Kristin spent her birthday here at the Green Turtle. I can't believe she is 23 already! We tried to get into the outside aquarium at Atlantis like Nikki and I managed to do on our first trip here. No-go - the room key Nazi's were waiting for us and turned us back. But Dan and Kristin did get to see the Straw Market as well as Sr. Frog's, and they went to the casino for their first experience. By the way, I was the only one to walk away a winner on this day - $19! Blew it all on ice cream. Again, fun was had by all.

We put them in their cab the morning of the 5th and said our goodbyes. They had no problems getting back to VT and called us to let us know they were home. I think it is fair to say they had a great time while on Kristinly. The actual sailing wasn't their favorite, but more the things they did at each destination. So while they aren't the true cruiser types, they did have smiles on their faces most of the time.

Nikki and I spent the rest of the day (5th) cleaning up the boat, doing laundry, filling up with water and fuel, and reprovisioning. It was a very busy day.

We arrived back in Nassau yesterday at 1330 after taking 5 days to sail north and hit some of the highlights again that we saw on the trip south - this time with Dan and Kristin. We have had perfect weather and a fabulous time. One day of motoring, but otherwise, SSE winds pushing us north. With the waves on the port quarter most of the time, we had a pretty good roll causing a fair amount of discomfort for Dan. He got seasick several times, but managed to keep it together and not do any chumming overboard. Sleeping in late down below while we were sailing is always an ass kicker, but he preferred the shut eye and risk of getting sick to getting up early. Youth and exuberance...

Dan and Kristin will depart for home from Nassau Sunday, and then Nikki and I will work at cleaning up the boat, reprovisioning, and then plan to sail east to Eleuthera, which is about 60 nm. We expect to leave Nassau Monday or Tuesday, depending upon our ability to get everything ready to go. There is nothing here that we want to see, so the sooner, the better. We will head to the Highborne Cay area to spend the night. The weather looks good right now to cross over to Powell Point on the south end of Eleuthera either Tuesday or Thursday. We plan to spend a couple of days inside The Bight at Rock Sound Harbor. From there, we will play it by ear, but got some good advice from friends Joe and Deb of Sea Note and will probably rent a car for a day or two to see the island that way.

We will probably spend a week or so over there, and then look for a good weather window to start the trek back to the states. Nikki flies back to VT from Ft. Lauderdale and we will try to get there by the 21st, or so. Of course, that is weather dependent, and if we can't make it in time for her flight on the 25th, she will hop a flight back from somewhere over here (wherever we happen to be) and I will cross back to Florida alone, again, when the weather conditions are favorable. When we said goodbye to our new and very special friends, Richard and Nicki (Hello Texas) and Gary and Celeste (Sol Surfin') in Georgetown, we were all hoping to perhaps meet again in Eleuthera before the season is over. We also ran in to Joe and Deb (Sea Note) at Staniel Cay, and may see them over there as well. We really hope to see them all again.