Friday, March 9th

After a leisurely breakfast, we settle our account at Green Turtle Club and prepare Cutter Loose to leave the dock.  Winds have subsided, but are still blowing at 12 knots from the east.  The forecast calls for diminishing winds throughout the afternoon and overnight.  But reduced wind speed does not instantly translate to calm seas.  Ocean swells begin to subside only after a sustained period of diminished winds.  We decide to anchor overnight and transit Whale Cay channel early on Saturday morning after the seas have had an opportunity to lay down overnight.

[caption id="attachment_3204" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Manjack Cay anchorage"][/caption]

Under sunny skies, our journey today takes us to Manjack Cay, a distance of 5 miles.  Cutter Loose is anchored in the bight between Crab Cay and Rat Cay.   The water here is crystal clear.  Our anchor and chain rode are clearly visible in the sand beneath 12 feet of water.  Several white sand beaches are nearby.   We take advantage of this relaxed setting to study the charts for tomorrow’s passage while the solar panels generate energy to operate the reverse osmosis watermaker. 

By mid-afternoon, the wind speed has dropped off to 5 knots.   It will be a calm night at anchor.