Hello everyone,

We safely arrived at our favourite spot in the islands on Jan 6th. Now we are anchored here, off of the Pig Beach, with about 40 boats anchored nearby and the wind howling in the rigging. The pigs are new ones but they still learn to swim out to the dinghys which bring table scraps in for them to eat. The wind has been 20+ knots for the last three days and is scheduled to continue for another three days. Oh well, we have lots of power from the wind generator.

On Jan 2nd, we hauled anchor and motorsailed to Nassau, where we stayed only one night. Arriving mid-afternoon, we ran around and did the errands necessary to depart in the morning. Another case of rum and some veggies and we were good to go. In the morning, we were able to sail all of the way to Norman’s Cay, in choppy seas on the shallow banks. Fishing lines were deployed on all of these trips, with nothing to show for it. At Norman’s, we anchored off of the west side and had a comfortable night. But, the next couple of days, Heather suffered from a stomach flu bug of some sort and managed to pass it on to Murray, as well. We did travel for short hops in the afternoons but basically laid low and took it easy.

Between stomach flu and chest colds, this winter so far has been the worst in a while for sickness. Murray is still coughing at times from his bronchitis.

Now we are doing the cocktail party rounds, beach parties and even a pig roast scheduled. Snorkel trips take place whenever the weather allows. Oh, the water temperature is 78 degrees F or about 25C! Not too hard to take. When we need a change, we head to the village for fresh supplies or a burger at the Yacht Club. Or to use the wireless there as well.

And this is the year of the green flash! We have seen 5 already! Using the binoculars makes them even more visible than ever. But even with the naked eye, there have been some beautiful, very GREEN, flashes. A friend told us of the Christmas star and we have even seen that. It was in the southeast sky, about 30 degrees above the horizon and very bright ( with us at position 24 degrees Latitude ). With the naked eye, it appears to twinkle a lot. With binos, it gives off red and green flashes but does not move as a plane would. According to the friend, it spins so very quickly that it emits these colour flashes. It was beautiful to see.

Otherwise, there is not much excitement here. A quiet life aboard, reading books and watching movies until the wind dies down somewhat. Hopefully, life is treating you well up north and you are able to keep warm and healthy.

Hugs to all, Murray & Heather