We had a relaxing eggs b�arnaise breakfast (with the b�arnaise from a few nights ago) as we watched the sun climb up over the island. Happy Hill is a quiet place for the most part. Every once in a while someone blares some music in the evening but it is generally peaceful. Often kids come down to the beach in the afternoon to play cricket and swim or just float around in the water to stay cool.

We noticed a dive mooring at the south end of the anchorage where dive boats tie up once or twice a day. The cruising guide says the area around the point makes a nice dive or snorkel so we decided to give it a try. The bay is small enough that the dive marker was only a short surface swim away. We did the proverbial giant stride right off of Swingin' on a Star and snorkeled to the buoy.

Switching to SCUBA we dropped down to the reef at about 35 feet. Following the reef around to the south takes you down to a little over 50 feet. We came back up along the side of the reef which puts you in about 15 to 20 feet at the end of the dive giving you an integrated safety stop. A dive boat pulled up while we were under putting several snorkelers and some divers in the water.

It was a nice dive but I think the reef is getting pressured by the nutrient rich water. There's a lot of algae out competing the coral. I recently read that 90% of the waste water in the Caribbean is released into the Ocean untreated. Eutrophication is a serious problem.

We had kind of planned to leave today but it was getting a little late. Happy Hill is a good anchorage and although the beach is nothing special the cliffs around the outside are pretty and we had the place to ourselves.

Roq started barking as Hideko and I were putting gear away. I came out to see what the big deal was and I saw two kids from Happy Hill floating by on inner tubs. Then I saw the real issue, one of the guys had his dog with him. It was almost enough to get Roq in for a swim, but not quite.

Later a Nautitech 47 catamaran came in. They were on charter with a big crew but they gave us lots of room so it was still almost like a private anchorage. I think the Nautitechs are some of the most beautiful catamarans around. I haven't given them a good structural looking over but they seem to have nice interiors. I don't think I could ever learn to love steering from the quarter on passage or in bad weather however.