We are now passing just east of the northern Abaco cays, but it has been slow going. Once we cleared the reefs of Man O War Cay and headed for Jacksonville our speed started to drop. By the time we were east of Green Turtle Cay it was down to a little over 4 kts. I had not checked the currents east of the Bahamas before we left. I figured we would be passing close to the cays and would not encounter any significant current. I was very wrong. We appear to be on the west side of a cold water eddy that broke off from the Gulf Stream and has drifted down east of the Bahamas. We were able set the sails and close reach in about 5-7 kts of wind with the engine on. If not for the sails our speed would have dropped below 4kts. About a half hour ago we appear to have started to get out of this eddy. Our speed has increased to over 5kts. I hope by morning our speed will be back over 6 kts and maybe we can shut down the engine for awhile.

All is well, John & Steve