"Time Flies When You Are Having Fun"

Gosh, where has the time gone!  The old saying that "time flies when you are having fun" is really true.  It is hard to believe that it is already the first of April.  We are currently anchored in Elizabeth Harbor in George Town.  We need to renew our Visa's by April 5 so we decided to come to George Town since this is one of the Ports where that can be done.  We also want to be here for the Family Island Regatta the week after Easter.  Initially, we were only given 90 days and we will need at least another 30 to 40 days in order to be in the country legally.  This seems to be the first year where cruisers have had difficulty with limits on the numbers of days given when checking in.  We have been told many reasons for this and we're still not sure what the truth is.  I keep reminding folks that this is the Bahamas.  When in the Bahamas, you do as the Bahamians do as well as do what the Bahamians tell you to do!  So, we will go to Immigrations on Monday and see if we can extend our stay a little while longer.

Our trip up North to visit the Cays that we missed back in January was extremely worthwhile.  Our first stop from Sampson was Hawksbill Cay.  Oh my!!!!!!  What beauty!!!!!  We took a mooring ball and spent the next 2 days exploring the many trails and pristine beaches of this beautiful area.  Hawksbill is part of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and is one of the most beautiful places we have been so far.  They encourage cruisers to chose a mooring ball instead of anchoring so that the sea bed is protected. 
The trails take you through the Loyalists ruins that dates back to the 1793 - 1830 era.  This was so neat because you could actually see the doors and windows of these ancients homes.  The Loyalists had fled the US to make a new home on this Island in the Bahamas after the Revolutionary War.  They remained loyal to King George and had to leave their homes in order to start all over again.  This is a part of the story that we did not hear about in our history classes.  Our Revolutionary War is still referred to as the "Civil War" in Loyalist's history.  I can only imagine how difficult it was to be forced from your home, your farm, your place of business and having to relocate in an area, while beautiful, is very rocky and difficult to grow crops.  I stood among the ruins and you could almost feel their presence and their struggle in settling in a new land.

Our next stop was Highbourne Cay which is a private island with a marina that welcomes cruisers.  Magic, Buck and I enjoyed walking the Island and walking on the beach where we found the oldest known coral dating back billions of years.  The coral is called Stromagolites.  Magic really enjoyed swimming off the beach with several children and a floating swim platform out about 100 yards from shore.  He and Buck swam to the platform, climbed on it and watched as others enjoyed swimming, boating, or just relaxing in the sun. His best friends, Vic and GiGi, stopped by on their way to go snorkeling with a "greenie" for him.  He was in "heaven" then!  You notice I am not included on the platform.  There is a reason for this.  At the end of the beach/swimming area, there is a fish-cleaning station.  As the fishermen clean their fish, they throw the parts they cut-off into the water and into the mouths of very hungry nurse sharks!  Once Buck pointed them out to me, I was very content to stay right there on the beach in my chair and watch both the sharks and Buck and Magic from a far!

Upon leaving Highbourne in the early morning, we had the most pleasant surprise.  We were able to sail all the way to Sampson Cay (which is about 35-40 miles).  This was the longest time and the longest distance we were under sail only, that means no engine, this entire trip!  We had 20 knot winds out of the Northeast.  Buck is his happiest when he is trimming his sails!  It was really an enjoyable day and trip south back to our favorite place in the Bahamas.

There have been many memorable days since we began our trip. But one of the most special is the day we took our dinghies to Compass Cay.  What a neat, friendly place to visit, have a great hamburger, and visit with other cruisers.  When I say friendly, I don't just mean the hosts and people who live and work on the Island, but the nurse sharks are friendly too!  At high tide, they can be found swimming right on the dock where the dinghies are tied-up.  Tucker, the owner, who is well-known throughout the Bahamas is a distingished, soft-spoken Bahamian who welcomes everyone to the Island as if they are returning "home".  What a very, very nice man!  He has made accessible by developing trails to the most interesting points which includes another one of the prettiest beaches I have ever seen.  (I know I keep saying this, but it is really true!).

I don't think that I mentioned that during all of this we have been able to listen to the ACC Tournament and any of the NCAA Tournament games that we were interested in.  Thanks to our good friend Paul, we now have satellite radio!  We have even turned GiGi into a basketball fan!  We are all pulling for VCU this weekend! Sorry to see that none of our beloved ACC Teams made it to the Final Four.

That is all for now.
Fair winds!
Vicki, Buck and Magic