7.7 Knots Under Sail - WooHoo!!!

Friday night at Hawksbill Cay wasn't the most comfortable with a big roll coming in and rocking us most of the night. But the entertainment was pretty good! After dinner, a megayacht came into the anchorage after dark - and anchored behind us. It had more lights than a Las Vegas casino! A blue neon name "Allegrio" glared from the upper deck and underwater green lights lit up the water surrounding it. White lights lit the entire interior salons and decks. No dinner invite was forthcoming. As we left bright and early this morning - three "dinghies" were being prepared for the owners/guests by the crew. (I thought they were security and manning machine guns - but I think I've been reading too many Clive Cussler books!)

After clearing through the rocks - we killed the engine and started to sail. We hit a new personal best for the trip so far with a 7.7 under a reefed main and full headsail. It was a terrific all day sail and as the winds picked up we had to reef the headsail and still made well over 6.5. In fact, at one point, Astarte almost caught a catamaran under sail. She was flying - grateful to be sailing again.

We made record time to Big Major Spot where we are now anchored with about 30 other boats. It's a large anchorage so even 30 boats don't seem too bad. More boats are pouring in. It was a great day to sail up or down the island chain.

Big Majors Spot (kinda redundant eh?) is near Staniel Cay and the famous Thunderball Cave. Made famous by the 007 movie "Thunderball" and the mermaid movie "Splash." We're thinking we should watch Thunderball tonight - as we have it on board. If it warms up - we may snorkel it tomorrow - but right now it's chilly and windy.

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