We had a beautiful sail up here from Nanny Cay. It was a sunny day, we were close hauled most of the way, 3.5-6 knots comfortable sailing. I didn't say it, but I thought it -- I guess that is just as bad-- this time we could sail into North Sound in the sunshine, unlike the pouring rain and squalls that we experienced coming in here with Karl, Robyn, Emma and Lex in 2001. But the skies darkened, and the rain fell, and we came screaming in here at 8 knots in the pouring rain. We left Nanny Cay at around 9am and entered the sound just after 2pm, hoping that that would be early enough to find a mooring outside the Bitter End on New Year's Eve. But it was not to be -- the place was packed. We tried to anchor, but it was poor holding and we're having substantial winds from the storms

that seem to be reeking havoc on the east coast --20-25 knots here, maybe higher last night. We could see just a few boats over in Drakes Anchorage, which was described as having 10 moorings and a restaurant as well as good holding ground for anchoring, and said to be a bug-free anchorage. We have yet to have problems with bugs here, outside of the fire ants, but now I know that bug-free is the euphemism for windy, just like "cozy kitchen" in real estate means really small.
     Also, the restaurant went out of business a year ago, the moorings are gone, so it is pretty much a deserted spot. We like those spots. It is amazing how restaurants and hotels can turn from tropically elegant to ruins in such a short time. The advertised excellent holding is definitely true, but we got up and checked numerous times anyway, at least once as an excuse to welcome in the New Year.

We took a sloppy wet dinghy ride --lot of chop around here, and scoped out the snorkel spot and checked out Leverick Bay. The resort looks very nice -- they have hotel rooms and villas for rent, it has beautiful views and is in a pretty spot. Then we went back towards the boat, and landed on Mosquito Island, which is apparently for sale. It is uninhabited but still has the remnants of Drakes Resort which had rooms and villas on the beach, and lovely trails around the island. Returning to the boat, we watched the squalls coming across Gorda/North Sound. I scrubbed down the boat anticipating a nice fresh water rinse, which we definitely got. Wind is shifting around, but the anchor is still holding.