Leaving Black Point, headed north

Our last night in Black Point, Bob and Stephanie (m/v September Song) invited us over for dinner.  Not just any dinner, but a FEAST made possible by the 3 very large dolphin they caught the day before. It was the perfect ending to a great visit in Black Point, and we very much appreciate them sharing their catch.  We spent our last afternoon in Black Point finding sea glass at the beach with Bob and Stephanie while Cassie and Godiva scampered about in the waves, chased balls, and dipped in their own private puppy spa.

We headed north on Monday to Hawksbill Cay, and the wind gods smiled on us all day.  We sailed the whole way, as did Summer Wind.  It was so quiet you could hear the Captain grinning all day.  Of course the water is always beautiful in the Exumas, but to be able to move quietly through the water makes it that much more special.

Summer Wind under sail

When we got to Hawksbill, we dropped the hooks and spent a lazy evening before exploring the island the next day.  The Captain remembered a cairn on top of a hill which contained a metal box with a journal in it for travelers to sign.  We scaled the rock hill to check it out, but unfortunately only the cairn remained.  Or maybe since it's been over 25 years the box is buried way, way down.  We crossed the island afterwards to visit the gorgeous beach on the other side and guess what?  MORE beautiful water and white sand as fine as powdered sugar.   After the play day we headed north again to Shroud Cay.

Rusty beginning the mountain climb to the cairn

Serendipity on the hook at Hawksbill

beautiful setting for parking the dinghy

the chicks on the beach

Rusty and Nancy hiking to the well

Shroud is famous for its streams running throughout the island, which gives you a chance to explore the foliage from a different perspective than the beach (or whacking your way through the scratchy bushes).  We spent the whole day exploring, had a beach picnic on the other side of the island, then swam and played on the beach before heading back to the boats for another lazy evening.

We're being followed!!

Captain Ron on his way to Cuba

too pretty to capture on film.....but we keep trying!!

Rusty and Nancy free-ranging

Our next day was spent with sails up again....with a little assistance from the motors to give us a boost and recharge the batteries.  Our solar panels and wind generator certainly help with the batteries, but we still have to heat water (and of course make coffee in the mornings) so we give them a little help whenever we can.   We arrived in Nassau by early afternoon, which was a good thing since our dinghy motor acted up during our cruises in Shroud the day before and the Captain needed to scoot to the Yamaha service center.  We had a looooooooong experience with the same motor in Nassau a few years back, so he wasn't thrilled. 

Friday morning found the Captain replacing the connections on the fuel hose, a spark plug, and checking connections on the motor.  For the moment (fingers crossed, please) it appears to be working better, so we'll visit Starbucks (to check e-mail, update blogs, have a chai latte), the grocery store for produce, the liquor store for Bahamian rums, do laundry, and have PIZZA (we're so easy to please)!!!

As we update our blogs, Nancy and I comment on how most of our pictures (and entries) are very similar.  After all, we are doing the same things with the same people.  So if you need more pix, visit Summer Wind's blog.  And soon we'll be back with September Song, so check them all out.  

We got all the chores done, had a leisurely dinner, and even briefly attended a function hosted by the crew of a VERY large yacht in the marina (BAB).  The boat, At Last, is normally chartered, but during a hiatus the crew decided to clean out the fridge and freezer and invite all the marina guests to a shindig.   We didn't plan to attend, but of course the Captain made a few new best friends (one of whom was the chef on At Last) and managed to snag some of their beverages and some rum cake (heavy on rum, light on cake).

At Last