So "What it is?"

 What it is, is that we are well entrenched into life on Elbow Cay now having spent a month up at the Hope Town Inn and Marina, and another couple of months down at Sea Spray. Given we will be here at Sea Spray until Spring says something about our preference, but the decision to stay at Sea Spray walked a very fine line. Quite a bit happened since the beginning of December when I last posted. Deb's mom passed away on New Year's Eve, maintenance on the boat has been performed, and new friends have been made. All in all, things are well and well, things are things.  The kicking off of the holiday season usually means a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and we were very fortunate to be invited. Think of it, great food and no dishes. What a deal!
 Many folks descended on Chapter X for a Thanksgiving feast. We all brought something along but Phyllis as usual outdid herself by providing two turkeys and all of the sides one could hope for. Loraine provided some awesome pumpkin ice cream, Deb made four appetizers, others brought wine, and wow, did we all eat a terrific meal. It's a fair bet to assume everyone left well fed and ready to call it a night. And that takes us into December.  
 Early in December we packed up and left the Hope Town Inn and Marina for Sea Spray. This was always in the plan. Exactly when it would happen was not, but with a Junkanoo occurring at Sea Spray coincident with Christmas the move was desirable early enough to experience that without logistical issues. Arriving in time to get a good slip was important to us but moving on was difficult.
 We like to split our time between various places since variety is a good thing, and our time in Hope Town Harbour was most enjoyable. The marina has come along tremendously and we cannot say enough about it and the people that work there. Anyone who ties up there will enjoy their stay! The harbour is a busy spot and there is quite a bit available there to facilitate daily life. Stores are convenient. The restaurant at the HTM is very good and even when Bahamas Electric Corp. cannot supply power, HTM has a back up generator that supplies power to the docks! Amazing. This is a first as far as our experience with marinas goes, bar none. We were very happy to discover the marina generator came online Thanksgiving when the power went out after I put a Turkey in the electric oven for Phyllis.
 Arriving at Sea Spray got us a little more conveniently located nearby establishments like Firefly, Cracker P's, Lubbers Landing, etc.. We stopped in at Firefly for lunch and as we gazed out over the Sea of Abaco, a 1946 Kolby fishing boat moved South towards the White Sound Marker. No. I did not know what kind of boat that was upon sighting it. However, Deb decided that since it was just past low tide, that they were headed for the bar blocking the White Sound channel and that they would run aground. I said no way anyone owning a boat like that would allow that to happen. Seriously. This discussion occurred as we watched it move by. Finishing our lunch we pulled our heavy selves up from our chairs overlooking the Sea of Abaco and piled into Madonna.
 We shot out onto the flat water and rounded the White Sound marker to find the Laura D piled up on the bottom, but well within the correct passage into White Sound. So both Deb and I were correct. She said it would be aground, and I said it would not happen on the bar. This was when we met Laura, Stan and Mom. We asked if they needed anything and the answer was a polite no. I was going to take photos but declined for their sake. I should have taken the photos and given them copies because, after a while they pulled into Sea Spray when the rising tide granted them access.  EZ-pass is not accepted at the White Sound marker unless you have a draft less than 5 feet.

 And then it was Christmas, which brought the Spring City Rockers to Sea Spray. What a show. If you have not been to a Bahamian Junkanoo, you have not seen what has to be one of our favorite experiences. Don't get me wrong, the Thanksgiving parade in NYC is great, but having a great parade in warm weather is better. I was lucky enough to meet one of the elders that keeps the tradition going, and it's a good activity that keeps the kids and older folks with young thoughts busy.
 Of course, after Christmas we have New Years Eve and we decided it was time to have dinner out on the town. Sea Spray's menu looked the most appealing prior to moving from Hope Town thus adding to the incentive to get here before the holidays. We were not disappointed with dinner, in fact it was delicious. Several courses came our way and everyone of them was well received and consumed. Junior's band The Islanders came together for a long over due appearance and as usual it wasn't long before they had everyone up and dancing to a mixture of hits that are local to the Bahamas and the USA. Getting back to the boat after a great night out I thought I would check email and that is when we found out that Joan had passed earlier that evening.
 So the arrangements to get North started immediately and before we knew it we were in NYS where we encountered the stuff they call snow. Being used to sand and flip flops we found ourselves totally outside our comfort zone and it wasn't long before I had my second cold of the Winter season. This one had me wondering if it was TB the cough was so bad. Now, as I write this, we read the Kingston newspaper and find out, guess what? There's TB in Kingston! Fortunately we were not impacted by this it was merely a sinus infection that migrated down to my lungs in the usual fashion. In spite of the onslaught of the illness arriving we managed to get out to some of our favorite places with some great people and have a good time regardless of the reason for our travel. As well, we are very grateful for all the people that showed up to send Joan off and a special person named Kim who helped us set up a lunch for everyone at the last possible minute. It wasn't long after lunch before we found ourselves at Ship to Shore for "the drowning of sorrows". Good appetizers were piled onto the not so distant lunch along with a number of beverages making for a taxi ride back to Rich's place where sleep came quickly. It came so fast I woke up at 3 AM fully clothed with a blanket over me wondering what hit me. At this point I think it's safe to say the last cognac Shaun bought did me in. Moving on we went over to Ted's place and proceeded to help him sort things out and get on with his new life. Time went by quickly with all the work we were doing, and then we were back at Sea Spray with calm water and winds. So we got out into the dink and re-acclimated ourselves to the environment. We hooked up with a gang of folks here at Sea Spray and took off for Sandy Cay. The notion was to get into the water and do some snorkeling. At least we made it as far as Channel Cay before Debbie hit the reset button on this idea. The Atlantic swells were getting deep into North Bar and near breaking at Channel Cay.
 So after the ensuing marital moment caused by the fact we were the only ones turning back, we moved on to the West Side of Sandy Cay via the shallow water in the lee of the Cays where the swells were not. We looked around for everyone else, but were not able to locate them on the other side of the Cay and given this we gave up and made for the water behind Iron Cay since the tide was coming in. That was where we met Ray again. No dink trip would be complete with annoying Ray but this time we managed to glide over without stirring him up.
 Since this was a rather long dink ride a stop at Cracker P's for a beer with some smoked fish dip was appropriate and it did not disappoint. I have to admit they repaired the dock damage caused by hurricane Sandy in what seemed like less than a week. Not bad for the outer islands where high end tooling is scarce and elbow grease it plentiful. The dock has been restored back to its former self leading up to the ice cold beer and terrific views. It is indeed challenging to get up and move on once the view sets in. It makes it tough to cram things like maintenance into this busy schedule. But it has to happen so the teak rails, swim ladder steps, bow pulpit and name boards all have a fresh finish with Cetol on them. Freedom looks and feels a bit better for this.
  Along with the teak work new membranes went into the reverse osmosis water maker and finally, after 4 years, it looks as though Village Marine has turned the corner and gotten their membrane's quality in order. We finally, after all this time are getting water at a good TDS level and productivity rate. At this point, I'll say the water we make aboard Freedom is better by a factor of at least two, when compared to the reverse osmosis water available around the Bahamas. While that water is certainly potable and wholesome, we have found that once the water maker is online, it is convenient when we are remotely located.
 So here we are in February, and Phil has declared Spring will be early this year! Whether or not we move back to the States to celebrate that depends on his accuracy, and how well Freedom holds up.
 I've started a new folder with photos, I'll get around to descriptions when we have time. A new link for GPS data for 2013 is available as well.

 Bahamas 2012-2013