It has been a while since I last updated the blog. We have been busy moving around and the internet in the Bahamas has been intermittent. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't and often there is no internet at all!

We had a great time travelling around the southern Bahamas with the Keebles. We visited several places with them - Conception Is., Long Island, Black Point Settlement, Staniel Cay, Little Farmer's Cay and George Town. Where we could and the weather permitted we anchored out in lovely bays, particularly Thompson Bay at Long Island, West Bay at Conception Island, Sand Dollar Beach in George Town and Black Point. We were fortunate to arrive early enough to catch a mooring ball at Little Farmer Cay. Within several hours, the other mooring balls were occupied and there would have been little room to anchor. All of these anchorages were beautiful - lots of multi-coloured water, beautiful beaches and friendly people. Although it has not been as hot as we expected it to be, it has been sunny, allowing us to go for walks on the smaller cays or in the small settlements.

We have a new 'friend' by the name of Chris Parker, the weather guru for the Bahamas and Caribbean. Early morning (6:30 am) weather reports are listened to daily as the cold fronts keep blowing in and we have to ensure that we are as protected as much as possible from the winds which can be quite heavy and sustained. Chris gives a synopsis of the day's and upcoming week's weather for various areas in the Bahamas and then answers specific questions for routing and best travel times. He is usually quite accurate, and along with several other weather resources we use, we are able to make good decisions and plan for several days ahead. It has been a particularly rough season in the Bahamas this year. The prevailing winds usually blow from the east, but this year they have had a primarily NW to N to NE component, with an occasional heavy blow from the west. Most of the anchorages in the Bahamas face west, so when the westerly winds blow, there is limited choice as to where one can hide and everyone races to the same few spots. There are no anchorages facing east as they face the Atlantic. Historically, the fronts arrive about once a week and last about 2 days. This year, there has often only been 1-2 days between fronts. This really limits how much and how far one can go before having to find another hidey-hole.

After the Keebles left, we provisioned yet again, waited for another window to head to the Exuma Land and Sea National Park. We had planned to spend 3 days at Cambridge Cay where the snorkeling was supposed to be great. We arrived early afternoon and within 2 hours, our water pump stopped working - no pressure water and no heads! We spent 5 hours trying to fix and repressurize the tanks to no avail. Our only option was to hightail it back to Nassau in the hopes of finding someone to fix our problem. We left at the crack of dawn and arrived in Nassau mid afternoon. On route we made several phone calls to get a berth at a marina and to source someone to help us. Albert agreed to come late afternoon to have a look. We had been surrounded by dark threatening clouds for most of the day. Just as Ken turned into the marina, the squall and torrential rains hit and we were soaked. To add to our discomfort, the dockmaster had mistaken us for a different boat and had directed us a dock which was much too small. Ken had to get us out of there in the driving wind and rain and move to an alternate dock. When we were settled, we took advantage of using the marina washrooms and showers. Leaving 2 days of dirty dishes in the sink, we headed out for a well-deserved dinner!

Eight Thirty arrived and Albert had not arrived. Ken went to his shop looking for him and several minutes later they arrived. Eight hours later, we had a new water pump and the tanks were repressurized. We again had flushing heads and running water. Both existing water pumps had given up the ghost within hours of each other. We now had a brand new pump. That should keep us going at least until we return to Florida!

With the water pump replaced, we now had to wait for a front to blow through. Two days later, we were on the move again to Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, only one of 3 protected anchorages in west Eleuthera. We tied to a mooring ring because the harbour was littered with the debris from Hurricanes Irene and Andrew. There we sat out another front, this one lasting 2 days. With extra strong snubber lines and a good hook attached to the mooring we sat through 38 knot winds. On the 3rd day, we felt comfortable enough to leave Bagan on the mooring and explore the settlement of Hatchet Bay. It is not a very prosperous town, but clean and people were very friendly.

We are now in Rock Sound Harbour, in south Eleuthera. It is a huge protected bay fringed by the Rock Sound Airport and Settlement. The winds have been relatively calm for 3 days, so we have taken advantage of it and explored the area by car and on foot. We drove to Governor's Harbour, the original capital of Bahamas. It is more like a small colonial town with larger homes, more shops and services. Many expats make their homes here, so it appears to be more affluent than most other Bahamian settlements we have seen. Rock Sound Settlement is also very clean and appears to be more prosperous. People are friendly and helpful. We walked across the island to a restaurant on the Atlantic side and met the lovely proprietor of the restaurant and inn. Food was wonderful and she even drove us back to town and showed us some of the sights on our way.

Tomorrow we head north 78 nautical miles to Spanish Wells to await the arrival of our good friends Deb and Darryl from BC and later on Leia, Andrew and the boys. It will be an early start tomorrow. Another front arrives on Tuesday and supposed to last through Saturday. Good thing we are in a well-protected marina. Winds are forecast to hit 40+ knots. There are only 20 moorings in the area and only 1 is sufficient for Bagan. The closest anchorage is several hours away.

A bit of news. We have decided that we would like to return to the Pacific Northwest to continue our cruising there. We will sell Bagan in Florida and purchase another capable of cruising to Alaska. Our tenant in Nanaimo is vacating the apartment in March. We really look forward to coming home, seeing everyone and establishing ourselves in our new home. After Eleuthera, we plan to cruise to the Abacos and then make our way back to Palm Beach Gardens. The current plan is to be in BC sometime in July, after visiting family in Ontario.

That's it for today. Keep in touch!!