Tuesday 23 March –Spanish Wells – Royal Island 7 Miles.

The lads rented a golf cart and filled the diesel jerry jugs at the gas station. Meanwhile the women hiked to the supermarket for reprovisioning and had the lads pick them up in golf cart – its amazing what you can fit into a golf cart!
We detached ourselves from the dock and headed over to Royal Island, a few miles away. This is a good staging point for the passage across the open Atlantic to the Abacos. We got into the anchorage and for the second time ever, our anchor refused to set on the first attempt. The bottom was very grassy and scoured and after two failed attempts to set the anchor we moved across to the other side of the basin and backed the anchor down hard – she set just fine then in a sandy patch!

Wednesday was supposed to be a close to perfect day for the 55 mile open ocean passage to the Abacos. NE winds clocking to E at 10-15 and 3-5 footers over the ocean.

Jorgen cooked his famous spaghetti Bolognese that night with enough left over’s for lunch the next day ( 2 brownie points for the whisker pole on the Christmas wish list, 1998 points to go)

Edward da local Manatee hangin' out...



Streetscape in Spanish Wells...



Q at Spanish Wells Yacht haven, ready to depart for Royal Island...