In the morning, the wind was still blowing 20-25 out of the ESE in Thompson's Bay. Over the next two days the wind was forecast to remain about that strength but shift to the SE. It was questionable about what the conditions would be in Calabash tonight, as with these strong winds there is often uncomfortable swell in the bay. So we decided instead to go halfway up Long Island and stop near Bains Bluff and Alligator Beach. The Bluffs would provide some wind protection and we could probably get in behind the point a bit to get out of any swells.
We had a great sail up on a broad reach with just a bit of jib out. Just before arriving where we planned to stop, we saw a catamaran tucked up in a small bight between the points of the bluff. They looked quite comfortable. Unfortunately, we expected that our deeper draft boat would prevent us from getting in as close as they had so we continued on around the corner. We dropped the anchor where planned and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening.
The next morning we took the dinghy ashore to another beautiful beach Alligator Beach. We aren't sure why it is called Alligator Beach as there are none of those reptiles in the Bahamas, at least not anymore. We were looking for a little exercise so jogged a mile or so up the Queens Highway in search of a blue hole that appeared on the charts. We looked in the area but could not find it. A local resident also said he didn't know of one so we turned around and jogged back to the beach took the dinghy back to Juno to head north to Calabash.
The sail to Calabash was much like the day before, only needing a bit of jib to keep us sailing downwind at 6 mph. We did have to go over some shallow areas but that only enhanced the colors of the water. With the wind forecast to be strong out of the SE all night we anchored in the southern part of the bay with a couple of other sailboats. It meant a mile dinghy ride to the resort at the north end but it proved to be a good choice.
We quickly grabbed our beach things and some clothes to change into for Happy Hour and dinner at the resort. We found a vacant beach umbrella to sit under for an hour or so, then headed to the deck at the resort for drink specials of Bahama Mamas which went down quickly. We went in for dinner and to our surprise saw our friends from Black Point and Georgetown, Tom and Ann, sitting at the bar. We caught up briefly with them, then decided to all get a table for dinner. After dinner it was a long, dark, but uneventful, dinghy ride back to Juno.
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