It has been so fun taking this cruising thing slowly! I can’t believe that we would have missed The Darby’s and hanging with our new BFF’s s/v Beans if we rushed off to Turks & Caicos. We made the executive decision to fly there so we could make it in time to see our friends. If we really love it, we will sail there. But if we don’t, we can save ourselves the hassle (and expense). Plus, and I hate to admit this, we both REALLY need a break from living on a boat (as glamorous as it seems!). It will be a welcome vacation from our “vacation.”

Here’s a Video:

With our new course of action, we wanted to move Bosco back south to Williams Bay, before marina-dom. We woke bright and early, February 5, 2016 (Happy Birthday Papa!). Last night was very calm, almost too calm. We were attacked unrelentingly by the sand flies (no seeums). When the wind doesn’t blow here, the little invisible buggers come out in full force and bite the heck out of you. They are so tiny and get everywhere (Screen covers have no effect on them).

The sunrise was lovely! It may come as a surprise, but we don’t often see the sunrise because we’re too tired (or sleep deprived) to witness it. We enjoyed a very rare, completely calm morning – we could even see our anchor!

The plan for the day was to move back south to Williams Bay, via Adderly Cut. I’m growing very familiar with this path, as it will be my 3rd time in only a week to traverse it. I felt completley comfortable navigating the cut and even the “shallow sand bars” down to Williams.

It was a short trip, only about 12 miles. And since we left so early (before 7AM) we were dropping anchor by 9:15AM. Most people were barely out in their cockpit enjoying a morning brew and we’ve already made our passage for the day.

Despite the easy traveling, we still had the little no-see-ums aboard with us. We could only spot their tiny bodies flying when the sun would filter through. They were obviously drawn to the light, because as soon as we opened one of our port lights (windows) closest to the stream of light, they flew out by the dozens. I bet we widdled the numbers down by 85%.

Our only goal for the day was to relax and maybe find cool starfish & stingrays. On our first visit to Williams Bay, we spotted several.

It was definitely my lucky day, because just a few hundred yards from our anchorage, we spotted about a half dozen of these huge beauties – both starfish and sting rays all about. I jumped in the water to swim with the rays. The snorkeling around here was just so-so, but for me, all snorkeling is good snorkeling, so I was a happy camper. Plus the water so calm and clear, visibility was at an all-time high!

After about an hour or so of exploring, we headed back to Bosco. It was still early – barely noon. We spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing…well reading books and enjoying the scenery. It was GLORIOUS. Jake whipped up a delicious feast for supper (mahi mahi, mashed potatoes, green beans and apple sauce for dessert).

Tonight was also a first for us. We sat out on the foredeck to soak in the stars. One great thing about this anchorage is the zero-light pollution. With the assistance of a cool phone app (Star gazer), we could point out all of the constellations around us. How silly that we haven’t done this yet (well other than night passages but that’s different)!

All-in-all we were very content here. But moreso, knowing that tomorrow we would be heading to Emerald Bay, to wait out some nasty weather AND get ready for fun in Turks & Caicos!