Chris Parker was not exaggerating about winds from the last cold front. Michael, on Desiderata, said he saw winds of 43 knots. The front arrived two nights ago and we stayed hunkered down all day yesterday. It stayed windy through last night and by this morning we still weren’t sure if we wanted to move on. After waiting a few hours we decided to give it a try. As we turned just inside the cut the current was with us and we were traveling at 9.2 knots! We put the main sail up and sailed at over 7 knots. We had to take a circuitous route through shallow areas to arrive here at the Pipe Cay East anchorage. This anchorage as the advantage of offering protection from west wind, something hard to find in the Exumas. We looked at this and other similar anchorages nearby last year but were scared off by the depths on the approaches or warnings about current. Today we decided to bite the bullet and try it. We planned to come in on a rising tide, close to high tide. It is beautiful here but a little more rolly than we had hoped. The wind is supposed to die down even more before it shifts to the west tomorrow afternoon as the next cold front arrives. We hope the water flattens out, too. 
Update on the battery issue—
We have stopped using the microwave since that is the only thing on board that has a large electrical draw. Probably heating George’s coffee in the microwave just before we weigh anchor was not good for the starter battery. Anyway, without the microwave the engine has started the past several times now. This is especially good since we’ve been unable to find a starter battery that will fit the physical space of the current battery. We have talked to marine stores in Nassau & Georgetown, plus had our friend Ray research the West Marine battery that Alex, our lithium battery guy, recommended and all the batteries that are available here are too tall for the space where the battery sits. Our latest theory regarding the engine start issue is that the Sterling Voltage Sensitive Relay is not functioning properly. We may need to replace it with one designed for use with our new lithium batteries. More research to do on this but at least we now have one bar of cell service at this anchorage & can access the internet!
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