February 18, 2009.

We woke to 20 knots of wind out of the north. Our traveling companions were still taking a beating to the north of us and were eager to get underway. One of them described their attempt at sleep as being like “Being stuck in a sack of bowling balls while rolling down the stairs”. Our night had been a lot nicer in the lee of Elbow Cay but we were looking to get south as well.

Solitaire has friends they’d like to catch up with at Warderick Wells so they’ve decided to head there. The rest of us had points further south in mind. We passed by the large sailing vessel Meteor as we got underway. Meteor was the huge sailboat that had passed us as we waited to leave Lake Worth several days ago. Small world. I thought it was pretty funny that even though she’s over a hundred feet long she’s hiding here just like we are.

The 20 knots from the north gave us a great beam reach. We averaged 6 to 7 knots under headsail alone for our 20 mile day. As we peeled off towards Pipe Creek the rest of the group headed south to Big Majors Spot. There’s a lot to do and see there but the big allure for them is the excellent protection they’ll have for a good nights sleep tonight.

Our destination for the evening was Pipe Creek. There’s a front due to arrive on Thursday and we’ll have good protection in Pipe Creek. It’s also quite beautiful and lies just outside the Exuma Land and Sea Park boundary so hunting gathering is once again allowed. So we’ll be hanging here for a few days before heading down to the Black Point settlement on Friday.