And it's a wrap

 So here we are back in Florida at the condo and it's time to reflect on recent travels and events. I have to admit the last month of our stay in the Bahamas was full of change, fun, and travel. When last I posted we were at Little Harbour Abaco hanging from a mooring at Pete's Pub. It was a terrific time filled with new friends and mild adventure. As time marched on, and we know we cannot escape that, we found ourselves moving back to the United States surrounded by people that were likewise motivated. The folks we met at Little Harbour were all on a similar schedule dictating a return to the United States with the next benign weather window. And those windows are scarce. The gaps between the smooth passages across the Gulf Stream tend to drag out the time spent waiting for them once the commitment to cross the stream has been made. So making lemonade out of lemons becomes a means to living life in a positive sense that well, if you let slip by, is your own fault. I say this because all to often the opportunity to cross back to the States looks good a week out, and the forecast evaporates into the 50/50 projections high paid forecasters make.
 So we enjoyed.
 Having left Little Harbour Deb and I returned to Sea Spray where we enjoyed the remaining time we had in the Abacos. Plenty of great BBQ there! We also attended a full moon party at Cracker P's that was full of dancing, and ate lunch at Lubber's Landing consisting of their fabulous island burger. There were various other embellishments that helped distract us from the notion that we were headed home soon. It wasn't long before a calm passage from Guana Cay to Green Turtle Cay via the Ocean presented us with the opportunity to move on. We didn't enjoy it in that it meant saying goodbye, but it was the lesser of two evils. We missed the opportunity to give hugs to many folks because it was a situation where the weather said go now or wait for an indeterminate amount of time. It was a snap decision we made at 9 AM after hearing the available forecasts. Going around Whale Cay in Freedom can be a daunting experience and we know that based on our first encounter with this passage. Many in other boats will pan the experience but they do so without contemplating a narrow beam boat with a fly bridge locating their butts 12 feet off the water. Regardless many know the wisdom of patience with regard to this particular portion of travel through the Abacos. It gets well deserved respect and attention from those that traverse it.
 With a sigh we skipped over Guana Cay and Nipper's on the way home. If it was Sunday while they were hosting the Pig Roast we would have been hard pressed to pass by but Wednesday didn't offer us much of a reason to spend the night. Motoring on by and going out Loggerhead Channel towards the Atlantic Ocean we came across the wreck that found its way onto the reef on the North Side of Guana Cay. It's an old rusting hulk that looks as though it might have been a ferry at one point. It seems innocent enough but several folks are wondering if it dropped debris that led to the sinking of a cruiser. Rumor has it a large diameter line drifted away from the wreck and found its way to the boat. Once there the line found a way to rip out the running gear from both engines thus causing the boat to sink in a very short time. Fortunately all survived without injury and went on to acquire another boat to continue their adventure.
 Moving on and around the Whale the passage was calm except for some 3 to 4 foot rollers about 7 seconds apart. These seas are somewhat intimidating but given their direction Freedom took it all in stride and we arrived at Leeward Yacht Club where we found ourselves docked next to the folks we spent time with at Little Harbour. This meant we had folks to enjoy the Island Roots Heritage Festival with.

This festival seems similar in nature to events like the Feast of San Genarro in Lower Manhattan. There were plenty of food vendors selling everything from conch salad to tasty entrees and of course, rum spiked beverages were available. Saturday night the evening was capped by two rushes performed by Junior Junkanoo teams. It was most enjoyable to see all the kids out there in colorful costumes keeping the tradition alive.
 But once the festivities ended we were left wondering how we could occupy ourselves since the prediction for a calm Gulf Stream crossing was still several days away. It was then that the gang from Little Harbour decided. It was time for a road trip. Our last outing had us passing all around The Bight of Old Robinson passing over Blue Holes waiting for Sea Crites to explode out of the depths and consume us. This trip was intended to search out some snorkeling so we set out in the late morning even though we ran smack into some good chop out of the North.
 Regardless we all continued on 5/6/13 with the intention of stopping at Fiddle Cay to do some shelling and beach combing. And so it went. We arrived on Fiddle Cay and did some shelling but none of us came up with anything special so the prospect of finding some beach treasure proved to be more of a wish than a reality.

 Regardless I suggested we go around Crab Cay to look over the wrecks and check out the anchorages. Once more we found ourselves in some chop but it seemed like the sea state was improving and that encouraged us. After poking around a bit reviewing turtles and nurse sharks up close Deb suggested that we go up to Manjack Cay and everyone was ok with this so we set out once again. It was a bit of a ride for everyone but once we arrived we found ourselves on one of the best beaches the Sea of Abaco has to offer. Not only that, but the beach on the Atlantic side is very special.
 As long as your flip flops hold out the walk is quite enjoyable. If like Joe, you step on a flip top and blow out a flip flop, you will find yourself locating all of the spiny burr laden seed pods waiting for your sensitive feet. I picked up one of these down in Little Harbour and I don't want to imagine what it's like to step on a dozen or so. Each one is like stepping on a dozen needles all at once and they refuse to let go.You pick your foot up and balance on one leg while trying to pull it out and hope you don't fall on a pile of them. But I am thinking it was all worth it anyway since we were greeted by the local ray.
 It seems that Brendal stops here with his dive customers. When they are done eating their catch the left overs from their beach bbq are given to the ray. I guess Ray has learned that hand outs are frequently associated with outboards so it has become quite friendly. Many of us got to enjoy its company. If I was to choose who was the star of the day I'd have to select Ray. It certainly brought many smiles to all of us with its shallow water encounters. It had no fear and as long as everyone remained calm it glided by gently sliding over your feet. Unless you stood on the beach saying no way, I am not going there. I'd rather deal with a Brooklyn cabbie than one of those.
 Once we had amused ourselves with Ray we looked out and saw that the Sea of Abaco was laying down a bit so we all relaunched the dinks and went back to the Bluff House where Erin was a wonderful host and opened up the kitchen so we could have some snacks. Bless her. After all the time we spent on the water one drink would have been enough to put us under without some food to go with it. Especially because their specialty rum drink has about 7 different kinds of rum in it.
 And so that night we all parted company with plans of moving on towards West End in anticipation of aligning our arrival there with a crossing to Florida the next day. Since Deb has an aversion to anchoring out at Great Sale, and I had no excuse to pursue that, we tied up at Spanish Cay for a night. With clocking winds Great Sale was in our minds as a overnight anchorage to be avoided. As it turned out neither was Spanish Cay but we did enjoy a good dinner there prior to an early departure for West End. But I am ahead of myself. Many boats decided to leave Green Turtle the same day we did. Some also decided to arrive. I had loaded up the dink and set Freedom up for departure when one in our group had an issue in the channel leading out of Black Sound. So I dropped the dink and went out to help as much as I could. Fortunately the situation resolved itself easily and I was able to return back and reload Madonna onto Freedom. Given all was well we let all the umbilicals and left for the fuel dock. That's when we saw the Ferretti stuck on the rocks potentially blocking the exit from Black Sound. The last thing we needed was a very late start or a delayed start since that would push our schedule out beyond the anticipated weather window. I have to admit I was not sounding very happy on the VHF radio when I was discussing the channel opening. I think the worst of this was that the boat was headed into the wrong Sound as well. Enough on this. We were fortunate to pass astern of the yacht as there was just enough space to pass it after we fueled up.

 And with that and two days of travel we found ourselves at West End with a good window the next day. The memory of the grounding and water spout that almost ruined our stay at Leeward and faded quickly. It was time to stow all the gear, and get a good night rest at Old Bahama Bay before departing the next day. With the dawn many boats left Old Bahama Bay and our flotilla was a part of it. We all made our way safely to St Lucie inlet, up the river and into Sunset Bay Marina where Sam greeted us and was able to gather us up close so we could link up for dinner at the restaurant there.
 Fortunately the wait at the bridge wasn't that long. So we are two for two at the bridge by Sunset Bay now. For two years running, we spend the whole day crossing the Gulf Stream and arrive at Sunset Bay to find the bridge going down. We have missed it by minutes twice now. But that doesn't matter since the trip went without a hitch and we had arrived safely. Dinner at Sailor's Return was terrific, and in two more days we made our way across the State of Florida and docked at our Summer Base.