The time had come to finally come up with some sort of plan to start working our way north. We were reluctant to even talk about starting home but sadly the time is near. However, we were determined to make the best of our last week in the Exumas and we were blessed with great weather. We spent our last couple of days in Williams Bay hiking in the morning and snorkelling the crystal clear waters in the afternoon. We came up empty in our search for conch but did score a few more coconuts to ward off any chance of scurvy. On Monday we bid farewell to some friends who we met earlier in the winter and set off for Rudder Cay. Bev was still pitching a no hitter so we headed out the cut to try our luck at fishing with yet another new lure, but unfortunately she struck out again.

We were travelling with Sandbox again and decided that a final stop in Blackpoint for a Scopio's happy hour would be a good way to toast our great winter while making a plan for the next few days. As it turns out a mutual friend was celebrating a birthday and as often happens at Scorpio's things got a little out of hand. The balance of the week was spent exploring a couple of great new snorkelling areas we had been told about. As the week progressed we kept a close eye on the weather as we were looking for a weather window to sail to Rock Sound. After numerous deliberations we decided to move further north to Warderick Wells to stage for a Friday crossing to Eleuthra.

The alarm was set for 6:00 a.m. with a ETD of 6:30, for the 48 mile crossing to Rock Sound. The forecast was for SE winds 15-20 with gusts to 24 so we wisely reefed the main prior to exiting the bank via the Wardrick Cut. Bev was determined to catch a fish and the line was in the water as soon as we cleared the Marine Park boundary and we dragged it all the way to Eleuthera, and you guessed it, zilch, not even a bite. However, we enjoyed yet another fantastic sail as the wind never topped 19 knots as we made the trip in 7 hours from anchor up to anchor down. Maybe Dagny is too fast for the fish to catch the lure.

There's a Fish Fry and Junkanoo in town this evening and the harbour is filling up in anticipation of a fun time. There are probably 8 or 10 boats here that we have spent time with so it should be a fun evening. We'll be here for a couple of days before we continue north and will probably cross to the Abacos early next week. In the meantime we're going to rent a car with some friends tomorrow for a land tour of the area.

Today's picture is of a turtle in the shallow waters of Rudder Cay.