Mayaguana has a captivating appeal, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Perhaps one might be a bit cynical and say it's the non stop south easterly headwinds that kept us there, however we found the locals an enchanting group. And the water is beyond swimming pool clear - We have not seen waters so clear anywhere else. It was absolutely stunning! Of course you couldn't see the bottom at 4000 feet deep off the edge of the reef, but in the lagoon area at 10, 15 even 20 feet deep you could see the sea life walking around on the bottom. The coral was in good shape, the sea life in abundance. Probably like the Bahamas of yesteryear.

Another cruiser in the bay with a catamaran had a failed water maker, we just happened to have the right part. A sundowner on board and visiting with other cruisers in the group - it was pleasant to be here.

Mayaguana is about the most south eastern inhabited island in the Bahamas chain. South of the Tropic of Cancer (yes, we are really in the tropics!), there is significantly more vegetation than farther north. It's definitely more remote however with a slower pace of life as well as friendly and laid back inhabitants.

We arrived in the west end of Abrahams Bay in mid-day. We were a bit tired so we just crashed for a while, however a local boat stopped by full of fresh lobster - would we like to buy some? The beast we bought was a big long thing, probably enough for 4 people, but the two of us managed to finish it off in one meal.

After the wind abated, and we finished up helping friends with some boat projects, and after a little bit of local hiking on Crab Cay in Elizabeth Harbour/Great Exuma area.... We headed south, into the nominally prevailing winds, following the steps outlined by Bruce Van Sandt in his classic book "....The thronless path to windward". Working the seasonal wind shifts that come with frontal passages, and moving at night, we too were able to make progress south into the prevailing trade winds.

From Georgetown area we cruised by sail and power non stop to Mayaguana, the most southern of the inhabited Bahamian islands, about a day and half passage. The passage crosses routes used by freighters headed from Europe to Panama and the Gulf Coast areas, so despite being in a desolate area we encountered a fair bit of traffic!

The seas were confused with choppy seas most of the way, not one of our more comfortable passages. But it's still new horizons!

The chart plotter image is from our new Simrad Cruise that we purchased just before leaving Florida. Our primary, and old, Raymarine gave us some problems and although we had it repaired it was a bit concerning to have all our eggs in that basket. We do have tablets and laptops as backup but when West Marine had a sale on these smaller Cruise units - it was time to buy a backup. Eventually the Raymarine will be replaced and the Simrad unit will end up in the dinghy......:)

George Town, Exumas, Bahamas.... It's a Winter destination for many, there's over 250 visiting boats in the marina at the moment with more arriving each day. The season is in full swing. At night all the anchor lights make it appear there's another constellation, just on the horizon!

The social scene is something else, like a huge RV park in some ways. Every morning starts with the 'net, where people get on the VHF radio and go through a list of events, new arrivals, departures, and anything of note. Events range from day trips, hiking, dinghy drifts, volley ball, get togethers on the beach. Even dedicated kids events. Lots of fun to be had.

Stocking Harbour is formed by Lee Stocking Island to the east and Great Exuma Island to the west. With a sandy bottom and lots of little indentations - you can always find a spot for another boat, or a cove to get away from the crowd for a day or two. The depth is pretty shallow, power boats and shoal draft sailboat can float over the top of many sand bars, but for us deep draft boats - you kind of dance around shallows to get in and out of the harbour. Not a bad place to winter over!

Power (enough of) is a constant issue on the boat. Our refrigerator and freezer are inefficient and so our batteries need recharging most every day. An exception being that with wind at 20 knots or more the wind generator does just fine keeping up with all the loads.

But usually when at anchor we need to run our Honda generator. It's pretty quiet, but not quiet enough for crowded anchorages. So I invented a sound shield. It's sewn together (Thank you 'Sis) thing which uses engine room sound deadening foam. It just drops over the engine and makes a very noticeable difference. Maybe I'll take some sound measurements one of these days and quantify how good.

The wind has abated for now, and the boats are starting to move...... Now that a more typical weather pattern has arrived boats are starting to move around a bit more. A sunny morning after some winds and the AIS shows some of the traffic. Pay attention, it's busy out there!