As I mentioned in the last update, Autumn Borne and I made the decision to anchor in Nassau harbor due to the winds and the likelihood that we were going to find more space to anchor here rather than north of Athol Island. There were not that many boats here (relatively speaking) when we arrived, but the north winds blew many more in after we arrived and the anchorages could be called "full". Entering the harbor from the east, I passed a sailboat (Valkyrie) who had also been anchored at Rose Island and he recommended going the the western side of the harbor. I did, and had absolutely no luck finding adequate space in shallower water, and when I did drop the hook in 25 feet of water, it would not set. When I brought the anchor back up with the windlass, it had a piece of 2" thick cable (or something like that) about 8 feet long snagged to it. Another boat on the east end (Second Star) had been listening to the radio conversation between Dean and I and recommended coming over to the east side where he said he had good holding and plenty of room. Well, opinions are like assholes, as they say, and everyone has one, but I was running out of options so I decided to give it a try. He was right, and this has been a good anchorage for the past couple of nights. Autumn Borne was not happy with their hook set on the west side and eventually picked up and moved over here as well. As a side note, I talked to a boat named Gilligan (how appropriate?!) who had also been at Rose Island and actually stayed one more night (the day we left) and he said it was terrible, with the south winds blowing 4' rollers in on them. Needless to say, they did not sleep much that night, so it looks like it was definitely a good decision to pull out when we did. I guess I am surprised they did not do the same thing ...

I have to say that the concerns about theft are apparently over stated, according to those who have been anchored here for a month or more. The marine patrol has a prominent presence and many around here are guessing that with the economy being as bad as it is, and it has affected the Bahamas tourism some I am told, that the authorities don't want any hint of local "piracy" to get out that would drive potential tourists away. By the way, petty theft of things like unattended items in dinghies is considered piracy by some, so that is what I am talking about - don't be alarmed! I am still being cautious and locking things up when I am not around, so no problems here.

I was listening to the coconut telegraph (VHF radio) for the weather report at 0715 yesterday while enjoying my coffee and heard an announcement about a regularly scheduled Thursday lunch at the Green Parrot, a bar/restaurant that is fairly famous. Dean, Susan and I went and enjoyed a cheeseburger in paradise and met some new cruisers: Jim and Annette from Cape Cod (Windsong), Hank and Diane (The Adanac), Butch and Reese from Knoxville, TN (Lucidity), Steven and Michele (John Ray). Here is where the small world comes into play AGAIN. John Ray and Lucidity are both 38' Island Packets, and John Ray is hull #74 in the series built (Kristinly in #83), and it turns out that when I was doing research on whether or not to buy Kristinly, I contacted Steven of John Ray via Island Packets website nearly two years ago. He remembered me and our conversation. It turns out he was in Cape May, NJ when Nikki and I were there this summer. How ironic to run into them way down here in the Bahamas. I'm telling you, this kind of thing happens all of the time. A very, very small world ...

I am moving to a marina today and will spend the next couple of nights there. Laundry and final preparations for Nikki's arrival tomorrow, and then one more night to settle in with her back on the boat before moving back out. Depending upon the weather, we may move back to the harbor here for a night before moving back over to Rose Island for a night, and then move south into the Exumas. Or we may just bypass all or part of that and move on to the Exumas starting Monday. We'll do whatever the weather allows. All I know is I am really excited to have Nikki back on the boat. It has been 7 weeks and we miss each other - a lot. :-) One thing we are going to do is spend Sunday or Monday over on Paradise Island (across the harbor to the north of New Providence) and see the mega resort/casino/water park/largest open water aquarium/etc., etc. We can dinghy over there and that should be lots of fun.

Enough for now. Must get on with the day ...