"picture of us with our friends on Tabitha"

We departed Georgetown a couple of days ago with plans to head for Conception to meet up with our friends on Side by Side. But like all plans in the sailing world, they are open to change and usually do with the weather. They had been forcasting the strongest cold front of the season to hit on Sunday with the strongest of the winds out of the North West which would have been fine for Conception. The forecast that we picked up prior to our early morning departure had the winds coming out of the North, which may not sound like much of a change, but is a big concern with the anchorage at Conception that offers very little protection from the North and backs up to the Atlantic ocean which means very big waves to ride out. Since we like to minimize our middle of the night fire drills and favor a good night sleep, we altered our plans and headed for Thompson Bay in Long Island. If you remember, we were here about a month ago (bat caves) and fell in love with the island, especially the people. We were also excited to meet up with our friends on Tabitha who are about to start their trip North and back to England. We heard from other cruisers that the best way to move around the island is by hitch hiking. Nicole was a little nervous about this idea but soon found it was alot of fun when she got to ride in the bed of a pickup truck. It turns out that when a Long Islander passes a hitch hiker they feel obligated to pick you up. The only visitors they get to their island are the sailors that arrive during the winter months. They just love to talk about their island and welcome you with open arms. We received rides from a priest from the church of England, a political leader from the First National Movement and a school bus driver on a school bus to name a few. Lisa had a very enlightning experience when visiting with GlenRoy from the FNM. He was on his way back from collecting ice for a political ralley in support of his candidate when he picked us up. Their government structure mirrors Englands. While in Thompson Bay, we said goodbye to our friends on Tabitha who are heading back to FLorida, where Sue, Elsa and Pita will get on a plan and fly back to England for the last school semester. Eric will be single handling their boat back to England from FLorida, we wish them all the best and Eric fair winds. He may need to stop in Bermuda on his way home, so we gave him some information on how to contact our friends the Broadhursts.