The Beginning of The End
01 April 2019
Allan Gray

We awoke Saturday morning with plans to get under way to Tahiti Beach and meet up with friends for the day. After being more or less boat bound for a couple of days the troops were getting restless and everyone was looking forward to a beach day. However, Mother Nature wasn't quite finished with us as a few lingering rain squalls rolled through with gusts to 25 knots. Finally the conditions improved and we set off for our beach reunion. The genny pulled us along nicely in the 15 knot breeze as we sailed down the west side of Elbow Cay to the anchorage at Tahiti Beach. We had arranged to meet Sandbox and Sea Jules and spend the day together as this could be the last time the group is together in the Bahamas this year. Although it never got as warm as forecasted we spent an enjoyable afternoon while the main topic of conversation was weather and departure dates.
We hadn't been kayaking in over a week and we were keen to get out at least one more time before leaving the Abacos. There is a very interesting mangrove lagoon near Snake Cay that has been on our to do list for a while. After a leisurely breakfast on Sunday we headed off under brilliant sunshine for an afternoon of exploring.
Normally when we kayak in a mangrove area there are numerous small channels of deep water that wind through the grove. However, Snake Cay is very different, there are two cuts through the coastline that give access to a large lagoon. After a brief reconnaissance trip in the dinghy we launched the kayak and set off in search of willife. As usual we were not disappointed, the Bay was full of turtles of all sizes that scurried about as we paddled along, but once again a ray provided the best show. As mentioned before, rays like to play in strong currents, while we were transiting one of the narrow cuts a large ray soared about 4 feet out of the water right in front of us. The rest of the trip was not as eventful but still rewarding. As the sun set on another memorable day we made plans to head to Marsh Harbour in the morning and start preparing for our northbound departure.
Today's picture is our view through the dodger as the last squall rolled through Saturday morning.