We were told that a stop at Conception Island was a must....so we are currently here. Only 3 hours from Rum Cay- although a little more crowded, with four other boats anchored to the North of us. This island reminds me of Luis De Pena (SVIs) but on a "grander" scale. A relatively flat, sandy beach lined island, with some rocky shorelines and mutiple coral reefs. And impeccably clean. If our dinghy was operational, we could have take a small ride down the Conch Creeks, on the east side. The blue water here is unbelievably clear - again you can see to the bottom in 10, 20, 30+ feet of water. We decided to take a rest in the NW anchorage but, in our caution, anchored a little too far from the beach and northern coral reefs. There is nothing but sand beneath our boat and, after 2 tries (the first try our CQR anchor actually landed upside down!!) we are well dug in.

We are lucky enough to have gorgeous weather right now - albeit a little hot, the temperature inside the cabin (before we turned on the A/C) reached 99 degrees - and the thunderstorms seem to have drifted SE. Exuma Sound is completely calm, with barely a ripple, in only 5 knots of wind. We are still making our way to Stella Maris marina on Long Island, although have some reservations about entering their channel as the person answering the phone to take our reservation had absolutely no idea on the tides in the area (and there is a minimum 5 feet at low tide to enter the marina).

We were lucky enough to be surrounded by wildlife as we anchored on the NW side of Conception Island. Flying fish, a lone dolphin, several variety of birds, a grouper checking us out and, best of all, a 5 foot nurse shark came over to settle under our boat once the anchor was set. A real beauty - and seemed to like to settle in the shade of our boat on this hot day, complete with a number of pilot fish nibbling on her. After our sundown beer we jumped into the water to cool off and, although the nurse shark initially disappeared, she reappeared when we returned to the swim platform. Both John and I were in the water to take a closer look at her but then her curiosity got the better of her and the nurse shark took off from the bottom and swam towards us. That was enough for us - and we decided it would be prudent to jump out, just in case. (And, to think, on my "TOP THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE" list is to swim with Great White Sharks.....)