with the intent of joining us on the trip north in the morning.

At 7am, after the listening to the weather, we motored up to Nurse Channel and out into an almost calm Ocean. After checking distances and speed, we decided that we would go all the way to Long Island rather than spending the night at Water Cay. We would be anchoring after dark in Thompson Bay but would hit the comber Channel at high tide. So for the first time this year we spent the day using fuel instead of wind as he fished out way north.

We had one hit but didn't hook up. At one point in the afternoon I spotted birds on the water and altered course to their location. As our baits passed through the area there were fish jumping all around them. Two of them were hit but once again, no hook ups. That was the end of our action,\\. Barry and Susan, who were behind us by about an hour, had a whale surface about two boat lengths in front of them for a little excitement.

Other than the fact that the water was perfectly calm, we had an uneventful trip and anchored just as Michigan began their embarrassment of the Spartan basketball team.

We'll stay here for a few days ... provisioning, and then let the wind determine our travels for a few days before our trip to pick up kids in Georgetown.