After another peaceful night at anchor– and they have all been peaceful– and having made considerable miles northward both in the Sound and in the Bank, we decided to amble back south.  We had knowingly bypassed many recommended stops, so we sketched out a tentative itinerary of hikes and snorkel spots with the goal of getting back to Georgetown in one week.  We are impressed with the onboard teamwork Gaye and Jay have developed both at anchor and underway.  They are constantly tweaking and fixing–not just stowing sails, unkinking lines and generating power–but updating nav technology, resealing a leaky desalinator, getting multiple wind reports, and on and on, the list is as limitless as their expanding know-how.

Sally and Gaye check the mainsail for adjustments enroute to Sampson Cay.

We sailed and motor-sailed south through Pipe Creek searching sufficient depths for our 4 foot draw, passing the occasional fancy home, numerous beaches with blazing white sand, and countless uninhabited small cays, which we learned are a specific type of island that is low, small and may sit on top of a coral reef.  We pass a few kite boarders wistfully watching them fly over the blue shallows. We anchor off Sampson Cay where for the lagoons to potentially paddleboard and a dive (read snorkel) site nearby.

Encouraged by the health of the reef at the Aquarium, we headed over to the dive site first, 0.6 miles away.  After unsuccessfully poking around a small cay, we hit pay dirt with a shallow reef hosting many colorful reef fish including the bizarre and despised lionfish, which is both toxic and noxious.  Remarkably this small reef was just under a path where “go fasts” with 1-4 outboard motors, cross every hour or so at top speed.  Before heading back, we gathered 5 more conchs (rejecting 5x that many in the process) and explored a nearby beach.  Then we took a detour into an alcove to look for turtles which we heard were everywhere.  We didnt see a single one!  The alcove funneled into a narrow channel that opened up again to wide sandy spaces (it low tide).  We ended up circumnavigating the private island.  And that was all the Valentine’s Day exploring for which we had time.

Sally and Gaye set anchor just off of Compass Cay.

Just before dusk we got a visitor, an eight-foot nurse shark looking for a little company. We decided we would hold off on swimming for the rest of the day.

Jay enjoys another happy hour off Compass Cay.