Time 20:00 local
Lat N 22° 56.4′
Long W 73° 40.4′
Enroute to Mayaguana

The wind has continued to be a bit fickle. Fading to nothing in the hours before sunrise, so we motored most of the day, but it has returned and we are back under sail on our last leg toward our destination. Light wind are moving us at 3 to 4 knots. Slow, but if we went faster we’d arrive at Mayaguana before sunrise, and just have to wait for good light to pick our way into the anchorage.

After traversing what seemed an empty ocean yesterday, more evidence of life was around us today. Birds, pilot whales, fish strikes on our trolled lines. We had two wahoo hit, but missed hookups, what was likely a mahi-mahi broke off when the line tangled on the strike, and we landed a rather large barracuda. Unfortunately for us barracuda, especially large ones caught near offshore reefs, are likely carriers of the toxin the causes ciguatera poisoning so we let him off the hook.

Speaking of offshore reefs, we hooked the barracuda as we approached Samara Cay. As I am fighting the fish, I can see the bottom over the side of the boat. Now that’s not an immediate problem. The water here is really clear, and the sonar says it is 42 feet deep. The problem is the chart says it is supposed to be over 400 feet deep at this spot. It seems the reef is almost 3/4 mile away from its charted position. Another lesson, safely learned!