Our routine of working on the boat while in a slip at Old Bahama Bay was becoming routine but it was a routine I LOVED! So many interesting people came and went and we gleaned whatever information we could from the 'yachties' ... the best weather web sites, how to watch for a weather window and the best way to enter the sea of Abaco. Sharing cocktails, tools and stories, I felt we were giving as much as receiving and, although the learning curve was rather steep, James and I were LOVING it.

I was supposed to fly out of Marsh Harbour at the beginning of the second week but the GPS antenna and depth transducer hadn't shown up yet and we weren't moving. So... I changed my flight to leave from Freeport. Sad that I wasn't going to be able to do much cruising with my newly acquired and just as newly injured 'Island Girl', I bit the bullet and headed for home. Back to 40 degree nights, black flies and my younger daughter's senior prom. I wouldn't have missed the last one for the world.

There's only so much one can do after a lightning strike to get the basics back on line. We called Bradford Marine out of Freeport and they sent out a 'marine electrical specialist' but we'd already determined the extent of the damage... everything electrical (including every light bulb aboard!).

We ordered a new GPS antenna (hoping the GPS unit was still ok (the radar didn't even power up!) and a hand held depth sounder. Neither the Robertson Autopilot nor the Datamarine 5000 would even respond. Having to clear customs, the equipment took a few days to arrive. In the meantime, the crew rented a scooter and ran errands in town. We scored a new VHF antenna and coax cable to try to remedy the radio problem. After spending the better part of the morning atop the mast, James determined that it was a lost cause without an entirely new cable up the mast.

What could we do? Work in the mornings and RELAX in the afternoons! Lie by the pool, snorkel in the bay, eat drink and be merry! On this God- Forsaken Island! ;-)

Motoring and sailing down the ICW was a blast and by 8 pm the 19th, we were ready for our first anchorage. After a great meal and a peaceful evening tucked in behind an island, we hit the rack only to be off by 6 the next morning.

We'd been dealing with 4 days of northerlies and enjoyed one day of relative calm. James had been keeping an eye on the weather and had determined that a night crossing from West Palm might be the smoothest we could hope for.

We motored out of Lake Worth Inlet at 12:30 AM, April 21th and set sail for the Bahamas. With the winds blowing from the south and lots of moonlight, it was a smooth ride across. I've sailed in the Caribbean before and love the turquoise color but when I stood my early morning watch, I couldn't believe the beautiful deep sapphire blue color of the Gulf Stream.

We cleared customs at West End on Grand Bahama Island the morning of the 21st and took a little break before we decided to sail north to Memory Rock. On our way, we determined that we wouldn't have enough energy or daylight to make it to a safe anchorage so we turned back to West End for some R&R.

Maggie and Aaron took the inflatable ashore that evening and enjoyed the amenities that Old Bahama Bay had to offer. James and I caught up on much-needed snuggle and snooze time and kept an eye on a current-ridden anchorage.

By morning we'd decided a day or 2 of rest would be good for all of us. We all went ashore and enjoyed the resort.

Dawn: 6:30 Major squall. High winds and HAIL the size of my thumbnail! We don't even see this kind of S#%* in April in MAINE! Thunder and Lightning! Crash, Bang then POP! We got hit by a bolt of lightning. After determining that everyone was OK but that all our electronics were zapped we had to assess our position. Outside the harbor in the shallows with no GPS, only charts (yeah, I know, like the olden days) we decided to get a slip in the marina to try to fix what we could before moving on. James (Mr. Grace under fire) decided we should rename Island Girl to Lucky Strike! How 'bout renaming the dinghy L'il Sparky?

After months of searching for the perfect boat, James and I settled on an Ericson 34. We had to compromise (which meant that James had to compromise). I wanted a summer cottage with a 360' water view and James wanted to sail to Antarctica. At 34' 10" and a (somewhat) shallow draft (not to mention a double stainless steel sink), this boat was fast and sleek and within our price range.

James flew from Maine to Florida in February (hmmm, what a hardship) for a sea trial and haul out with the marine surveyor and before long, 'Island Girl' was ours.

On April 15th, James and I boarded Island Girl and worked diligently to prepare her for a long journey north. After installing a brand new GPS with integrated Radar and 3 days of provisioning and organizing, we were ready. The rest of the crew flew in on the 18th and the afternoon of the 19th we set sail for Maine by way of the Bahamas.