The day after the big day trip and instead of rain it is blowing. We keep trying to use the rain to fill the water tanks and I'm sure we put some gallons in but didn't fill them to overflowing which with the downpour was what I was hoping. Regardless, every little bit helps.

We are still in recover mode from yesterday's trip. Besides the excitement and thrill of the ferry ride flashing by so close to the beaches and shore there was also the fact that we were well and truly soaked. We spent most of yesterday evening bundled up in our cabin trying to stave off any sort of cold or flu.

The wind picked up during the night and has clocked around 90 degrees and is forecast to continue to do so. I am really thankful to be on the dock, cost be damned. I hope the moorings in the east end of the harbour are solid so the folks that left here to go down to them are safe and even more there are a half dozen boats out at the anchorage just outside the harbour in the sound. I hope all of them are ok and will continue to be as the winds are supposed to go higher today and tomorrow. Looking at the forecasts it would appear that we may not get away until Monday now. Sheesh! Not absolutely sure what we are going to do. We will have to watch the weather closely and make up our minds on the day before departure.

I am thinking that when we head back up from wherever we end up south of here we will go up the east side of Andros and explore that island a bit. It is the largest of the Bahamian Islands and the least populated and is one place that Barry and Marcia have not been. It'd be nice if we could guide them somewhere down here for a change. Then we could check out New Providence. Not really interested in Nassau but it might be fun to sail past, and then we could check out some of the anchorages in the Berrys before going over to Bimini to await a clear shot across to the U.S. I am thinking that I'd like to get to Indian Town no later than the first week in April.

We have been watching some of the fishing boats poodle around from one dock to the next today. Spanish Wells is the centre of the Bahamian lobster fishing industry and although it isn't doing as much for the community as it did twenty years ago it is still a major factor in the local economy. The nature of the fishery is fascinating. There are two "camps" - the trap camp, who stake out real estate to set their traps which look a lot like to ones the lobster fishery uses back home in Atlantic Canada. In the area around where they set their traps they seed the bottom with old tires, engine blocks, refrigerators, wrecked cars, etc to make lobster or crawfish condos to attract the little crustaceans to the vicinity of their traps. The other camp is the ones that use large trawlers and otter boards to pull a drag along the bottom and haul up their catch. I can only imagine the damage it does to the coral etc. but it is the most efficient from a catch ratio perspective.

The wind has significantly picked up at 1300 and is fairly howling through the rigging. It's good we are here at the dock. I feel safe, Nelleke is comfortable, and I don't have to worry about Barb or being able to sleep at night for fear that the anchor might be dragging. I know I'm a bit of a wuss, but the boat is a pretty big investment and there is also the little thing of our safety.

On another positive note regarding Spanish Wells - I know I have been talking about all of the facilities and resources available for boaters here, but I may not have emphasized enough the small engine mechanics. The Suzuki dealer has been treating Suki and it looks like she is going to be re-entering the lineup. He has found the problem and although he didn't have the parts available in his shop to fix them, he did have a Johnson 2.5 hp outboard ( I didn't realize that Suzuki basically took over Johnson so the outboards are essentially the same thing) so he cannibalized his old motor to get the necessary part. I'll let you know tomorrow the cost.