Royal I to Marsh Harbor Abaco

                                                                             MARSH   HARBOR
   On Saturday 3/15/14 we left Royal Island with 15 other boats towards Little Harbor, Abaco.  We were told by one weather man that it would be an easy day with a lot of motoring.  BouyWeather said otherwise, beam reach and 5 to 7 ft seas, winds to 20+kts.  We need to fire the first weatherman.  It proved to be a very robust sail, motoring the first couple of hours and sailing the rest.  Things got tossed around a bit in the cabin and cockpit but we made the trip 60nm to Lynyard Cay, a little above Little Harbor, in 11 hours.  We had a very good rest that night and the weather for the following Monday & Tuesday was another front coming so Sunday we sailed for Marsh Harbor for better protection and to resupply.
    The Barefoot Man was having a concert on Friday at Nippers Beach Bar on Great Guana Cay, so we left on Thursday AM, with a multitude of other boats, for Fisher Bay on Great Guana Cay.  As everyone loves a fun concert, especially a free one, we chose Friday afternoon's concert instead of the dinner concert on Saturday.  We, Francie, Skipper and I had a great spot at a table with friends, above the band stand, with a view of the beach and ocean not far from the band.  Friends from the boats Kilissa, Hampshire Rose, John Ray and others made the afternoon a great time.  Francie and Skipper decided for a beach walk during the afternoon.  Both of them decided we need to visit the ocean side again when the wind is down.  There are many reefs for snorkeling, but it was a little rough for the next few days. The band played from 1 to 5:30 with an intermission in the middle.  Great music that could be considered ”Island Bowdy”, good food and beer and friends, sunshine and surf….. perfection!
We went to Bakers Bay with Skipper and found a great beach for his personal use.  Francie unfortunately(obviously written by Ken!) found more shells. We did not manage to get on the ocean side of the Island to see the coral beds there, but will return.
     The wind changed to SE and a promise of another front coming sent us back to Marsh Harbor to weather this one.  We are planning on making our way back toward Little Harbor after the front moves through. The winds picked up to 35-38kts during the day and then again at about 0230.  The anchorage in Marsh Harbor has been very rough with the waves and wind.  It looks as though we will wait for another day before we move.