As I mentioned yesterday we are on a mooring at Hope Town and while yesterday was idyllic today we are hunkering down for a gale - chaff protection on the lines, tie down the bimini, stow all lose gear and make sure that we have the outboard aboard and the dingy up in the davits. We watched in amazement as a couple of boats left here this morning and I can only hope that they were only going as far as Man-o-War or Guana Cay where they can get some shelter although if it were me, I think that of all the harbours that we have been to so far, I would prefer MOW or Hope Town. We got lucky with Patty Jean as she was able to pick up one of the moorings vacated and avoid being aground as she was yesterday for at least 50% of the tide cycle.

The internet connection here is really bad, by the way. I can get on and get a connection but the speed is GLACIAL!

We went into Captain Jack's, a bar and grill for breakfast, the real kind with eggs and sausages etc., and then to the bank where I was able to withdraw some cash. Praise be! One of the things about cruising in the Bahamas is that if you are in the Cays there is almost never an ATM. Reason? By law they have to be serviced every 24 hours and out in the islands that is not practical. Combine that with the fact that the banks are only open for four hours once a week and you are faced with a cash flow issue. Many businesses don't accept credit cards and they don't always advertise the fact. Today we did get some moolah and were able to buy some much needed cat litter (Thank heavens! If I got one more whiff of the litter box I would have held Al out over the side and squeezed him two or three times a day to empty him out.

Then we came back to Nelleke to do one more check and wait for the storm. Barb isn't feeling very well - some sort of flu bug - so this does not promise to be a fun night for her, or me either. I am just glad that we don't both have it. As it is I probably won't get a lot of sleep, worrying as I do about everything about the boat and everyone aboard.

As I finish today's post at around five o'clock in the evening the wind has picked up and we are gently rocking at the mooring. The most worrisome thing about tonight is not if the mooring is going to hold since I have looked at it and it is really built for the worst of conditions, but rather for the fact that we are so closely packed together. Patty Jean for example is less than twenty feet off our stern. Barb is still feeling crappy so she won't be going over for dinner but I might for a short while and then come back to make sure that she is OK. Throughout the day I have been bringing her cups of tea, bottles of water, and cold cloths. For two pins I'd stay here but she has told me to head on over.