All is Well

We survived the end of the westerly blow at Big Major, by Sunday morning it had calmed considerably, and continued to throughout the day Sunday. Though Sunday morning, the entertainment onboard involved laying on the deck to see if you could touch the water, as the bow bounced over the waves.

Late afternoon, the girls needed to get off the boat - after a long sail on Friday, and two days in a lumpy anchorage, their energy had expanded beyond the space available. We launched the dinghy and Greg headed off with them to the beach. About an hour later he returned to get their shoes and me, saying that there were many cruisers with the same idea, and so there was quite a gathering on shore.
When we returned to the beach, the girls were happily playing with lots of other kids, more in fact than we had seen in George Town, the supposed family Mecca of the Exumas. Adults chatted, kids explored the forest, and everyone went home at sunset content.
Monday morning we started early, headed back the 3 miles to Staniel Cay, and went ashore for a few final provisions. Engine oil, onions, cheese, tonic water and diesel fuel rounded out our eclectic list. Here's Cee Jem in her cozy anchorage south of Staniel Cay.

Back on the boat, we lifted the dinghy and anchor and continued north. On our way, we kept a sharp lookout as about 30 boats passed us southbound on a beautiful sailing day. One of them was our friends on Dharma, who we waved to and hope to have catch up to us later this week. We even truly sailed, turning our engine off for several hours in the afternoon. The wind hasn't allowed us to be underway without the help of the engine since North Carolina. It was a very pleasant change to sail silently!
At 3, we were hooking up to mooring ball #5 at Warderick Wells. Looking around, we felt we had arrived in paradise. We knew why so many other cruisers had been shocked that we didn't stop here on our way south, and we are, in a way, glad that we have saved this beautiful stop for our way home. As they say, save the best for last! A quick stop in at the park headquarters to register, chatting on the beach with some new friends, then back to the boat for the evening; topped off with an amazing sunset.