At least that's what Ford Prefect said in Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy! We have developed a new blog at a new and different url. And so we are saying goodby to sailblogs....couldn't get it to upload more than 1 picture per post and couldn't upload video.

So, if you are interested in following our shenanigans go to http://straightfromtheheartadventures.wordpress.com/.

Thanks for following our blog...the new one is even better :)

We departed Landrail Point at the northernmost tip of Crooked Island at sunrise rounded a most beautiful (non-working) lighthouse at Bird Rock and pointed the boat southeast. After a pleasant 27 hour motor sail we arrived at Southside Marina in Providentiales. Shevrin, our laidback Customs & Immigration Officer, came to the boat and cleared us in.

We chatted for over an hour about his family, that there are actually two clusters of islands--the Caicos and the Turks and 'don't be callin somebody from the Caicos a Turk!' He told us about his mom, still living on Middle Caicos, and at 70 years old she still teaches school and operates a produce farm. A nice welcome to the island.

Shevrin said welcome to Provo. The actual name of the island AND the town is Providentiales but as he said, "jus say Provo mon, don't hurt your tongue!"

The photo is looking out of the narrow marina entrance toward the Caicos Banks.

After nearly 3 wonderful weeks we left the Bight of Acklins and sailed (yes, that's right, the thing you do with the sails out and the engine OFF) up to the tip top of Crooked Island. It is time to leave the Bahamas and part with our good friends that we have been traveling with since Georgetown. We are anchored here at Landrail Point tonight under a bazillion stars and will leave in the morning for the 24 hour passage to Provo, Turks & Caicos.

Today was a red letter day at sea! Don caught a lovely wahoo and is as excited as a little kid that just got his first bicycle! When he landed him we both looked at the fish, looked in our fish identification book and couldn't figure outnwhat it was. Fortunately for us Bruce and Gina on DreamCatcher changed their sailing plan for the day and wound up in the same anchorage. Bruce came over, confirmed it was a wahoo, showed Don how to fillet it and we have a bunch of fish in the freezer, even after giving some to Bruce to thank him for his assistance. Yippee. The 6 year long curse of catching only Barracuda has been lifted. Thank you Lord!

P.S. the cats took one look/sniff and could have cared less about the catch. All the more for us!

We left Georgetown 18 days ago and went to the outback. The Crooked/Acklind District, as it's called, has been a learning experience. The remoteness of the vast area makes us remember the degree of self-reliance necessary for this type lifestyle. No "help" to call, no services to access, hell..the phones didn't even work on most of Acklins Island. It was over a month between mailboat deliveries but that's OK, once the boat did arrive, the islanders took the crates off the boat and sold their contents right there on the jetty.

We knew how long it had been since the islanders were able to get fresh food so we let them buy first, even after their urging that we should go first, as guests. We scored 4 bananas, 2 onions, a cabbage and a couple pieces of fruit. It was like christmas!

We rented a car one day with our friends on DreamCatcher and HoldFast. Well, actually the school bus driver "loaned" us his wife's car while she was off island. There are no rental cars here. We had a fun day seeing the beautiful coast line, reefs, abandoned salt ponds and a few tiny settlements. We went to the one grocery but they were out of anything fresh and many canned goods.

At last we found theone restaurant on Acklins: Club Rollex. I think we surprised the few people in the restaurant when 6 Yankees walked through the door. But they warmly welcomed us and made a fine lunch. The picture here is of our lunch bill, who needs a real sales ticket when you have a napkin....6 lunches, a few beers, waters and sodas: $70. Having lunch at Club Rollex on Acklins Island: priceless.

The most difficult part of being here has been too much time on the boat. It may sound funny since we live on a boat but not being able to get off the boat but twice in 18 days has been difficult. The wind and squalls just kept coming day after day. Add to that no internet, until today! Anyway, we have enjoyed our time here with our friends but now it is getting near time to split up and go our separate ways. We will stage off Long Cay and leave for the Turks & Caicos by the end of the week....hopefully.

We left the Georgetown area about 7 days ago and made our way down the western side of Long Island then crossed the Crooked Island Passage. We did all that to get to a very remote area of the south eastern Bahamas-- the Crooked Island District.

We arrived Sunday afternoon in company of Myron & Dena on Hold Fast. We anchored off Long Cay, home to MANY flamingoes and 60 people. A couple days ago we sailed east across the Bight of Acklins to anchor on the western shore of Acklins Island. We are hunkering down for a blow expected of over a week of 25-30 kts with not the best protection but it's the best we have.

The tiny settlement here called Spring Point is in a pretty bad way. They haven't had a mail boat stop since New Years and are running out of fuel for their stoves, gas for their cars, fishing boats and generators. Food is running out AND the Batelco tower has been out of service for weeks so no phone service or internet. We feel bad for them and not just because they are the most friendly Bahamians we have met. They are subsistence farmers and fishermen and welcome you with open arms into their homes and lives.

We were anchored in Delectable Bay just off Cord o Wood Point. Today we moved up to Snug Corner...better holding but shallower water and we are close to friends. Just south of us is Lovely Bay. What's not to like? Looks like we will be here awhile.

A note on the Bight of Acklins: there are about 560 people who live here who are spread out over 3 islands. The Bight itself is over 1,000 square miles. Today we talked on the VHF radio to the other boats spread around the bight. Including us there are 9 boats anchored in various places. We were told by a boat that frequents the area that it is unprecented to have this many boats at one time! The way we figure it is if we divide the bight's area up evenly we should each have about 111 square miles to play in. Hopefully we won't crowd the other 8 boats too much!!

The picture is not related, just thought it was cute

Happy anniversary to us! One month but who is counting? We have truly been having a wonderful time. Once the weather broke (briefly) several of our friends started arriving in the harbor. So, we have been socializing a bunch with Bruce & Gina on DreamCatcher, Myron & Dena on Hold Fast, Curt & Kathy on Five & Dime, Jim & Cris on ULLR, Gary & Martha on Cool Change, Matt & Marti on Runaway, Craig & Cris on Tilt and Dave & Jackie on Tempo. Meeting new friends and catching up with old friends is what this lifestyle is all about. It will be hard to leave the harbor and hard to say goodby as others leave ahead of us. So we usually don't say goodby but rather "See you somewhere." It's amazing how often that comes true.

Speaking of friends (and family) here is a pic of the group that attended our wedding. You are all near and dear to our hearts and when we look at pictures like this we will always and forever smile! Here is a link to a photo album for those of you want more pictures! https://plus.google.com/app/basic/photos/106627793840849696817/album/5830003888230378625?authkey=CJKN8suGt8bHQQ&banner=pwa&gpsrc=pwrd1