We weathered the last norther at Bluefield Range with winds 20 to 25 and gusts to 30. Between the hum of the wind generator on the stern and the smashing of waves and roll of anchor chain on the bow, none of us got a great night’s sleep, but we stayed safe and secure, and that’s the important part.

Tif Blue left for Turneffe but we needed to do some investigation into the smells from our holding tank. (That thing is really the bane of my existence – every year there is some issue with it.) So – while Tif Blue sailed merrily over to the atoll, we pried up floorboards and checked the vent line and the level of waste in the tank (by banging on the side of it). The tank was empty just like it was supposed to be; the vent line looked clean; there was no spillage into the bilge but we determined that air was leaking out around the viewing plate in the top of the tank when we pumped the head. So we gooped the heck out of it, put everything back together and hoped for the best – which turned out to be better but not best – so it stays on the to-do list.

We were glad we hadn’t gone to Turneffe because Barb called back to say that they saw 5 ‘ on their way through the Blue Creek entrance. We had heard from several people that a 6 ‘ draft could go through there but we were unconvinced, and this confirmed our thinking that we can anchor off the south west side of Turneffe but cannot go inside, and with N wind coming, inside was where it was safe. So – after a cool evening with chili and cornbread for dinner – we had a good night’s sleep and headed south the next day.

What a great day’s sailing we enjoyed between Bluefield Range and Blueground Range! Madcap loved the 15 – 20 kt E wind and we roared along at an average of 6.5 knots – very unusual for us. While the slow and easy sails are wonderfully relaxing, these fast ones on a nice heel are thrilling. The fishing was better too. Liam pulled in 2 Spanish Mackerels on the new yoyo line he made and almost had a third one till it flipped off the hook just as he was bringing it aboard. They are pretty fish with their gold and black markings. Cero are found frequently here too, but we know these were Spanish mackerel because there was no gold line from front to back, just the thin black line. We BBQ’d one the first night and baked the other one the next night - both very good. Liam made a few new lures from beercans – really cool.

We dropped the hook on the west side of one of the Blueground cays, put the dinghy down to go exploring and dropped by Argo to say hello to Clayton and Fiona. It turns out they were at UNB in Fredericton NB at the same time as Jim. Liam and I took some pics of the sunset as we went off to do some gentle dinghying around the edges of the mangroves with the fishing rod. This is a really pretty little range of cays, well protected and peaceful with pelicans, ospreys and herons to watch. And when the wind is calm, simply pulling in to the west side of any one of the little cays is a perfect thing to do.

And the sunset was glorious!