We waited until March 1st to make our crossing to Grand Bahama Island and it turned out to be a very wise decision. Despite the weather in Florida being beautiful the day before, all those who departed on February 29th said the Atlantic was still very angry from two weeks of very unsettled weather. Our crossing was beautiful. We left at 0600 from Palm beach and arrived at 1600 at Old Bahama Bay Marina.

Our good friend Wendell sailed with us again the year. Unfortunately, Linda was not able to join us and she was greatly missed. We kept telling her the trip was awful and the waves were huge.

We only spent one night at Old Bahama Bay before heading out to Indian Cut and our traverse of the Little Bahama Bank to Great Sale Cay. That trip took about 7 hours, not too bad. We traveled with another boat, Spindrift and anchored in the very protected notch of Great Sale. Sunset was spectacular.

Our plans the next day were to anchor off Alans-Pensicola however, the anchorage was full of other boats and the holding was very shaky. So we opted to continue to Spanish Cay where we took a slip in the marina. The sharks showed up on time around 4:30 pm and swam around the boat looking for food. BTW, these were Bull Sharks, the man-eating variety, about 6 feet long.

There is a very interesting area you have to transit to get into the Sea of Abaco. It's called the Whale. Basically, you go out into the Atlantic, around Whale Cay, and then back into the Sea of Abaco. The trick is, during times when there are storms in the Atlantic, the Whale passage is very, very dangerous. Our rule has always been, if it's a good day to go around the Whale, you go around the Whale. Don't wait for tomorrow because you may be stuck for a week. This is exactly what happened when we rounded it. The winds were very strong but from a good direction. Other boats opted to wait for calmer winds at Green Turtle Cay. The winds turned around the next day, to blow from the North East and made the Whale almost impassable. I think those other boats were delayed about five days.

Hopetown Harbor has always been one of my favorite spots in the Abacos. It's one of the larger settlements and is beautiful. We picked up a mooring ball in the middle of the harbor (a minor miracle in itself), and settled in for a few days of taking in all the beauty around us.

At the time of this writing we are in Marsh Harbor, the largest population center in the Abacos. I've said that Marsh Harbor is the Cleveland of the Abacos because it is the commercial hub for the islands. But since the Bahamas instituted a value added tax on everything, great improvements can be seen here. The water is considerably cleaner and all around things are looking better. It is our best re-provisioning stop having the only American-style grocery store anywhere. They even have Jarlsberg cheese! Also, they have the Jib Room. This is a funky restaurant/bar that we love to visit. We had the best rib dinner I've had in years, and got to join the band again playing the saw. This year, I learned to play the Ohio State fight song. Check it out in the photo gallery.

Wendell left yesterday to fly back to Florida. We'll miss him. Wendell helped in so many ways. Thank you Wendell for repairing our auto pilot and single side band radio, and identifying the problems with our vhf radio. We love having him on board.

Lastly, for now, visit our Photo Gallery for some great pics of our journey thus far. We'll post more but to do so we need a good internet signal and that is hard to come by. For now, keep warm and enjoy your winter days. Tomorrow begins Daylight Savings Time. Spring is on its way.