We raised anchor and left the area near Graham’s Cay to head for Roatan. The sun rose through clouds, keeping the early morning temperatures below 85 (thankfully) and providing nice views on our way out.

We made our way back past El Bight and Bonacca, and through water that is crystal clear 60 feet down!

Howard wasn’t happy to leave Guanaja, as he got in some last sniffs…

Soon, we were traveling in 5,000 feet of water (I forgot to mention that on our way here from Mexico, we were in depths of 16,000 feet!). Scott chose our travel day perfectly, as we enjoyed pleasantly calm water all the way. We “flew” along, averaging  7.0 knots!

It was so pleasant that Howard enjoyed hours of sleep, in many positions..

Roatan is a long,  long, long island, and was in sight for hours before the shoreline finally came into clear view.

We did an eight hour run to West End, the farthest point that we plan to visit. From here, we’ll make our way back east along the island, making for a shorter trip to Guanaja when we return.

Coming into the anchorage was just a bit challenging, as electronic navigational information for the area is vague  (we were working off of an 8×11 black and white photo copy). Scott had me go up onto the bow as we entered the anchorage, passing over gorgeous views in the water below. He was concerned about possible rocks or coral heads just below the surface, but we went through and into the anchorage smoothly.

We are currently anchored off of West End. It’s popular with tourists, but much quieter and more low key than Isla Mujeres.

Tomorrow, we’ll start to explore our new surroundings. Here are many more photos of our travel to Roatan.

“Shells Sink, Dreams Float. Life’s Good On Our Boat!”