March 31-

We are on our way to San Mateo, Florida, where we will store the boat at Gibson’s Dry Dock. It is a little sad, but will be fun to be home again too.

This has been a wonderful trip and a great adventure, and we are definitely looking forward to doing it again. We have learned so much about the places we have been, some things about ourselves, and a little bit about what is really ‘important’ to us.

One should never take for granted the comfort of a long warm shower or the bounty of the produce section of a good grocery store. We will always marvel at the stars at night, beautiful blue water and sandy beaches, and family and good friends.

That’s it for now, mon!

March 26-29

Chris Parker is the weather guru for cruisers, and most everyone wakes up to catch his SSB radio broadcast at 6:30 in the morning, every day except Sunday. There have been a number of cold fronts passing through, but he sees a ‘window’ to make the passage to Florida in the next few days. If we do not capitalize on it, it will be at least a week before there is another opportunity.

With this in mind, we are off to Highbourne Cay on Wednesday and then to West Bay on New Providence Island on Thursday. The forecast still looks good, so early Friday morning it is off to Lake Worth in Florida.

The waves in the Tongue of the Ocean have been quite large over the past week, but have been subsiding in the last couple of days. Thus it was with just a little trepidation that we stuck our noses out there at first light in the morning.

We have been sailing together with Cipango for the last couple of weeks, and this picture shows them just a little off our port side. We were simultaneously in the trough of waves and all we could see were their sails.

The wind was fresh and true all day and we had one of the best sails we have ever had. From the Tongue of the Ocean we passed through the Northwest Channel onto the Banks, which were never more than 12 to 20 feet deep.

At about midnight we passed by an outcropping known as Hens and Chickens and set our sights on Florida. It is always a little unnerving to be sailing at night. The funny thing is, you can’t see all that much. The stars, however, were spectacular, and when you looked down at the wake it appeared to be full of little fireflies called bioluminescence.

It was a beautiful night and an uneventful crossing. As the sun came up in the morning the wind changed slightly and we were able to sail the last four hours to Lake Worth. We travelled for 28.5 hours and in that time covered 174.7 nautical miles.

Is it any wonder that afternoon burgers and beers at the Tiki Hut were a real treat?

March 13-25

We sailed down to Cambridge Cay on Thursday and picked up a mooring ball in a terrific anchorage. The mooring is nestled between cays and so is protected from winds and waves from all directions. This is one of the few true ‘hidey holes’ in the entire Exumas chain.

Cambridge is also a jumping off spot to a number of interesting spots. In the afternoon we went by dinghy down to the Acquarium, a great snorkeling spot with a wide variety of fish. As we are in the Land and Sea Park we are seeing many more and a greater variety of fish. The tidal currents can be quite strong, though, and you have to pick your snorkeling times accordingly.

On the way back to the boat we stopped at another location where a small plane had crashed. It was rather spooky to dive down and see the wings and fuselage still intact. I could not, however, muster the nerve to swim down and peek into the open cabin door!


The next day we went by dinghy over to Compass Cay. This is a very pretty cay with a nice marina and a number of guest cabins. Guests and visitors can feed the nurse sharks which congregate around the dinghy dock, and on a nice day even go for a swim with them. None of us capitalized on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though.

We did, however, walk over to the beach on the ocean side of the cay. It is a gorgeous beach overlooking that fabulous aquamarine blue water.

On Sunday we sailed down to Emerald Rock at Warderick Wells and then on Thursday moved over to the North anchorage. We have been thinking we should be moving further north, but windy weather has made it an easy decision to remain until after Easter.

Actually, if the truth be told, we have been away from any opportuntiy to resupply for a while and are pretty much out of fresh produce. That may be the more compelling reason that we are looking forward to the pot luck Easter meal. And what a great afternoon it was.

March 7-12

The realization is beginning to settle in that our adventure must come to an end at some point, and we have mixed emotions about that. It has been a fabulous experience, every step of the way, but it will be nice to get home as well. On Thursday, we began to retrace our steps, sailing from George Town to Jack’s Bay Cove on Great Guana Cay.

The first thirty-five miles of this leg were on Exuma Sound, which is essentially the ocean. The wind had been blowing briskly the previous few days, and so it was somewhat rolly and wavy trip. We passed through Galliot Cut just south of Big Farmers Cay and sailed the last twenty miles on the Exuma Bank. The Bank is one of the finest cruising grounds in the world (I may have made that up) and we had a wonderful romp to Jack’s Bay Cove.

The next day we sailed to Big Majors Spot, an anchorage we enjoy and that provides pretty good protection from approaching fronts. It is always slightly unnerving to be sitting in the cockpit on a gorgeous evening watching a distant band of clouds approach, knowing that there are winds and squalls of 20 to 40 plus miles per hour associated with it.

On Tuesday we sailed back to Jack’s Bay Cove with Jean-Michel and Ann to explore some coral heads we had seen earlier. Corinne was anxious to try snorkeling, and I have a spear which I have not yet taken off the boat. We had a great afternoon, and saw a large variety of fish, as well as a very large sea turtle, just resting quietly on the bottom. I am beginning to think that the fishing may have to wait until next year, though, because besides not knowing how to use the spear, I can never tell for sure which kind of fish might be good for dinner.

However, we did not leave empty-handed. Jean-Michel found two large conch which we brought back to shore and ‘cleaned’. We were rather skeptical about what came out of the shell, but a couple of nights later Jean-Michel and Ann prepared a fabulous dinner of conch fritters.

We returned to Black Point that evening. It is time for one last dinner at Lorraine’s Café and another morning of laundry and Internet. Black Point is a delightful community and perhaps our favorite stop.

February 24 – March 6

George Town is essentially a six-mile long harbour situated between islands along a northwest to southeast axis. There are anchorages on both sides of the channel, and boats will sometimes move from one side to the other to seek protection as cold fronts pass through.

We anchored off of Monument Beach, also known as Hamburger Beach, where Dora has been cooking hamburgers for thirty years. She has a picture on the wall of Johnny Depp when he was there filming Pirates of the Caribbean.

No, that’s not Johnny, it’s Kenny and his pirate wench, Amy. Amy has developed a tradition of observing Pirate Friday, usually on Friday, but with Amy you never can be sure! This was also Kenny’s birthday and a fun night. Amy tells us that when Kenny is not privateering he is an exotic dance instructor.

Next along the channel is Volleyball Beach, the hub of the cruiser’s social scene. It is hopping from morning to nightfall, and even later on dance nights. Every afternoon people gather to play volleyball, swap stories with old and new friends and perhaps have a cool drink.

One morning Corinne and I took the dinghy down to Sand Dollar Beach, near the bottom of the Elizabeth Harbour channel. We had hoped to find elusive sand dollars washed up on the beach, but had no luck. This view, though, looking out from the beach, shows some of the 290 boats in the harbour.

The VHF radio net on channel 72 at 8:00 am each morning announces among other things, the activities for the day. Corinne and I attended excellent sessions on forecasting the weather, purchasing marine insurance, sailing through the Far East, sail trim, … We missed the bridge lessons, the yoga classes, trivial pursuit and, yes, the exotic dance. We did get to a couple of the cocktail gatherings on the beach and jam sessions by a number of very talented folks.

From where we were anchored it was a two mile dinghy ride to George Town. It was often a rough and wet ride. In town we were able to get water from the dinghy dock at the grocery store, Exuma Markets, do our grocery tshopping and pick up fuel. We found that the best bread comes from Mom’s Bakery, the purple van in the picture. Mom is in George Town three days a week and includes a large hug with each purchase.

Internet access, and our link to home, is not accessible from the boat, and somewhat erratic from other locations. We discovered J&K Computers which provides excellent access. They charge five dollars a day, which is much cheaper than the two Kaliks we would purchase at the bars with free access. It is also very popular.

The Cruiser's Regatta is upcoming, but we are going to head north when the weather is good and stop in at some of the places we passed by on our way down.

February 19-23

Along with Joe and Margie on Aquavit, we headed for George Town early Tuesday morning. We passed through Dotham Cut to Exuma Sound and motored the fifty miles to George Town. A cut is the narrow passage from the ‘banks’ side of the island chain through to the ‘Sound’ or ocean side. There is always a current through the cut based on the ebb or flow of the tide. When the wind is blowing the opposite direction from the current, it creates a large set of standing waves. We thought we had timed our transit well, and so were quite surprised by the short rough passage through the cut. Joe and Margie, veteran cruisers, assured us that this had been one of the roughest they had encountered.

George Town is the final destination of many cruisers and will be for us as well. We have travelled 3 254.3 miles and marvel consistently at what a wonderful experience it has been.

There are approximately 225 cruising boats anchored here. The cruisers have developed a vibrant community, facetiously called ‘day camp for seniors’, which is busy from morning to night. At 8:00 am there is a ‘net’ on the VHF radio that announces all of the activities for the day. Today there is yoga in the morning, volleyball in the afternoon, with opportunities to play bridge, bocci and dominoes. Last week we could have written the ham radio test, and this week Chris Parker, the Caribbean weather guru, will be doing a seminar in town.

On the other side of the island, a very short walk from ‘Hamburger Beach’, are miles of sand beach looking out on the sound.

We were anxious to get to George Town so that Corinne could get her cast removed. She has had it for six weeks and is anxious to be done with it. We went in to visit Dr. Fox who confirmed that the cast could be removed and said, ‘I’m sorry I don’t have the cast-cutter here, but you can easily cut it off with a hack saw blade.’

Corinne obviously had a look in her eye which said there was no way in #$% that I was going to be sawing her arm, because Dr. Fox slipped in a minute later and said he had just sent someone out to buy a blade.

We had an interesting conversation as he patiently sawed through the stubborn cast. In the end, there was the doctor, the chiropractor, myself and a nurse all pulling on the cast to get it to come loose. Finally the cast split apart and Corinne’s arm emerged. It is still pretty tender and a little swollen, but is feeling better each day.

When we returned to the boat we called our friends on Mary T to share the news. Corinne was very excited, but I think I was even more so as she was determined to start doing the dishes. Amy retorted, ‘Great, we’ll bring ours over too.’

February 15-18

Black Point is one of the most talked about destinations in The Exumas - we have heard cruisers singing its praises over the VHS radio for the past couple of weeks. What is it that could generate so much excitement?

Black Point has a new laundromat, and believe us, it is past time to check it out. On Friday morning we weighed anchor and sailed the nine miles down to Black Point. This is one of the larger communities in The Exumas, with a population of approximately 300 people, and a very nice anchorage.

The laundromat was everything that was promised, and very busy. There were 30 to 40 boats in the anchorage each day, and many of those would visit the laundromat, making it the hub of social activity. People share stories and places to visit, as well as catch up on news and gossip.

Speaking of gossip, Corinne is the focus of much of it. Everywhere we have been, she is inevitably greeted by the question, ‘What did you do to your arm?’

This is always followed by, ‘Oh, you’re the one! We heard about you. How are you doing?’

Another highlight of Black Point was the visit to Lorraine’s restaurant. It is popular and one must make reservations for dinner. We stopped by in the afternoon (between loads of laundry) to confirm our reservation and choice of entrée. People also make reservations by radio and we were curious to meet the always bubbly voice from the restaurant.

Our meal of cracked conch and red snapper was fabulous. Most interesting, though, was how the restaurant worked. Lorraine was the only person there, so she was cook, hostess, and bartender. How does she handle this and serve dinner for twenty? With grace and seeming ease. She greets people as they arrive and asks them to help themselves from the cooler or bar, and to mark down at the bar on a piece of paper what they have taken. As the meals were prepared, two or three of the women from cruising sailboats volunteered as servers. Finally, as her eleven-year-old son cleared the tables at the end of the meal Lorraine circulated to chat with her guests and present the bills.

Corinne responded to the call for cruisers who would like to volunteer to tutor for an hour at the end of the school day, and returned with the biggest smile on her face. She spent an hour with Rodnika, a six-year-old sweetheart who was working on phonics and addition facts. As always, the tutor seems to get the most out of this opportunity.

February 9-14

There is a scene in the movie The Pink Panther in which Inspector Clouseau asks a hotel clerk, ‘Does your dog bite?’

The clerk replies ‘No’ and so Clouseau bends down to pet the dog. The dog barks and bites him on the hand.

Clouseau says, ‘I thought you said your dog did not bite.”

The clerk replies, ‘That is not my dog.’

Corinne had a similar experience catching her flight back from Nassau on Friday afternoon. She was waiting in the departure lounge, and becoming concerned that there was not much activity. She checked twice with the airline clerk to make sure the plane was on schedule and everything was as it should be. The clerk assured her that the pilot had filed his flight plan and that she was on the passenger list. Not to worry.

Becoming increasingly concerned that something was not right, Corinne again approached the clerk to see if everything was in order. The clerk once more phoned to confirm the flight, only to be told that it had just departed from the other gate. And the only thing Corinne could say was, ‘But that was my plane.’

After one more night in Nassau, Corinne arrived safely back to Staniel Cay with a new and smaller cast and the assurance that everything was healing well.

We spent almost three days on the boat due to strong winds. When a cold front comes through, and they do so with some frequency, there can be quite strong winds for a period of time. With winds of 20 gusting to 30 knots, it is very difficult to get into the dinghy with one arm and also a wet ride to get anywhere. However, it was a great time to finish the Tom Clancy novel I started back in November.

The rest of the week has been filled with exploring new beaches in the dinghy and snorkeling. There are gorgeous spots everywhere and it is great fun checking these out.

The mailboat arrived on Wednesday and so the shelves in the grocery stores are stocked again. The captains of these boats are quite remarkable. I have been careful about taking the dinghy up this channel to the store, and here is the mailboat reversing 180 degrees in the channel that is no more than 50 feet wider than its length.

February 6-8

We sometimes wonder when we are going to just sit back and ‘chill’. There are a lot of things to do in this cruising life, and they all take time.

Thursday is shopping day in Staniel Cay. There are three stores to choose from. You can go to the Blue Store, the Pink Store or Isles General. The Mailboat comes in either Wednesday evening or Thursday morning with supplies. The advice is to be at the store by 11:00 am, just enough time to get things unpacked but not long enough for everything to be sold out.

Our timing was pretty good at Isles General, which was our choice because we could dinghy right up to its dock. We were a little apprehensive, though, as there were at least 20 dinghies already tied up at the dock. When we got up to the entrance we had to wait a bit as people shifted around so that we were able to open the door. Friends from another boat informed us we were actually quite lucky as the crowd was beginning to thin out.

Isles General is about the size of three good-sized bedrooms, and provides produce and frozen goods, a hardware section and dry goods, and the check-out counter. Produce is set out on two or three good-sized bookcases. Amazingly, we were able to get most everything we needed and never had to take more than ten steps from one place to another around the store.

With our basket full, it was one step backwards to the checkout line, where we waited and visited for the next hour. It was fun, though, as we met two other cruising couples with connections to Winnipeg – one even worked for MTS and knew Pops.

On Friday Corinne flew to Nassau to have her cast changed. This too has been an experience. It took essentially two days, five phone calls and two trips to the airport to confirm the ticket. Each of these involved either a quarter-mile walk to the phone booth (the ones outside the yacht club are not currently working), or a half-mile walk to the airport. We finally got everything settled and saw Corinne off this morning. I think the pilot will remember to close that window before taking off, won’t he?


This is the view from the cockpit at Big Major in the evening. Things are good, mon.

February 3-5

It's Superbowl Sunday, and the Staniel Cay Yacht Club is hosting a buffet and party. They have been making regular announcements on the VHF radio, and we are thinking it might be fun to attend. It means sailing the 30 nautical miles from Warderick Wells, but it is a beautiful morning.

We had another fabulous sail with Mary T down to Big Major Spot, a comfortable anchorage just a mile away from Staniel Cay. There was just enough time for a quick snorkel when we got there before calling the water taxi to get a ride to the yacht club. Dinner was terrific and it was a fun place to watch the game. Unfortunately, thinking we had a longer ride back to the boat, we left at half time and missed the exciting end.

Two ‘must-dos’ in Staniel Cay are feeding the wild pigs on Pig Beach and snorkeling Thunderball Grotto, the cave featured in the James Bond movie of the same name. One of these we would probably not do again, while snorkeling in Thunderball was a highlight.
















The other highlight is checking one's email at the Yacht Club. There are between 40 and 60 boats within a two-mile radius, and so there is a lot of activity at the bar. They are wonderfully open about permitting computer usage, and there are frequently 10 to 20 laptops with people ordering drinks and working away. We are only becoming aware that this is a shrewd marketing opportunity, because the more people trying to access the Internet, the slower the connection becomes, and what else is there to do in the bar when waiting for an email to open.

January 30 – February 2

We woke up this morning and had to pinch ourselves. The view from the cockpit was fabulous – exactly what we had imagined being anchored in The Bahamas would be like. We have thoroughly enjoyed every part of the trip, but this really is something else.

Warderick Wells has a number of hiking trails providing many options to explore the cay. On Wednesday we went for a hike up Boo Boo Hill. The cays are comprised essentially of limestone, formed during the last Ice Age, which has been dramatically eroded and mottled over time. The shores are very rocky with rather tall cliffs interspersed with beautiful beaches.

Boo Boo Hill is the highest point of land on Warderick Wells with a cairn and markers on top of it. The lore is that the boatload of missionaries that wrecked off Warderick Wells are buried there and the cairn was erected years ago in their honour. Boaters have been leaving mementos with the names of their boats on this site for years.

I also have been snorkeling a number of times. There is an amazing variety of fish. Some are bright and vivid while others are so well camouflaged that you don’t notice them unless you look very carefully. It has been fun using my camera with its underwater housing, a great Christmas present from last year.

While snorkeling one afternoon, Corinne and I thought we saw a small reef just off one of the beaches. As we got closer to shore, Corinne said, ‘It’s moving.’ Could that be possible? Sure enough, the black form was moving back and forth along the beach. As we got closer, it began to move towards us. When we stopped the dinghy a black ray, over three feet across, swam up to us and stopped under the dinghy. Corinne said this was much too close for comfort (not in exactly those words) and we slowly motored away. We asked the park attendant about this afterwards, and she said it was likely just happy to find a place in the shade.

On Friday we went on a guided walk with Bill, a volunteer for the park. Many cruisers volunteer for a day or two to support the programs within the park. In this picture he is explaining that the fifty plus foot Sperm whale skeleton behind him was from a whale that had washed up on shore a number of years ago. It had apparently died from ingesting plastic bags that it had swallowed thinking they were squid, a staple of their diet.

On both the micro and macro level, refuse is a major concern. As thoughtful as we have been, we have a full garbage bag accumulated after a week in the Exumas, and there are few options to dispose of it. More disconcerting, though, is the distressing amount of litter, mostly plastic and glass, which washes up on the beaches. Corinne and I are trying to be thoughtful about our impact on the environment.

January 28-29

Monday was a gorgeous day as we eased out of the marina just after 9:00 am.

Kenny and Amy, aboard Mary T, another Morgan 384, joined us and we were finally off to the Exumas, bound for Allens Cay. Kenny and Amy are great fun and very competent sailors, so it is reassuring to be sailing in their company. Also, since they have the same boat as us, it is great fun sailing side by side, or better yet, slightly ahead of them!

It was 33 nautical miles over the Exuma Bank to Allens Cay. The bank is only 10 to 20 feet deep so is great sailing in that while it may be quite breezy the waves are not large. Midway we passed over the Yellow Bank, approximately a five-mile stretch of coral heads. We were a little apprehensive about this, but the coral heads are clearly visible ominous black heads and we were able to easily negotiate around them.

The anchorage at Allens Cay was somewhat crowded and we did not get settled until later in the afternoon.

On Tuesday we were off to Warderick Wells, headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. It was another fabulous sailing day, perhaps one of the best of our entire trip. After thirty nautical miles we turned eastward to find the entrance to the mooring field at Warderick Wells. As we closed on the cay, the spectacular blues of the water come into view. I have tried repeatedly to capture this, but pictures do not do it justice.

The view of the mooring field and cays beyond from the deck of park headquarters is spectacular. We feel like we have finally made it and are very excited to explore the trails and snorkeling within the park.

January 22-27

Just as he promised, Albert arrived early Tuesday morning and had the new transmission installed before lunch. Although we had been hoping that a new transmission would not be required, as they are not inexpensive, we are feeling much more at ease now that it has been replaced.

We have managed to keep quite busy in Nassau. We are up early in the morning, but some days it can be 11:00 am before we have finished breakfast and made the long walk along the dock to the showers and back again. We have met a number of wonderful people in the marina and so visiting along the way is part of the fun.

On Wednesday we walked over to Atlantis, a magnificent resort and casino complex on Paradise Island. It is extremely lavish and a little ‘over-the-top’, but fun to walk through. In one of the main foyers there is a huge aquarium around the perimeter that is perhaps one hundred yards long and houses an amazing array of fish.

We were back to the hospital on Friday and Corinne had a new cast put on, actually a fiberglass cast put over the shell of the original cast. I wish I could do glass work on the boat as quickly and easily as Dr. Iferenta put that cast on. He is a bit of a ‘character’ and Corinne is very happy to be in his care. While he was putting the cast on, we asked what the pain of such a break would be like if we had not been able to get to the hospital for a day or so. His response was ‘Astronomical’. With that sobering reply we asked if there was any medication that would be helpful easing the pain in such a situation. Without missing a beat he said, ‘Rum’.

Corinne has an appointment to have a smaller cast put on in two weeks time, so as the weather improves, we are going to head down to The Exumas.

On the weekend we walked down to Montagu Park to watch the Bahamian sailboat races. These are part of a regular schedule of races throughout the islands, and are a popular event, with lots of music, cold beer and great food. And yes, there’s some racing as well.



Corinne and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but had the most fun with Gabriel, who we were thrilled to adopt for the afternoon. Gabriel and his mom were staying in the same marina as us while his father was in Miami on business for the week. We would stop and chat with them most mornings on the way to the shower.

January 14-21

All dressed up and nowhere to go. That seems to be the story since our arrival in The Bahamas. If you look carefully, you can probably see the black cloud hanging over Corinne’s head as well.

We were all set to leave Nassau last Tuesday morning. In the process of leaving the slip, the transmission would not go from reverse back into forward. Corinne bravely reached out to fend off the boat behind us and in doing so broke her wrist. With assistance from fellow boaters we got back into our slip and walked up the dock to catch a taxi to the hospital. Someone slipped in behind us and said ‘I will give you a ride’ which we were happy to accept.

We spent the morning in the hospital and returned to the marina in the early afternoon to find our boat carefully and neatly secured. Shortly afterwards Claire, from across the way, came by and said ‘Luv, you won’t be cooking tonight so I will bring you over supper.’ Once again we are amazed by the thoughtfulness of the cruising community.

We have spent the past week either back and forth to the hospital, as the cast had to be adjusted twice to ease the pain caused by swelling, or touring around Nassau. So far, the highlights have been making arrangements to have the transmission replaced and finding Internet connections at the Starbucks or On the Run Esso station across the street.

Actually the real highlight was a seafood dinner Claire and David invited us to on Thursday. We went with Claire down to the docks to buy fresh hogfish and lobster from local fishermen and then Dave cooked it in white wine sauce – fabulous!

This week Albert will replace the transmission and Corinne will have a new cast put on. Then, if another cold front does not slow us down, we will be off to The Exumas for a couple of weeks.

January 12-13

We were up at 4:00 am (who could sleep anyways) in order to be away before first light. Everything went smoothly as we inched our way around the south end of Key Biscayne and out into the ocean, headed for North Rock at the north end of the Bimini Islands, some 56 nautical miles distant. We have heard many stories about how difficult crossing the Gulf Stream can be, but had a wonderful trip.

We were ‘off-soundings for most of this part of the passage, meaning that the depth sounder cannot register the bottom of the ocean. As we approached Bimini, however, the water quickly shoaled to 20 to 30 feet, in the transition becoming the most incredible aquamarine colour imaginable.

The second leg of the trip traversed the Great Bahama Bank, a distance of 59 nautical miles. The average depth of the water across the Banks was 15 to 20 feet, and so this water was also a spectacular blue colour. At regular intervals along the way schools of flying fish would go skittering across the water.

As dusk approached we turned on the barbecue and enjoyed pork chops with a greek salad while watching the sun disappear beyond the horizon.

At that point, the ocean began to loom quite large. We were very happy to be in the company of 15 to 20 other boats that were also making the crossing to Nassau. Every hour one boat led a radio check in which all participating boats checked in with their position. There was also constant radio contact between boats to share conditions and stories, as well as just generally maintain spirits.

By approximately 3:00 am we were approaching the Northwest Shoal, marking the entrance to the Northwest Channel and the Tongue of the Ocean. This was the third and final leg of the trip and was again ‘off-soundings’.

The moon had set by midnight and the stars visible during the night were amazing. It was also intriguing to see the phosphorescence in the wake of boat as we moved along. This looks like hundreds of fireflies flashing for just a second to mark your progress.

After travelling for thirty-one and a half hours and covering 175 nautical miles, we finally arrived at Nassau, very tired and thankful to have had such a wonderful trip. As we approached Nassau we radioed to ask for permission to enter the harbour and raised the yellow quarantine flag which must remain flying until we have cleared Customs and Immigration. They come to the boat to complete the required forms, and you must remain on the boat until this process has been completed. Late in the afternoon we happily raised the Bahamian courtesy flag and are looking forward to confirming that it is indeed ‘Better in The Bahamas’, mon.

January 10-11

KLUNK!

‘What was that?’

‘I don’t know, but … we’re not moving.’

Oh #@@**

We had departed at noon from the Miami Yacht Club to head down Biscayne Bay to No-Name Harbour, a preferred departure point for The Bahamas. A mile into the trip, we felt a shudder and heard a horrible clunk. We were in the middle of the busy channel leaving Miami and going nowhere.

We quickly set the anchor and ran through all of the possibilities, none of them good, becoming more disheartened with each. Having no idea what to do next, we called TowBoat US to came and get us. When the operator arrived, he patiently reviewed our options, and as he prepared the paperwork, looked from his boat to ours and said, ‘But I think I know what your problem is. Look at your prop.’

A large palm frond had become entangled in the prop and was fluttering behind us. He towed us back to the harbour, to the exact place we had left a couple of hours earlier, and then offered to dive and cut the frond loose. In ten minutes we started the engine and everything was fine. Talk about going from on top of the world to disappointed to excited again!

Although it was getting late in the afternoon, we opted to sail down to No-Name to be ready to go.

Saturday was a busy day, route planning with three other boats and keeping a nervous eye on the weather. After much discussion, we had a plan – and only changed our collective minds three more times through the day as we compared notes with other cruisers.

January 2-9

We were up early this morning.

In fact, all of us had a restless night, I think, listening to the wind singing in the rigging and wondering how the dinghy ride to shore would be.

The winds of the forecast ‘norther’ began to fill in last evening, almost on cue as Brett and Kristi began to pack up for the next part of their vacation. By morning they were blowing steadily at 25 plus knots. Not only was it windy, but decidedly cool as well.

Since saying good-bye, our week has been preoccupied with trying to figure out how much wine and Kraft dinner we will need for the next three months, and then running around picking things up. Figuring out our needs for our time in the Bahamas has actually been a big undertaking, but the more significant task has turned out to be where to pack everything we have purchased.

We rented a car for the weekend and on Sunday drove down through the keys as far as Islamorada. Along the way we picked up a heavy-duty fishing rod at a flea market and a weight belt at one of the dive shops. Corinne was shaking her head with both of these purchases, but was much happier after lunch at a very nice ocean side restaurant.

Our packing has been going well, and we are waiting for the right ‘window’ to cross over to the Bahamas. Our intent is to cross to Bimini and go on to Nassau as quickly as possible. From there we will take our time sailing down the chain of keys known as The Exumas and end up in Georgetown.

December 30 – January 1

We anchored just out from the Miami Yacht Club. This was quite a remarkable spot, looking out on the Miami skyline to the west and Miami Beach to the east.

The day was again fabulous, so we set out to explore the beach and shops in the area known as South Beach. This is the popular and trendy area of Miami Beach. One of the highlights was the Lincoln Pedestrian Parkway, approximately an eight-block section of the street closed to traffic and full of great shops and restaurants. Kristi had some good shopping, and we all enjoyed a great supper at Nexxt.

South Beach was so much fun on Sunday, we just had to go back and check it out on New Years Eve day. It appears that this is ‘the’ place to be for New Years Eve, and it was fun to see all the preparations.

We spent some time on the beach, enjoyed an afternoon drink and appetizers at a couple of the bars along Ocean Drive and then returned to the boat for supper. We had no sooner finished the barbecue when we were treated to a spectacular display of fireworks over the Miami skyline.

How quickly a year goes. How quickly this week has gone. We have been having a great time and wish the same for all of you.

Happy New Years