We sailed 8 hours to the next island. Our plan was to sail overnight to a much better anchorage where there are nice beaches and kiteboarding. We couldn't make the full distance before night fall because of head winds and strong counter currents. No other boats were here. Four guys came out in a speed boat and stepped aboard. Luckily for us one spoke some English. They were from the Eritrian navy. We quickly made friends and gave them a some goodies and a pack of cigarettes A couple of other yachts showed up a few hours later while we were on the beach. Judy scored a few shells.

This morning Dave jumped in the water and scrubbed the props while being watched by a big barracuda. We did a few chores then headed in for some hiking on the island. A three hour walk circled the island. There were many beautiful beaches, coves and mangroves. The water is stunningly clear. It blends from light turquoise to deep indigo blue. The day was bright and sunny. A trio of flamingos flew by to top things off. When we returned to the beach our navy friends were waiting for us in their camp. They invited us for tea. We sat in the small makeshift house and enjoyed the tea and conversation before returning to Freebird for some lunch and a bit of reading, it was pretty hot out! A fishing boat came in and was anchored up wind from us. We noticed that they were having difficulty pulling up their anchor.... Guess what? Yep, they snagged our anchor chain and couldn't pull up their anchor. We quickly motored up to take the tension off the chain and they managed to get clear of our chain without pulling our anchor up. It was a little scary because we came pretty close to contacting them. Everybody was happy and they dropped a fish off when they went by.

We have decided to stay here because the wind is forecast to be strong from the north for the next few days. It's now 10:00 PM and there are 11 other boats taking shelter with us. One boat turned back and sailed 20 miles to join us. Three more have come in after dark. Not a fun drill. Fortunately the almost full moon is helping with visibility. The wind has started to blow and there is a swell coming around the point. It's a little bouncy but we are "tucked in" and secure....