Made It to the Exumas!

This afternoon we officially made it to the Exumas! It only took us four
months to get here, but...we made it - woohooo! While Bimini, the Berry
Islands, and New Providence are all in the Bahamas, this is the place we had
in mind when we talked about cruising in the Bahamas.

After one last night in Nassau (check out the view we had while we were
there!), we left this morning. The exit from the slip was the most graceful
one we have had yet! The tide and wind were in perfect alignment as Steve
cast off the lines (with a little help from a neighboring Frenchman - nope,
from a neighboring FrenchCanadianman) and I backed the boat out into the
channel. It swung around in exactly the direction we wanted! Not a single
crash or bang, what a treat!

After heading out of the harbor and past Porgee Rocks, Steve put up the
sails and the engine went off. Everyone else must have had the same idea
about taking advantage of today's weather window because we were in a convoy
of 11 sailboats as we left. We were doing between 4.5 and 5.5 knots so the
engine stayed off - all day. We sailed the whole day, all three sails. And
the boat / sails were balanced so nicely that we didn't even have to touch
the wheel (didn't use the autopilot either!). Steve was merrily playing his
Jimmy Buffet music while steering with one finger. It was the best sailing
day we have had so far, we only motored about 3 miles!

We saw our first coral heads as we came across. In the clear water, you can
look down and see the coral growing up from the bottom. Some of it grows
right up to the surface so you have to watch for it!

Right now, we are anchored off Little Ship Channel Cay which is right at the
top of the Exumas. Tonight there might be a little celebratory dinner!