One of the best things we like about Cat Island are the secluded anchorages. Over the past week we have never shared an anchorage with more then five boats and the last 2 nights we've been alone. Well, that all changed today. Our plan was to move 20 miles to Little San Salvador, anchor for the night then jump the 40+ miles to Rock Sound, Eleuthera tomorrow. We lingered over coffee this morning before finally shoving off at 9:30 in a light SE breeze. The wind never got over 9 knots but we made good time sailing for a couple of hours, but once it started to die we fired up the motor and made our way to Half Moon Cay. We knew the island is owned by one of the cruise ship lines and that they have a big shore side operation for daily stops, but we weren't really prepared for what we saw. The staff ferry 1000- 1500 people ashore for various activities which include swimming, horseback riding, snorkeling, a kids theme park and of course the lunch buffet. Fortunately, the ship left late in the afternoon and we're now sharing the anchorage with only 10 other boats until the next ship arrives tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.

Our last few days at Bennett's Harbour have been great especially since the wind shifted and dropped rendering the anchorage nice and smooth. We have snorkeled quite a bit while at Cat Island and we have seen some amazing sights. However, nothing on this trip compares to what we witnessed in the creek at Alligator Point (Ok almost hitting a whale was memorable ). The guide books mention that there are numerous rays around Alligator Point at high tide so we struck off at 3:30 yesterday afternoon for a tour. With the tide up we were able to motor at least 1.5 miles up the creek which is bordered by mangroves. We started counting rays and turtles but quickly gave up as they were everywhere, we easily saw 50 rays and as many turtles in the crystal clear water. As we were motoring along Bev was standing in the bow of the dinghy for a better view when she yelled "look at that". Coming towards us at full speed was a Ray with at least a 4 foot wingspan, at about 100 feet from the boat he soared 5 feet into the air, dove back in the water and came out again right in front of us. He was so high we could see his complete white underside before he dove back in the water. He was so close Bev quickly sat down because she figured he was coming in the boat and we were both splashed as he re-entered the water 3 feet in front of the dinghy. I honestly don't know how he missed the dinghy and the motor as we went over top of him. I wish we'd had a camera running because it truly was a Kodak moment.

Today's picture is of the New Amsterdam at Half Moon Bay.