We tried to sail, we tried to troll for fish, we even drifted in the windless conditions as Oli and Mark tried to spear dinner. The only thing we tried that worked was starting the engines.

We left Highborn Cay after an uneventful evening. The wind stopped overnight. We still had grand ideas to head to Staniel Cay and see the famous swimming pigs. But with no forecasted wind for two days I decided to motor into Norman Cay for a day or two.

There is an island of mostly sand and a lonesome coconut tree just opposite our anchorage. It's smaller than my house, without the yard. It's the sort of island that you would imagine a shipwrecked cartoon character living on with circling sharks and a barrel of rum.

Only 200 meters away is a submerged aircraft. I was a cocaine plain. I imagined that was how the cartoon guy with the rum got here. It is a DC10....so what of his companions?

This island was once the domain of a drug lord but now is home to ample beauty and a bar with no beer. And a publican with no idea. Mark and I walked into the Norman Cay Club and said a big friendly "HI". The response..."I don't have enough drink for my guests little own you"... Said with a glass of white wine in his hand. No Hi, no sorry, no where are you from? "

OK then " I said. "I'll open a bar on my boat, I have beer". His response...."the Bahamas Army will prosecute you for that" So the island has no sarcasm either. I feel sorry for that cartoon guy on the island.

So here I sit with a bottle of $6 red.

Oli is excited to see his sister. He didn't dive the plane wreck, or check out the cartoon island or visit the pub.....he rehearsed. He is playing some fantastic music in anticipation of having his sister play with him. And he is good. Much better than what I remembered before we set sail. Mark too has improved 10 fold since we left. And me, I just want to sail....and play some sneaky Rolling Stones.

The night and my typing this blog was interrupted with fireworks. It looks like the party on the distant beach was a special occasion. It was a display that made New Ears Eve look some what ordinary. It wasn't so much the 30 minutes of fireworks, but the real stars above. They circle you here....much like the Oz outback. You can lay on your back and within minutes see shooting stars and satellites. The only light interruption is the anchor lights of about 6 other yachts.....but they also look like stars.

It's Friday the 13th, and the wind has returned with a promise of 15 knots from the east. We set sail after 48 hours of glass water. The wind hasn't lived up to its promise yet. We can see a storm cell to our north and the wind is from the the direction we are heading....south. Our radar can track the storm cells. We can actually avoid the worst of them if we stay vigilant. I suspect however that they are not going to tack into the southerly like we are. Staniel Cay is 35nm away but with this wind may as well be 300nm. But the promised winds kicked in and we are on course for a "beer'o'clock" arrival. 6 to 8 knots and very deep seas means for a rocky ride. The wind is gusting to 20 knots in an unpredictable manner. Those storm cells are dancing around us and with them changing wind directions.

We just lost another batten? The largest of them all. The way this sail was rigged has allot to be desired. I am going to have to put locking screws into the battens to stop losing another $150 to the sea. I now have to find another one....I said the "f#%k to the wind and made a Peet's Coffee....thanks for the coffee Sara.

So we arrived under full sail into the anchorage at Staniel Cay. The sun came out. We have free Internet from Ooroo so I may just post this blog....and hit town for a Friday the 13th night out. I'm clearly no superstitious like some sailers we have met.