The weather always dictates our travel plans and this week was no exception. The modest to brisk easterly tradewinds have kept us from venturing off the Exuma Bank so we hung around Blackpoint for an extra day before moving up to Staniel Cay. The mail boat was here Thursday and we wanted to get some fresh produce before pushing on. While in Blackpoint we spent most afternoons hiking around the island, beachcombing and swimming at secluded beaches. Despite a few rain showers I’ve been able to continue the process of staining some of the exterior wood on the boat. I find if I can get a couple of maintenance coats on everything during the trip it will look good right through until fall haulout.

As February draws to a close conversations inevitably turn to individual plans for heading home. Bev and I plan on spending a few weeks in the Abacos but are reluctant to point our bow north just yet. Although we look forward to meeting friends there and exploring spots we missed on our first visit, heading north implies that the trip is coming to an end. So, in the next day or so we plan on heading back over to Cat Island for a few days then work our way up through Eleuthera. Although we only spent a few days in Cat Island so far we do miss the quiet anchorages. This morning in Staniel Cay there are at least 60 boats in the anchorage where as in Cat we never shared an anchorage with more than 5 boats. So with fair winds we should be off tomorrow for the next leg of our journey.

Today’s picture is of yours truly hiking on Blackpoint