April 30th

A morning dip and bagel with cream cheese hit the spot. We left of the drowned cays around 10am. We found an inlet just south of maps cay which had plenty of water. We motored in about 200 yards and anchored. After loading up on the sunscreen and went as far to put on long sleeves, we jumped in the dingy to see if we couldn’t spot some wildlife. Not too long into our journey we came across a pod of dolphins that were so friendly they came within touching distance of our port side. Spooked us because we didn’t expect them to get so close but still amazing. Soon after, we spotted a nose breathing in the water. We turned off the motor and paddled closer to see the back and tail of a surfacing Manatee. A beautiful place but blazing hot at noon. We could only stay out for 45 minutes and had to return to the boat. We came out and headed for Porto Stuck once more. This time the wind forced us to go off optimum heading which aloud us to try our hand at tacking. I also made it a goal to try and sail Porto Stuck. Maybe not the safest thing to do when you’re heading into the wind with limited room for error but I guess the Botzler nature got the best of me. After a couple of minor tacks to get the proper bearing, Steve and I shot the gap, making it safe to say that we are the only people in history from the Royersford/Trappe area to sail Porto Stuck J (T-shirts soon to follow). The open sea between Cay Caulker and Porto Stuck is safer if you stay close to Cay Chapel. Found that out the hard way. The map show 7-9 feet but we found several spots between the southern end of Hicks Cay and Long Cay at 4 feet. It cut back our “beer time” but kept things interesting. Also, the random placement of sticks in the area are a pain. My guess is that they are markers for lobster traps but who knows. Made slow time and anchored at Cay Caulker at 4pm. We decided to stay here for two nights and give us a chance to slow down a little. Be that, we dingyed over to the Lazy Lizard and helped ourselves to some local rum. Me more than the others I guess, since I was apparently the life of the party. Eat some local food, excellent, again.