Day 87

Our first full day with our friends was spent in Nassau, getting the mainsail repaired, taking on provisions, fuel, and water. This done, we wandered as a group over to the market for fresh conch salad and fried conch fritters. We bought some Yellowtailed Snapper and Grouper from a very smelly fishmonger, and had a big, steamed fish dinner back at the boat. Afterward Connor, Megan, and I took a taxi to the Wannee Fish Fry to "see about a man with one arm."

Let me explain... Connor had left his cell phone in the taxi on the way from the airport when they'd first arrived and had been trying unsuccessfully to track it down ever since. The only thing he had to go on was that the taxi driver had had one arm and drove a stick shift. Apparently, he had been able to do this while also talking on his phone and drinking a Pepsi.

Now, we three were off to follow the latest lead offered up by the cab company. We found our man at the fish fry as promised and learned that he'd dropped the phone off at the police station the day before, a few hours after Connor had gone to check. The 24 hour police station was closed and when Megan called 911, she was informed that all four people who had keys could not be reached.

The next morning we shoved off out of Nassau and motored southeast to Warderick Wells Cay in the Exuma Islands. Warderick Wells is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, a beautiful national park filled with hiking trails and snorkeling. The family from Maine tied up on our pier had stayed there and claimed it was the prettiest place they'd ever been. That was enough of a recommendation for us.



Light winds and calm seas made for an easy, relaxing first day underway for our friends. We even were able to drop anchor in the shallow waters of the Exuma shelf for lunch and a refreshing midday swim. The afternoon, like the morning, was filled with books, sunburns, lively conversation, and the steady drone of the diesel motor. We pulled into the anchorage after dark.