We made it to the Bahamas and are enjoying some wifi at a lovely marina on the east end of New Providence Island (the island where Nassau is located).  We traveled south to Key Largo in order to get a good angle on the wind and gulf stream.  We had heard that you should plan for the stream to push you north as much as one mile for every hour of travel, so we set a course for 10 miles south of Bimini.  Our boat travels at an average of six to seven knots and it is about 55 miles from Key Largo to Bimini.  After waiting for a good crossing day, we got one and it was worth the wait.  Leaving before light on Sunday, March 15, we headed through Angelfish Creek (on the north end of Key Largo) and out into the ocean.  We had scoped out the route a few days in advance, by going out the creek and laying a track and waypoints to follow so that we could do it in the dark.  Very worthwhile exercise!  Sharon drove and Greg used the spotlight to light up the navigational marks.  We watched the sunrise over the ocean and motor-sailed across to Bimini, making it in nine hours.  An uneventful crossing - just the way we wanted it for our first time.

After fueling and watering up at Blue Water Marina, Greg headed to customs to clear in.  Two hours later, we made our way out to the beach to anchor for the night.  With traffic coming and going, we set two anchors to reduce the rolling, enjoyed a swim and hit the sack.  Monday morning we headed out across the Great Bahama Bank.  Blue water for as far as you can see and no one around.  The Bank is about 12 feet deep and covers many miles.  The shallow water keeps the waves reasonably low.  A rain squall blew through and even that didn't churn up the water that much.

Covering 70 miles on Monday, we stopped near the end of the bank and anchored for the night near the Northwest Passage. This is where the 10 foot deep banks end and the 3000 foot deep "Tongue of the Ocean" begins. All alone, just us and the stars, it was an amazing night.  Tuesday, we headed out again making our way towards New Providence Island, where the city of Nassau is located.  Soon, we entered Northwest Passage and the water depth grew to over 8000 feet!  Covering 60 miles this day, we anchored in the West End of New Providence.  This was a tough anchorage.  We couldn't get the hook to set.  The bottom here is a light layer of sand over rock.  After lowering and raising our windlass (the motor that raises and lowers the big CQR anchor) we gave up and used our secondary anchor which requires manual dropping and raising.  This finally dug in enough to hold us.  We both donned snorkel, mask and fins and went to see how it looked.  In only 10 feet of water that is clear as your drinking water, it was easy to see.  The anchor was set, but not by much.  We both said - ok - looks good since there is no wind, but not sure it would hold in a blow.  Of course, by midnight, the wind was up and changed direction. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night - worrying about whether or not we were staying put.  We did stay put, but decided not to chance another night, so headed off to the East end of New Providence.  (while snorkeling to see the anchor, we saw tons of sand dollars, the puffy kind and large sea stars, as large as 12 inches wide, beautiful!)

Wednesday, we headed south around the island, planning a route to avoid rock and coral heads.  This took us off-shore about five miles then east and back in to Palm Cay Marina.  We needed a place to stay where we could pick up Sharon's sisters who are coming in on Friday for a week.  We had read about this place and it has not disappointed!  A beautiful new marina, club and community, offering wifi(!), a pool, beach, small restaurant, complementary laundry facilities and loaner car.  Absolutely lovely and very accommodating staff.  We are enjoying some land time and provisioning for our visitors.  Greg continues to work hard and has worked through his connectivity.  He is loving Skype!