A good night of sleep probably isn’t easy in any household with two young kids, but on a boat it can be nearly impossible. So we are even more happy than normal when there is no wind at night. The boat is so quiet we could easily forget where we are. That’s what we got last night.

This morning the wind picked up again while Ouest and I went ashore and hiked up a nearby ridge. From there we could see the bay on the other side where the waves were rolling right in on the one boat anchored there. We had made the right choice after all. Ouest enjoyed the hike, mainly because she was carried up the steep loose rock, and when we stopped she could throw rocks a long way.

In the afternoon we all went ashore and hiked across to the other side. Hiked is a bit extreme I suppose. We walked a few hundred yards across a salt flat to the other side. The anchorage was pretty rough and I liked our beach better. So, East Side Rules!

Crabs like this were scattered all over the beach and in the water. “Ouest do you want to hold one of them?” Without hesitation, “Yep.”

This is the main anchorage on the west side of the island. There was one boat in there in the morning and it looked pretty uncomfortable.

A couple of shots of our cleaned up woodwork.

The strangest thing happened tonight when we went ashore for a quick cooling swim before bed. Right after we got there a big green eel swam past just a few feet out from shore. Ali saw it and barely managed to contain her panic for the sake of the kids. I just laughed. I mean, it’s an eel, eels don’t attack people, they just back themselves into the rocks and wait for a small unsuspecting fish to swim by too close.

So a few minutes later Ali and Ouest are splashing around in shallow water, again just a few feet from shore, when the eel comes swimming right at them, circling right through their legs. Ali just about died of a heart attack right then and there, but again for the sake of Ouest she kept herself at least halfway in check.

“What Mama?” asked a bewildered little girl.

“Oh, I’m just dancing. Weeeee, isn’t this fun? Let’s go over by Papa.”

Now I’m thinking this is pretty odd behavior for an eel but Ouest wants to swim, so now I’m up. Sure enough a minute later this thing is making a beeline for us again. The water is so calm and clear that I can see his nasty hook shaped mouth and sharp little fang teeth. And if I’m not mistaken I swear I saw a smirk on his face too. I had the camera in my hand and snapped this shot as I was scooping Ouest up and running for land. Nasty bugger won. We went home. We told Ouest it was time for Lowe to go to bed and she didn’t question our odd behavior. Who the hell has ever been chased off a beach by an eel before?