The Atlantic Gulf Stream waters sparkled in the sun as we motored across to Bimini

Toby's favorite pastime on good crossings is to snuggle in George's lap any time he sits down. Just what you want on a hot day with the sun streaming in is to have a warm hairy dog on top of you.

We launched a message in a bottle from the axis of the Gulf Stream. We hope it travels far and that someone finds it and contacts us. It will probably end up on a shore in New Jersey somewhere and we will get a citation for littering.

Conditions continued to get milder as the day progressed. Soon there were few ripples on the water and only the long period swell to rock the boat a little. Perfect conditions if you like to motor. George always wishes for a favorable wind to sail.

Bimini has beautiful beaches along the Atlantic side.

We chose not to sample the local night life at High Rollers although the music and voices from inside sounded like they were having fun.

A sea plane took off in the channel with Sunspot Baby in the foreground.

She lifted off and headed away. It made us think of the days when Chalks Airline flew regular sea plane service here and other places in the Bahamas.

Speaking of liftoffs, this pelican is certainly more graceful taking flight than landing.

Leaving Bimini we traveled in the company of Syrena, a boat from the Toronto area.

We had enough wind to sail most of the way but not enough to make really good time. Toby enjoys the breeze and lets his ears fly in the wind.

We arrived at Nassau just about sunrise and received permission to enter and transit through the harbor from west to east.

Nassau in the morning light was lovely

George shuts the engines down about every 12 hours to check oil and just have a look to see that everything seems normal. After passing through the harbor he shut them down one at a time. The port engine refused to restart. After a period of trouble shooting, he decided the starter was drawing too many amps. We carry a spare so he decided to swap it out. Lynn asked if it would be hard. He told her it was not complex but physically demanding. After getting the new starter, the engine starts fine.

After spending one night at Shroud Cay we proceeded to Warderick Wells and Exuma Park HQ. A bananaquit came to welcome us. Lynn treated it to a little sugar. Now they check us out often but don't land near Toby.

Our arrival was in time for the usual Saturday nigh happy hour on the beach. This year it was unusual because it was New Year's Eve. Turn out was sparse because there just weren't that many boats here. We have never seen so many empty mooring balls.

An uninvited guest at the happy hour was this hutia. They have been protecting this small rodent because it was thought to be endangered. Well they are prospering beyond all expectations and are becoming quite bold. At least it looks more like a Guinea Pig than a rat.

We made our pilgrimage up Boo Boo Hill today. Lynn wanted a shot of me with this sign.

Our name board is still there. We brought it down the hill to add additional years of visits. We were here (barely) in 2011 and now 2012. Two more years to add.

Sunspot Baby in the north anchorage.

One of my pictures of nothing. These are planks in an old boat dead on the beach.

Lynn does the vast majority of cooking, but on occaision George grills or takes over the galley. In this shot he is making his famous penne ala norcina.

As Mooring Field Hosts, we act as eyes and ears for the Park in remote mooring fields, collect fees, hand out information, etc. It saves the Park a lot of trips in their boats and saves them $$. Here is the Warden Henry and BDF Military Policeman Forbes on one of their occasional stops.

It's not all work and no play. We are in a beautiful area. This is Bell Rock on the sound side of Cambridge Cay.

We walked the beach but since the Park is a total no take zone, the only thing we collected was flotsam trash for later pick up by the staff.

Captain and crew of Sea Star came by Sunspot Baby for a chat. We snapped their picture as they headed back to the boat at sunset.

We shoot a lot of sunsets. For a change we took a full moon set.

Most sunsets are seen from Sunspot Baby but this one is from the beach.

Sometimes hosting means just that. When we have several boats in the area, we organize happy hours on the beach. We are posting two pictures so that both Lynn and George can be in the shot. We didn't set up a camera on delay. No place to set it.

We, of course, see lots of other boats. Sometimes we are able to get a good shot of which we can later give them a copy. This is Sampatecho flying the spinnaker. We don't see many cruisers going to the work of deploying the chute.

This is Alechemy, another Northwest Creek Marina boat. Nice to see them and chat a bit on the radio.

A lot of big power boats have fly bridges giving a great view from high up. I think this may be the Bahamian version :-)

Thanks to you both for all your work on BASRA and for cruisers in general.

At the Emerald Rock mooring field we took Toby for a much deserved beach walk.

From the beach we can see Sunspot Baby offset by the clouds driven by the frontal passage we will ride out here. In the lee of the island it is comfortable but the seas are up out on the banks and even more on the sound.

There is no such thing as a typical year. One thing about this one so far is the number of days with favorable wind, velocity and direction, for sailing. From Warderick Wells to Big Major we were on a pretty tight reach. Lynn snapped this shot of all three sails out. Soon after we were pointed high enough that my Genoa couldn't be trimmed in enough to do us any good so we stowed it and used the stays'l and main which can actually be trimmed upwind of the centerline.

While at Big Major's Spot we got frequent rain showers and the accompanying clouds. Thus we were deprived of the often spectacular sunsets. On this night the sun found a slit in the clouds showing its face briefly before slipping behind the next layer and then the horizon.

Moving from Big Major's to Staniel Cay we met our good friend Bruce aboard his boat Zingara.

While in Staniel we rented a golf cart to help with some shopping and for a brief island tour.  The golf cart rental is at the ultramodern airport, with a plane in the background.

We stopped for lunch at Taste and See for lunch. George waits patiently for his cracked conch lunch

The lunch tasted as good as it looked and was worth the wait.  Cracked conch with its typical sauce, peas and rice, fried plantain, and (something unusual...a nice salad).

This string of islands contains the famous underwater Thunderball Grotto used in the James Bond film Thunderball and several other movies.

Lynn liked the colorful house and flowers complementing each other.

Talk about a "mom and pop" shop. The Blue Store on Staniel is run by the Burkes, together over 50 years. We are not far behind them time wise. Lynn calls this her "Bahamian Gothic."

George poses outside the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. No membership required.

Sometimes it's not the clear water and lovely reefs that draw us to a location. It could just be a nice Laundromat.

Bahamian soil is poor so those wanting a nice yard do "pot gardening."

When the mail boat comes in the whole village turns out to get their shipments. Then they rush to the stores to buy fresh porduce.

We had a full moon while in Black Point. The first photo is a full moon rise. The second is the moon set the next morning.

George searching for our parts shipment at the airport customs office.

While out and about we stopped at Bid D's Conch Shack for lunch.

The beach at Big D's

We are moored near the Chat n' Chill. The beach is the center of most regatta activities and there are always kids playing in the trees.

Beach Church Congregation

The Choir

Fellowship and goodies after

Recreation on the beach. George playing volleyball. Notice the poles holding the nets are sailboat masts.

Lynn playing scrabble. Why are they holding their heads? Does it hurt that much?

A stowaway? Nope, it's Miss Piggy, headed out on KB's boat to be the guest of honor at his Chat & Chill BBQ.

We talk about being in Hole #2 but here you can see it. We come up a cut from Elizabeth Harbor into Gaviota Bay or Hole 1 open only to the west, then turn left into Hole 2 and are protected from 360 degrees. Very comfortable even in a big blow. Many boats ride our hurricanes here.

Because there are so many, I have made a separate cell for them.

Notice the smug look on the boy's face in the last one as the candy begins to spill out.

Monday was opening night for Regatta activities. Here the crowd is gathering.

An early activity is a pet parade. Here a pet and owner are getting ready

At sunset the conch horn orcheastra performs. Here our friend Barbara from Kumbaya participates.

There are a few talented acts and a load of silliness. Caution Seniors At Play. This is a Miss Bimbette contest.

After the show, there is dancing on the beach.

Beth and Dave from Grateful Attitudes came for sundowners early and Beth went up the  mast to do three small jobs. George is not at all comfortable if he gets about 2' above the deck. When you have a phobia, it's extra nice to have friends.

We went to town on Thursday, March 1 which was also the date of the In-Harbor Race of the Cruisers Regatta. The course to the jibe mark took the racers right down the beach and through the 100 plus boats anchored there. That makes this leg not only a race but an obstacle course.

In town on March 1 we ate at a new deli named Driftwood Cafe. From the door Lynn shot this picture of the gift shop next door and the Peace and Plenty Inn across the street. All the bright Bahamian colors and the clear day make this scene just sparkle.

We really missed our wind generator after it broke. We were able to buy two spoiled units and salvaged the parts we needed for ours. It now sports a new hub and blades on the outside and new bearings inside.

I couldn't get the picture I wanted a little after dusk. Without a flash you couldn't see the blades and with a flash you couldn't tell it was turning and/or see the background. I cheated and combined the two in photo shop, This is the result.

Beach Golf Pro Shop. Pick the weapon of your choice. George used a 9, Lynn a 6 iron.

The coconuts mark the tee box. Lynn is teed up and ready.

This is George after he blasted out of the water and almost made it to dry sand. Good enough, he made the green from here.

We got the idea for the Family Reunion Model Boat Regatta from the Cruisers Regatta a couple of years ago. The first picture is the fastest boat and you can tell it wasn't thrown together at the last minute.

The following are our judgment for other distinctions:

The most basic boat

The smallest boat.

The prettiest boat or is it just because the sails match her swim suit? This boat shared the same fate as Katies. Too much sail, not enough ballast.

A sand sculpture contest on the beach. Our favorites were the Sea Turtle.

And, Sand Gator

Perfect beach attire. I don't not think, however, I will adapt to this style.

There are a lot of families and kids here this year, but this sign says it all. At least we recycle. Note the stacks of empties in the background.

Lynn has been planning to take me to dinner for my birthday. Looks like we won't be near any settlements when the time comes so we celebrated early at the St. Francis Resort. Our boat is moored in the hole behind us.

We have had more rain than normal this year, but when we really needed it to fill our tanks, it didn't come. As soon as we paid for water, we started getting nice showers and occasional squall. The rainbow is natures way of saying "Sorry I was a little late."

Lynn often thinks her hair look wild but after riding in the dinghy to and from town in 15+ knot winds she was right. I was surprised she gave me the wild woman look and didn't make me delete the picture.