When the wind blows steadily between 25 and 30 knots, as it has for the past couple of days, the challenge is to give up all plans and practice patience. I remind myself that I am in a beautiful, warm place where the sun mostly shines and the colors of the water and sky are endlessly captivating. So far, there have been no cases of coronavirus in the Bahamas, but that is sure to change. Here at Black Point, the phone signal allows me to remain in touch with family and friends, to chat with my granddaughter Juniper as she gets ready for school, to stream on Netflix if we need evening diversion from the howling wind and watching two dozen boats in the harbor bounce and swing at anchor. So far, all anchors are holding.

We left Lee Stocking Island on March 3, excited to finally set sail again on the Sound. The engine died just as we motored through the Adderley Cut, so we quickly put up sail and Christoph went below to check the tanks. Sure enough, the aft fuel tank was empty. We had been keeping an eye on it, but the gauge is evidently less than accurate. After switching to the forward tank, the engine started right up and we were off on a gorgeous downwind motor/sail to Black Poiint. As soon as we anchored, we hustled to the Rockside Laundromat, best in class in the Bahamas, if not the world. Where else can you tie up to a sparkling new dock, enjoy conch fritters and gaze out at a beautiful harbor while waiting for your clothes to dry? Miss Ida runs a clean, friendly and inviting business, but the best part of doing laundry on March 3 was having a day free of chores on March 4, my birthday. With mild wind in advance of the coming front, we took the dinghy past Regatta Point and snorkeled along the outcroppings along shore. John of Lost Shaker and Julie of Jubilee joined us, and we found a beautiful cove dotted with coral heads and filled with reef fish. This was nature's birthday present. We met up on shore with Lost Shaker and Jubilee for Lorraine's all-you-can-eat grilled dinner special, and topped off the celebration on Jubilee with chocolate cupcakes that Julie had baked.

We took full advantage of the next two settled days to snorkel around the north point of the harbor, towards Dotham Cut. We were rewarded by incredible sightings--a nurse shark, a dozen great barracuda, lionfish, puffer fish, triggerfish, squirrelfish, parrotfish, snapper, jacks, butterflyfish, and angelfish, all streaming through various configurations of coral heads along the shore. We took our dinghy up the mangrove-lined creek and a large green turtle swam by. We found the Bahamian sloop Patton's Pride moored out in the creek; we had last seen her race at the 5F Regatta a month ago. Fisherman came in at the Government dock with giant crayfish (lobster), grouper and triggerfish. We bought a nice-sized Nassau grouper, enough for at least two meals and a bouillabaisse.

As anticipated, the front arrived Friday night, with a few rain showers, and the wind turned North and began to blow in earnest. Nevertheless, on Saturday we took a wet dinghy ride to the settlement in the mid-afternoon, and enjoyed a late lunch at Scorpio's. A tourist group from Nassau was being hustled back on board their powerboats after a buffet. Barry and Lianne of Sweet Emotion sat nearby on the porch and came over to our table to chat. We were interested to hear about their volunteer work at Elbow Cay, where the lighthouse still stood, although Dorian had destroyed most of the homes on the island. Their description of the desolation was sobering.

For a bit more exercise on shore, we hiked to the blowhole, which was just getting going at 4 pm.
The wind isn't expected to lay down before Wednesday. In the meantime, there is yoga in the cockpit and dancing in the salon, and paying close attention to the news of the coronavirus scourge.