30 April - Day 58. We jack hammer the anchor out of its concrete set and head towards the 'Whale'. Winds are 15-20kts from the ESE. Approaching the 'Whale' the seas build. Nothing outrageous but enough to keep the windshield wipers in continuous operation. We beat into 3-4' seas as we watch breakers pound the shoreline. It's a quick rounding and relief comes when we enter the lee of Great Guana Cay. A little over 20nm away is our first stop of the day Marsh Harbour. After almost two months underway it's time to reprovision. Two hours later we weigh anchor and wander SE towards Elbow Cay. On the way we come across our 1992 'crash site'. In November of 1992 we rented a bareboat from Sunsail and spent a week gunkholing here in the Sea of Abaco. Late in the afternoon on Friday, 20 November, we anchored on the SW side of Sugar Loaf Cay. There was a gale blowing from the ENE. During the night the anchor drug and we drifted, peacefully over 1nm to leeward. Then the keel went aground on sand and startled the crew awake. Our stern was 10' from the stone breakwater at Albury's Ferry dock on Great Abaco. The wind and each wave pushed us closer to the rocks while the starboard rail went deeper under water. We couldn't power off and the same light Danforth that we'd just drug across the bay wasn't up to kedging us off. Our call for help was answered by Will, an old sea-salt and tough as nails Brit. Now imagine this, in the midst of a gale, on a boat listing badly, and with rocks ready to chew-up her stern, Will jumps to the mainsail halyard and rapidly raises the main (in normal conditions it took two of us and winch to do this). Our 45 degree list quickly turns into 70 degrees as all aboard try to keep from falling overboard. Like a race horse at the gate our sloop flies off the bar and into deeper water. Now our only problem is that we're at sea, in a gale, at night. But that's another story. On a well-set anchor in Elbow Cay, just north of Hope Town, Babahams. 32nm today: 1361nm. DBH

29 April - Day 57. After a week of 20+ kt winds you begin to wonder if it'll ever stop blowing. Today, thankfully, they've at least started to weaken and the forecast looks good for tomorrow. So, today we're tying up loose ends because tomorrow Nellie heads south around the 'Whale'. Still in White Sound's very windy anchorage, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. 0nm today: 1329nm total. DBH

28 April - Day 56. With the strong south-easterlies continuing to blow we decided to do something healthy and walk into New Plymouth. It's obvious that we've been here too long as we know the names of many of the people we see along the way. Our reward for the long walk in and back, as though good health isn't reward enough, was to be a hamburger and fries at Dave's. We arrived, salivating, only to find he was closed. Just up from Dave's is a hardware store. It's a small, family run affair but is very well stocked. While they didn't have the 5/8 hose for our genset they did have lamp oil and at 2/3 the Marsh Harbour price. Apparently, the locals forgo lamp oil altogether in favor of odorless mineral spirits ($12/gallon vs. $24/gallon). While dingying back to Nellie we stop by Harbour Reach, a Pacific Trawler 37, to say hello. Bill and Mary Russell are 9 years into the Great Loop. Instead of going south on the Mississippi, like everyone else, they went 1700 miles north. He's a mechanical engineer while she's a computer type. They started building their house in the '70s and have yet to finish it. Bicki and I felt like were were looking in a mirror. The view is not bad… Still in White Sound's very windy anchorage, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. 0nm today: 1329nm total. DBH

27 April - Day 55. After breakfast at the Green Turtle Club, John, Susan, and Carol (Susan's sister) depart for Florida. For us it's time to catch up on some long ignored chores aboard Nellie. The head is one system that we pay absolutely no attention to until it needs it. Bicki's field-level maintenance takes care problems 99% of the time. But, with the dreaded "It still isn't flushing." ringing in my ears, I give the throne the same threatening look a parent gives a misbehaving child. It's now depot-level maintenance time so out come the tools. Suffice it to say that much effluent splattering and French words followed. A fresh water head is supposed to reduce urine induced arterial blockage. 'Reduce' is clearly the operative word as there was plenty of crystallized plaque constricting the flow. Next on the repair list was the genset. It runs fine as long as the raw water flow alarm is disabled. Today I wanted to determine if it was a sensor problem or a partial blockage in the raw water cooling line. After much effort it's still TBD. While getting gas for the dink I asked a local about the strong winds we've been having. He assures me that they're unusual for this time of year and should abate by tomorrow or the next day at the latest… In the very windy anchorage in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. 0nm today: 1329nm total. DBH

26 April - Day 54. Our long stay in Green Turtle Cay has been mostly weather related. While there's currently high pressure over the Bahamas, a steep pressure gradient has kept the winds at 20+ kts, from the ESE, for the last week. Cruising north in the Sea of Abaco is a little bumpy but doable. South, for us, is not an option because of the Whale Cay rounding and the very big seas there. Having already explored Manjack Cay we went farther north today and explored Powell Cay. It's uninhabited with beautiful, white sand beaches on its east and west sides. Attention must be paid to navigation as shoals abound. Entering a big bay on the NW side we find four other cruisers at anchor. We dingy ashore and walk across the island as we've heard the snorkeling is great on the east side's reefs. After walking only a few hundred yards we discover a huge, reef fringed, shallow bay. Because of the high winds we skip swimming and go shelling instead. There are lots of sand dollars and conch. Later, while buzzing around in the dingy, we see a 6' nurse shark and many large, black sting rays. This area is known for its bone fishing. They are everywhere. At anchor in Powell Cay, Bahamas. 27nm today: 1329nm total. DBH

25 April - Day 52. It's amazing what washes up on the beaches here. Floats of all sizes predominate but there's lots of other interesting stuff too. At most beaches you'll find a tree, decorated Christmas style, with some of the more colorful bits which beach comers have found. Folks decorate their houses and yards with the stuff too. I was a bit surprise however, when walking through New Plymouth yesterday, we saw a Williams Research jet engine adorning a flower bed. These little puppies are expensive, to say the least, and normally propel military UAVs. It was simply laying there like any other piece of detritus. I was told that the engine had been inside a U.S. Navy target drone that had washed ashore. We found the drone's fuselage adorning the Sundowner Bar in New Plymouth. At anchor in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. 0nm today: 1302nm total. DBH

24 April - Day 51. Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink. It's time for us to take on water as the starboard tank is empty and the port only 1/4 full. Fresh water wouldn't normally be worth mentioning, but this is the Bahamas. The islands on the east side of Great Abaco have no fresh water wells. So, houses are built with cisterns, in lieu of basements or crawl spaces, and gutter fed downspouts direct water into them. By balancing rainfall and usage the average homeowner makes out fine. Marinas and other commercial users however must convert saltwater into freshwater by reverse osmosis (RO); an enery extensive and expensive process. Marinas here charge anywhere from $.20 to $.50 per gallon. It cost $18.80 to fill Nellie's tanks today. This will last us over two weeks and thus averages out to around $1/day (not a significant sum in the grand scheme of things ;-) At anchor in White Sound, Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. 1nm today: 1302nm total. DBH