Some time ago I wrote about Bahamas weather, and noted that it seemed easier to predict than ours at home. Forecasts out as far as five days held true! Well, forget I ever said that. On Thursday, we woke up in Governor's Harbour to listen, as usual, to Chris Parker's weather forecast, and heard him tell us, and everyone listening, that there had been a major change in the forecast overnight. Since leaving Long Island, we had been running up the western coast of, first, Cat Island, then Eleuthera, a total distance of about 120 miles. With the normal winds from the eastern direction, running up the western shore means that you are running up the protected lee side of the island, giving pleasant sailing in most wind conditions. But the converse it true too! There is only one harbour that offers any protection from western winds, Rock Sound, in southern Eleuthera. So when Chris told us that the wind was going to swing to the west and blow, we knew it was time to make a run for it! So we left Governor's Harbour at 7:30 am on Thursday and headed up to Royal Island, about 60 miles away. And the wind did clock into the west, coming up about mid-morning to about 15-18 knots, so we actually had a nice sail up. But , and there's always a "but", at the top of Eleuthera, to get to Royal Island, you have to pass through a particularly tricky cut called simply, "Current Cut". Looking at the tide tables, which are only a guess for anywhere but Nassau, we thought we could time our arrival for just about slack high water. We missed it by an hour or so, and were whisked through going 4 knots through the water, but propelled up to 9 knots by a 5 knot ebbing current. But there was only one tricky section that we managed without incident. From there it was a nice sail across the last 9 miles to Royal Island. Royal Island has a very well protected anchorage where we dropped anchor in mid-afternoon. We were disappointed to have to leave Governor's Harbour and Eleuthera so quickly, as there were other areas we were hoping to see. But we did have a nice walk ashore the evening before we left. As we travel north, we can see a distinct trend in the economy. Each community is increasingly better off than the its southerly neighbor. And Governor's Harbour was no exception. Coupled with that, the bougainvillia shrubs are all in full bloom, and are everywhere draping their bright colours over walls and onto the streets and walks. And the nicer homes, all gaily painted just add to the beauty of the place. Royal Island is different. In the Bahamas, it is quite common to see either an old abandoned estate or development, or a new one under construction, but Royal Island has both. The crumbling ruins of what must have been a very beautiful summer estate when it was built in the 1930's stands next to the huge clearing where a new resort and marina is under construction. The island is only about 3 miles long and 1/2 mile wide, but has a perfectly formed harbour in the center with a small opening for boats to get in to. So by the time we return, I expect that we will be faced with not the remote quiet anchorage we had this year, but a bust resort that may or may not tolerate cruisers. But that's progress, I guess... Near Royal Island are two major (by Bahamain standards) communities, Spanish Wells and Harbour Island. Spanish Wells is only 5 miles from Royal Island, and Harbour Island is just 10 miles further on. Because we wanted to see both, and are looking at a weather window to cross to the Abacos on Monday, we ran down to Spanish Wells yesterday (Good Friday). It is a small and busy harbour with a large fishing fleet, and no room to anchor, so we rented a mooring for two nights. We left Royal Island in early afternoon, after the squalls and rain passed through, and motored the short distance down. Picking up our mooring, we then headed ashore and walked around the Island. There are a few things that strike you immediately on going ashore. Once again we have seen an increase in the standard of living, but this time it is a quantum leap! Spanish Wells fishing fleet consists of million dollar ships that supply the Red Lobster chain with its Caribbean lobster. And the fishermen have homes to match their boats. It is a very nice, but an unusual town. Last year someone opened a liquor store, but a bylaw shut it down. No liquor is sold on the island. Today we were walking down the road past the store, and saw the door ajar, so went in. "Hello!" we called... no answer. We repeated it a few times as we walked through the store, checking out the cold beer inventory, and all the details. No one appeared. We called a few more times, but after 10 minutes, no one showed up, so we left. I shut the door behind us. Today (Saturday) we caught the high speed ferry over to Harbour Island. Harbour Island is just the opposite to Spanish Wells. Very touristy, and very upper end. Mega yachts and fancy resorts, intermingled with some very nice summer homes, both old and new. Fun for a day, but that's it. Check it out on the internet (it may be under Dunsmore Town). Try Pink Sands Hotel. We didn't take our boat over because the route is referred to as "The Devil's Backbone" and with good reason. We were on a high speed catamaran ferry, and watching it weave between the reefs which constitute the backbone was impressive. At times we were less than 100' off the shore, running at 25 knots in a full sized ferry. Most cruisers who do go take on a pilot. But we chose to just do a day trip. It was great fun, but I think we did it right, as we were ready to leave just as the ferry was ready to go. This town, Spanish Wells, is a working town, and we actually enjoy it more than the very touristy Harbour Island. Tomorrow we will go back up to Royal Island and plan to cross to the Abacos, the most northerly group of Bahamas islands, on Wednesday. We plan to spend only a few days there waiting for a weather window to head back to the US, probably arriving at Port Canaveral, Fla. Its about 140 miles, or a long overnighter.