Our day started with a success story. Jack mounted the Mariner 15 hp outboard on the dinghy, and it started easily and ran perfectly all day. After waiting 3 weeks for parts and replacing them on the high seas it was a happy day.
It was a bit windier today than we expected but the wind and waves did not dampen the spirits of we four adventurers. Bird Cay is always fun to explore, and no matter how many times we come here, we seem to discover more “stuff”. I have described the abandoned Mansion and compound on the island in previous blogs, so will not elaborate here. We did not go inside the main or guest house this year. Possibly because of the hurricane damage on the island, it appears that there has been some cleanup activities. That is positive for the future of this place, but the efforts were pretty meager based on the extensive deterioration and remodeling required on the main house, guest house, and about 10 buildings in the maintenance compound. Maybe next year we will see further improvements rather than further deterioration. Once the roof goes, the building doesn’t have a chance.

We explored the beaches bordering this island and found a treasure trove of shells, net floats and pretty bits of stuff for future creative projects. Charlie was on a mission to find some live conch and had mixed success. Jack and I explored for several hours, then left Phyllis and Charlie on their own to finish the job. When they came back to Wyvern they were loaded down with conch shells of all sizes and shapes, some alive, most empty to add to their collection and décor. You’ll have to read Wyvern’s Wanderings for more details.

We had enough sun and wanted to get back to Caprice to spend a little more time cleaning the hull. The prolific sea life has grown back and could potentially slow us down on the trip home. When we got back to the boat, the wind was just windy enough and the waves were just wavy enough that we knew scraping the hull would be a struggle. We abandoned the idea and decided to take our chances and spend the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing.
When Charlie and Phyllis arrived back on Wyvern, we stopped in for a cocktail and skipper meeting to plan tomorrows voyage across the Tongue of the Ocean and Great Bahama Bank to stage ourselves for the trip across the Gulf Stream, probably Tuesday. The internet service out there will be next to nothing, so I won’t post any news for the next few days. Basically we will be sailing or motoring without much to tell. No news is good news.

Happy Mother’s day to all my favorite moms, especially to Anne and Weslie who are doing a great job raising my terrific grandkids. I can’t wait to see them again.