Bahamas !!!

We sailed down to Green Turtle Cay, one of the target Cays in the Abacos. We found this great little harbor (OK, after 20 people told us about it). In there, we found the Green Turtle Marina which had a special deal - stay at the marina and all charges for food and drink offset the marina charge. It's like eating and drinking for free - which makes Jenée very happy! You can see Jungle over her right shoulder. Right shoulder!

Jenée wasn't sure the shots of us sailing trough this beautiful water would do it justice. You decide. The water here is on average 7-8 foot deep with a sandy bottom . This part of the Abacos Sea is in the Grand Bahama Bank and one of the reasons why people come to the Bahamas. The other thing we noticed is that there are so many islands to choose from (800) that you are many times alone - fantastic for me as I hate people.

And why am I so happy? Jenée and I wrapped up our backup main sail which is about 600 sq. ft. into this tiny package and we did it all on deck! Our original attempt had this at three times the size. On a boat, even on our big cruiser, space is everything. Next up, I'll take you through my ideas for effective deployment of Tupperware on board.

You can shoot me now.

And our next course took us around to the next island - Little Grand Cay. We ended up spending the night in this little harbor and had a great dinner at Rosie's Place. Conch for me, lobster for Jenée. We met up with a couple of sailors - Carol and Alex who've been sailing around for 5 years. They hail from - Southern Cal - small world.

The Admiral is quite happy, even though she hasn't slept a wink on the passage. Jenée is busy plotting out our next course.

Ahh, this is why we go through all the trouble. We pulled into Walker Cay (pronounced Key) at 10 AM to clear into paradise. All is well.

Well, our crossing was quite exciting. The distance was some 80 miles and crossed the Gulf Stream at one of her strongest points. We had a brisk 20-25 knot tail wind from the west, which combined with the fast flowing, northerly Gulf Stream makes for big swells (6-8 feet) pounding us from our side. Fun times. At one point, Jenée and Katie went flying off the couch below, while attempting to sleep - kinda like a magic carpet ride! Here Katie surrenders to the elements and just tries to brave her way through - inspiration to us all.

This is the last shot of Jungle in US waters for the next 1-2 years as we sail forward. This shot is courtesy of Tom Brennan.

Here's Jungle pointing east out of the Ft. Pierce inlet. To catch everyone up to speed, we are embarking on the next major leg of our journey. Destination: Mediterranean. We'll get there via the following route: Bahamas - Britsh Virgin Islands (BVI) - Bermuda - Azores - Portugal. We've got some friends to help us along the way and to visit with on the way. We'll spend a month in the Bahamas before Departing the BVI on May 5 and arrive Lagos, Portugal around June 19. We are traveling with 30 other like minded numbskulls, with an organization called ARC Europe. This org. handles all facets of safety, communication, events at various spots, etc. ARC makes the crossing as safe and fun as possible.

Tom lives nearby with wife Morganna and family. As usual, Tom was a great help, driving me around for may last minute stops. Not only that, Tom bought dinner for Jenée and me. Now that's a pal. It was great catching up with Tom.

We made it to our launching point for the Bahamas - Ft. Pierce. Our boat buddies, Charlie and Saundra Gray gave us the helpful advice that allows us to make a straight, overnight shot to the northern most point of the Bahamas, Walker Cay in the Abacos Islands. Charlie and Saundra have already sailed around the world and have been a great inspiration to Jenée and I - great couple.

Back in Ft. Pierce, we meet up with my ole buddy, Tom Brennan. Tommy and I met at the age of 3 1/2 - now that's going back a ways. Tom has always been my sixth brother, and we argue just the same.