Settling into Paradise (Jeff's title)

A vigorous 4-hour sail yesterday, on very rolly seas, took us from Rat Cay to a tiny Island called Little Farmer's Cay - population 70.

We took a self-guided walking tour of the island and met some of the locals in the afternoon - they're all related! Apparently, the settlement was started by freed slaves from Exuma, and one woman and her three children bought the island and then willed it to be held in common by their descendants. They even have an airstrip that we walked along after watching a small plane take off from it.

Today, we meandered along the Bahama Bank in glassy water, with me captaining the boat, while Jeff took pictures of the amazing reflections. We could even see the occasional starfish in the sand ten feet below. We’re now anchored off Black Point – only slightly larger than Little Farmers Cay – and it has a laundromat! I went ashore and bought bread baked this morning, while Jeff bought lobster tails from a fisherman who came up to our boat with his fresh catch. As my captain says, “We’re settling into paradise”.

Famous last words … as I finished the last paragraph, I went to get some milk from the fridge for my tea, and the fridge was filled with sea water! I woke Jeff up from his nap with: “The boat’s sinking, come quick!”.  We think it was siphoned up from where it attaches to the drain – but we have yet to figure out why that happened. Just another little challenge to keep us on our toes J.