Today was a motoring travel day and a chance to move East toward the Exumas. Our goal was to reach West Bay on New Providence Island. We left at sunrise.
It was very calm and comfortable motoring day with just a bit of swell. We re-entered deep waters and passed along the Berry Islands. This is an area we would love to return to and explore more.
On our way down, we heard a boat hailing S/V Eleanor on the radio. This is the boat with the family we had met in Fernandina and the little boy Finn we had played with. We had seen them again in St. Augustine. They are traveling on a small boat with two dogs and a 2 year old on a six month leave from work.
David texted Brendan when we saw a small boat to our port.
“What are the chances of us passing one another out here? “ Brendan texted back.
“Small ocean,” David replied.
They had been exploring the Berrys but decided to make the move to West Bay as well.
We trolled a pink squid lure on the way. At one point we had a good bite but we lost it. As we neared West Bay, we saw a boil of fish and tried to weave through it. Fishing boats were rushing to the area from all around. We went through twice but got no bites. We are not sure what the fish were.
We arrived at the anchorage around 3 pm and headed to the beach. Eleanor’s crew of three humans and two dogs were doing the same. There is a park with a beach and we took Fat Tuesday there.
I didn’t take pictures at the beach because I was busy playing with Finn. He had fun picking up shells and pieces of coral and exploring the beach and the tide pools. He loves to point and show things to me. . The German Shepherd Ali wanted a stick thrown and the little dog Sully wanted to walk. Brendan and Alanna seem to take everything in stride and are loving the trip so far.
We returned to the boat for sunset. The water was so calm and clear. At dusk, there was a splash near our boat. A barracuda was checking us out. Sunset and moonrise were lovely.
Tomorrow we start out early for Highbourne Cay. We will stay at the marina there Saturday and Sunday.