We started the month of December 1987 somewhere in the Straits of Florida one and a half hours out of Miami and heading for West End, Grand Bahama. Light winds out of the west-northwest and full working sail. By eight thirty in the morning we had spotted the water tower at West End but the wind was veering and heading us so we started the motor, entering the marina at eight thirty. Bahamas Customs and Immigration have established an office at the marina, but as they split their time between here and the airport they still charge five bucks apiece for "travel". There is also a new charge of ten dollars for a fishing licence if you intend to troll a line or go spear fishing. This is part of a whole series of fishing regulations that have been introduced to aid conservation and that are being strictly enforced. Pamphlets are available from customs. Once clear of officials (none of whom came near Oborea) we spent the next two and a half days crossing the Little Bahama Bank under overcast skies and mainly light winds with stops at Mangrove and Little Sale cays to Allens-Pensacola cay where we rode out a weak "Norther". From here we went on to Green Turtle cay (arriving two months to the day after we left Toronto), Great Guana cay and finally Marsh Harbour. At Marsh Harbour we booked a flight back to Canada in nine days time and then spent a week doing a quick tour of the Hub of Abaco. We sailed first to Little Harbour where we renewed acquaintances with old friends. Pete's Pub which burnt down about a year ago has not yet been rebuilt, but there are plans. There is also a road into Little Harbour now (actually we would consider it more of a logging trail) so it is no longer as isolated as it was. I am not sure that this is a good idea. We did a bit of fishing in the Bight of Old Robinson and then sailed to Hope Town on Elbow Cay where we made arrangements with Truman Majors to look after Oborea. From here we completed our circuit through Man O'War and Marsh Harbour and then back to Hope Town where we picked up our mooring below the candy striped lighthouse on the fifteenth of December and prepared Oborea for her three months rest. We had travelled 2,300 miles from Toronto in seventy one days... * * * * * * * * * * * March 8th 1988 Arrived back in Hope Town, after riding three aircraft and a ferry from Toronto, to find Oborea afloat and in good order. The sides of the hull below the waterline were as clean as the day she went in last May (KL990) but where the antifouling was worn off, around the bows and bottom edges of the hulls and the leading edges of the skegs, there was a two inch growth of weed. Cleared out all the deck gear I had stowed in the cabin and went to bed. March 9th 1988 Bent on sails and had a brisk sail to Marsh Harbour (although the log read only two knots, there must be weed on the transducer). In Marsh Harbour I saw Four Winds the Horstman tri from Rochester, and Walt and Dottie aboard Illusion, friends of Margaret and Sian. March 14th 1988 At anchor waiting for a guest to arrive. I did an inventory of supplies, stocked up at the local supermarkets, collected eight gallons of rainwater in a "Norther" and generally kept busy. March 16th 1988 My crew arrived from Toronto, but so did another "Norther" so it was not until today that we were able to sail the eighteen miles to Little Harbour where we went over the side and cleaned the weed off the bottom. March 17th 1988 Winds from the north east at ten knots as we head south across the North East Providence Channel sixty miles to Royal Island. The wind gradually shifted to the east and became light so we had a slow passage of about twelve hours. Saw five large freighters and a cruise ship in the channel. March 19th 1988 At anchor at Royal Island waiting for favourable winds to continue south. Near us in the anchorage is the Finnclipper Jacaranda of Kingston, Ontario. This boat lives next door to the Moizer property in the Thousand Islands where we frequently hold the Wharram Sail-In. Small world! March 20th 1988 Sailed fifty miles due south across the shallow swimming pool coloured water to Allens Cay in the northern Exumas. Ike did some fishing along the way and had something that looked like a shark make off with his best lure. March 21st 1988 Spent the morning visiting the iguanas on Allens Cay and swimming over the reef before heading another fifteen miles south to Normans Cay. March 22nd 1988 Sunny and warm with strong east-northeast winds. Heading south at eight to ten knots under full mainsail and small jib. Left a Gemini catamaran standing! Opposite Big Opening we had to slow down to five or six knots because the short steep seas coming through the gaps in the reef were making things just too wet and uncomfortable. A mile short of Staniel Cay we passed Cirrus II at anchor and I talked to the crew on the radio. They had spent most of the winter in the Florida Keys and were now heading south, like us but at a more leisurely pace, down the Exumas to George Town. Stopped in three and a half feet of water at Staniel Cay and walked out the anchor on foot. March 24th 1988 Spent the next day at Staniel because of stiff winds out of the east, but as they continued today we decided to leave anyway. Under reefed mainsail we went to windward at eight knots in the lee of Great Guana Cay to Little Farmers Cay where we anchored next to a monohull that had recently spent time with Milliwaves in George Town. Next day the wind continued strong, and as our course would carry us across more open water we decided to stay put. March 27th 1988 Winds down to twenty knots so we set off south again and did a lot of tacking to end up at Childrens Bay Cay for the night. Next day the wind was down to ten knots and had backed to the east-northeast so we had a very pleasant sail of forty miles to George Town over the deep royal blue waters of Exuma Sound. Two miles out of George Town we heard our friends David and Neila of Windchime talking to other friends Rick and Kathy of Freedom on the radio so we joined in and were able to anchor near them at Stocking Island. We had last seen Windchime in November and Freedom in December. This is one of the real joys of cruising, encountering old friends. In the next cove we discovered another old friend, Milliwaves. Nicholas is now a nudist and Sandy has a large group of friends her own age to run around with so everyone is happy.

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