Photo shows fantastic Junkanoo Carnival costume

Currently at anchor in Nassau Harbour, New Providence, Bahamas

View more pics at https://picasaweb.google.com/yacht.quilcene

The Bahamas has to be the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the Caribbean; despite our trepidation about the shallow depths we have particularly enjoyed the Exhumas.

Friends told us we'd get used to having only a couple of feet of water beneath our keel - well, they were right but it doesn't mean that we were exactly comfortable with it! The water is unbelievably clear and blue and the sand incredibly white. Snorkelling has been wonderful - the fish are such vibrant colours and the shapes of the corals amazing. We've seen quite a lot of rays and sharks, the sharks mostly Nurse Sharks which prefer shellfish to humans apparently - however we didn't put it to the test! Most of the islands are sparsely populated - there are a few low-key resorts but nothing high-rise or brash (except Nassau!).

We have good internet here so I've put some pics of the Bahamas on Picasa.

Nassau town is actually very nice despite our first impressions as we sailed in. We spent a day site-seeing in in Downtown Nassau (the town centre in English!); the streets are clean and have proper pavements, the buildings smart and pastel-coloured. Reflecting old allegiances, Parliament Square has a statue of a very young Queen Victoria surrounded by the pink and white Georgian neo-classical buildings of the Assembly House and Senate (see Picasa pics). An unusual Public Library is housed in a 1797 pink octagon which was once a jail! We could look around and go up to the shady balcony but were told no pics inside - although being a rebel I did take one!

We fitted in a spot of culture with a look around the refreshingly cool National Art Gallery and were impressed with the work of modern and contemporary Bahamian artists (see Picasa pics). There was even a fun display of outlandish costumes worn at the annual Junkanoo Carnival, some of these are woven from rushes!

Nassau Harbour and marinas are full of huge motor vessels and sports fishing boats. On the anchorage it's a bit like being on the side of a motorway as dozens of these vessels zoom out to sea in the morning and zoom back in the afternoon. There seems to be no speed limit in the Harbour but we're getting used to the wakes now! Yesterday was a public holiday and particularly busy with dozens of jet ski's joining the flow! ..but it's calm and quiet after dark so we get a good night's sleep.

Nassau is definitely a playground for the rich and famous; to the north is an island that used to be a muddy farmland called Hog Island. Since 1959 it has been transformed into Paradise Island and is linked to the main island by two tall arching bridges (we had to sail underneath coming in). It is solely built for pleasure (or to relieve rich tourists of their riches, the cynic in me says). There are big pink hotels built like fairy palaces - not what I'd call attractive but they do look pretty all lit up at night. There are huge casino's, expensive shopping villages, designer shops, manicured gardens and even a stone colonnade built by Augustinian monks in 12th century France and shipped in piece by piece .

The words of the Eagles song 'The Last Resort' comes to mind - ''They call it Paradise, I don't know why''. .. ..it's a matter of taste I guess!

Sadly, we are coming to the end of our trip through the Caribbean and Bahamas. We are preparing to make the passage across to the US, making landfall in Florida - where exactly will depend on the weather and the winds and where we cross the Gulf Stream. The Stream is like a river of warmer water running up the Florida coast before it heads of across the Atlantic to bathe the UK; it sounds lovely doesn't it? ...but if the wind is from the north and against it there can be very rough seas, plus the temperature gradient can trigger thunderstorms, so it must be treated with respect.

It's not been an easy year weather-wise but we are watching the weather even more closely now as the rainy season is almost upon us; already there has been one Tropical Low and a Tropical Wave is threatening to form south of us next week. These lows bring strong winds, heavy rain and squalls and can develop into the dreaded 'H' word - hurricane. We may have left the Tropics behind when we crossed the Tropic of Cancer at 23 degrees N but effects of these weather events are felt a long way north.

So the sooner we get into a safe port the better...US here we come!