An overcast day is sure to get a praise giving the eyes a sense of relief from the summer sun.
Arriving aboard is Troop 480 from Greensburg Pa. I am particularly happy to see two female leaders in the group. Women have a way of bringing something special aboard. Viento Azul motors out the harbor with a happy new crew of ten, excited to learn about sailing and the beautiful Bahamas.

Enthusiastic to swim on the reef, starts our trip. The entire day was in the water exploring Fowl Cay Reef. The wind was down making the water calm and clear, a great day for swimming. As you approached the coral mounds the sergeant majors the size of lake Johnny fish would come out to greet you. They looked as if they were smiling and happy to have visitors. The electric blue tangs swam about intermingled with Bluehead Wrasses. Through the busyness of fish swimming in and about the corals, you could hear on occasion, the parrot fish munching away. One of the ladies desired to see a shark and moments later, but who appears but a reef shark cruising in the distance. Later her desire for a sting ray was blessed, as a ray swam near and decided to eat something in the sand directly below.

The entire day was one lovely moment after the next. After a day of snorkeling we sailed off to Tahiti Beach . The wind picked up and our sails were filled moving us across the water at 6 - 7 knots! As we stopped to anchor the perfect cloud came to block the blazing sun attempting to pour in to our cockpit. I see the favor of God over us this week in the small things. Often we need to stop and take the time to notice, or we will miss the many special moments, that have the ability to produce great joy in our lives.

We had a fast and furious ready to go crew all week. Raising the sails , dropping the sails , catching conch , exploring islands and meeting new people. Cooking hot dogs on the open fire and diving for lost sunglasses in between swims. We explored sunken boats , hurricane debris and opened coconuts on the remains of Treasure Cay docks.! The thunder storms did not scare us off of my favorite stop Great Guana Cay Reef, we just had to practice patience for a time. These guys were determined to catch a fish. We dragged lures and casted the line. Perseverance paid off and we reeled in a fish or two. But wow, you should have seen the one that got away! The best was swimming with a friendly turtle on Mermaid Reef. This little guy was so sweet and friendly and enjoyed being followed by humans. Skits on the forward deck gave new life and many laughs to this weeks adventure. We will always remember that it was not Polly who wanted a cracker but Thomas.

New friends were made and when our trip comes to a close it’s always a mix of emotions . We have these memories to cherish and a hope to meet again.