CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored for a few hours at Southeast Point, Mayaguana Island, Bahamas
22 18.114' N, 072 48.859' W

Early in the morning on Day Four at Sea, we decided to take a brief respite by anchoring at the southeastern end of Mayaguana Island. During our final miles of the journey, we caught up with Dan & Derek aboard Ultima Noche. They had departed George Town on the same morning we did; however, they rode a tack between Conception Island and Rum Cay (a pinball on another path) and continued along a course generally east of our own. They were low on fuel and attempting to contact someone on Mayaguana who could supply fuel. Our guidebook suggested that their chances of getting fuel here were iffy, at best; therefore, we hailed them and indicated that we had one jerry can of diesel to spare if they wanted to rendezvous at our intended anchorage near Southeast Point. We motored the final two hours in company, while photos were taken in both directions.

After anchoring, Dan & Derek dinghied over bearing gifts (coffee and photos of Prudence underway). They also offered a fresh-caught barracuda for lunch (small enough for one), but I declined. I was just too tired to clean a fish. In turn, we provided them with photos of their boat and some ginger cookies. We shared our experiences of the passage southeast. In addition to their current state of fuel shortage, they ran into some issues involving coral and their rudder, but that is really their story to tell, so I will not elaborate here. After a short visit, we sold them a bit of diesel and sent them on their way.

After topping off our own diesel from the remaining cans on deck, and doing a few other small boat chores in the heat of the Tropics (remember, we are sitting at anchor here with zero wind), I felt it was time to rinse off four days of accumulated offshore grime. In other words, I changed into my swim trunks and dove into the water. Imagine my surprise when I realized that I was surrounded by a hundred staring eyes. I had jumped right into a big school of fish (later to be identified by Sheryl as schoolmasters):



With beautiful coral heads nearby and my immediate report of fish aplenty to photograph, Sheryl quickly joined me armed with snorkel, fins, and her camera. We will post new photos when we have more internet time.

Once we rinsed off with fresh water, it was time to enjoy a nice early dinner, listen to the weather, and do a little Chart Talk. As a novelty in the midst of this 'offshore' passage, we both get to sleep at the same time tonight, at least initially. The alarm is set to wake us just before midnight. We have one more leg of this passage to accomplish, and a new country is in our sights. Stay tuned, dear Reader.