Yesterday the winds were light but we were able to sail part of the way north up the Eleuthera coast to Hatchet Bay. Everyone here follows the weather, it’s the most discussed topic when you meet someone or eavesdrop on their conversations on the VHF radio, which we always do! We have our radio set to scan the most common channels that people switch to so if anyone is having a conversation on those channels we hear it. It’s what passes as entertainment these days. We knew that Hatchet Bay would be a good spot to wait out the heavy winds that are predicted for the next day or so. We never know how many other boats will pick that spot too. When we got close to the opening to turn into another boat was coming from the opposite direction. That always spikes Bill’s competitive side and we have to accelerate to try and get in first to get the best choice of spots. We didn’t realize the opening would be quite the way it is though. The picture above shows how you get into the Hatchet Bay Pond. It wasn’t really difficult, it just isn’t how most places are. They blasted the entrance out of solid rock to make a harbor here. It was just a natural lake before they did that. We ended up with what we hope is a decent spot to anchor. If the strong wind is in the direction they predict there can’t be any boats in front of us to drag, we are close enough to the shore so no one will get in front of us. One less thing to worry about!

When we got here we thought we had great Internet. Then it disappeared in the middle of a Skype conversation. It was gone until this morning. Maybe we have Internet during the day but not at night. We aren’t sure, but we will take whatever we can get!

We went to shore yesterday to check out the town. It is a typical Bahamian town. There are stores and churches and a school, most of them fairly run down. The school seemed like the nicest one we’ve seen so far. The school in Black Point had a couple of doors missing – apparently that wasn’t a problem for them. We had a nice walk around and stopped in the General Store to buy a loaf of fresh baked bread. We are still debating whether we will head out to find the cave we know is here today or wait until after the wind is predicted to stop. Either way there are a few days of relaxation in our future. We are getting better at it!