Fortunately for us the strong winds that were forecasted to pummel us for two days didn't live up to the hype. We still had some strong gusts and numerous short rain squalls but all in all everyone made out ok. Often during high winds the harbours become quite rough with short choppy waves making getting in and out of a dinghy an adventure. We've all done pirouettes around the dinghy hoists or have been slammed in the boat trying to board, luckily in Thompson Bay this wasn't the case. We were anchored close enough to shore that the water was relatively flat dispite gusts to 30 knots.

When we had been here 2 years ago we celebrated a couple of birthdays at a great local beach restaurant called Tiny's Hurricane Hole. A young couple from California bought the place a few years ago and were great hosts in 2017 so we were anxious to see how they were doing. By Sunday afternoon the harbour was getting restless since everyone had hunkered done for the major blow that didn't really materialize. So, when a meet and greet at Tiny's was suggested half the anchorage set off in dinghies. As we've said before one of the best aspects of cruising is meeting new people and listening to their stories of passages from afar. Once again we had a great evening and came away with new destinations to dream of.
(If you ever get to Tiny's try the grouper fingers)

Since we had been boat bound Saturday night and most of Sunday a good hike was in order for Monday to stretch our legs. After completing a few house chores and a quick trip to the grocery store we set off to find the beach on the ocean side of the island. This is a prosperous well run little community with some beautiful homes overlooking the water to the east and west. Our 2 1/2 hour hike took us across the island and a couple of miles along a deserted beach which much to our surprise had a lot of pink sand.

We have had a great week sailing and exploring with Val and Menno from "Eyre" but we will be parting company on Tuesday. Since they're heading back to Georgetown and we will be heading up to Cat Island for a few days we decided to have dinner together last night. With any luck we'll meet again before too long to share new stories.

Today's s picture is of an angry ocean on the east side of Long Island.