The country and western fans in the crowd will recognize the song title made famous by Flatt and Scruggs. It's really the best way to describe the sea conditions in our anchorage on Wednesday night. We had left Fernandez Bay Bay after a couple of great days and moved 20 miles north to Bennett Harbour. The forecast was for ESE winds around 15 knots so we rolled out the genny and enjoyed a great downwind sail. But forecasts are only forecasts and the winds increased to the low 20s but more importantly shifted almost due south. Upon arrival at Bennett's harbour we anchored close to shore but the wind just wrapped around the point and never abated all night. The southerly swell ran unrestricted for 30 miles and combined with a strong tidal current kept us rocking and rolling all night long. Whenever the wind moved to the SE the boat would turn sideways to the swell and really roll. We went to bed around 9:30 and wedged ourselves into the Vee berth and drifted off to sleep. Frequently during the night we crashed into each other as the boat would go into a rolling spree for a few minutes before settling back down.

Two of the four boats left the anchorage early on Thursday morning but we decided to tough it out since the winds were starting to drop. As they say "no pain no gain". By noon conditions had greatly improved and we launched the dinghy and set off for a tour of the area. There are very few inhabitants at this end of the island and miles of white sand beaches dotted with small coral outcroppings. By day's end we were very happy we had stayed as the wind had dropped to 5 knots and the seas were calm. We will be here until Saturday morning when we will head to Little San Salvador and on to Eleuthera Sunday. In the meantime there are lots of spots for good snorkeling. There's also a creek that runs inland from Aligator point where apparently spotted rays and turtles gather at high tide. Ah, so many things to see and so little time.

Today's picture is of a little crab we saw running along the beach.