Dear Family and friends,
      I have to apologize for the extended delay in sending out my weekly 
newsletters to all of you but for those of you who have never experienced the 
wonderful world of BATELCO (Bahamas telephone company) you cannot imagine the 
difference between phone service there and in the good old US of A. Just 
transport yourself back to about 1960 and then multiply the fees by 10. You 
will now have an idea of what you have to go through to make even the 
simplest telephone calls let alone Internet connections. I am sure the 
Bahamians who live there all of the time have figured out a better way of 
doing things but in the short time that we were there I was unable to. Having 
said that let me bring everybody up to date.
      Mary and I left Key West May 28th and headed North up through the Keys 
with stops at Marathon, Rodriguez Key and Key Biscayne. On June 3rd we left 
Key Biscayne and headed across the Gulf Stream for North Cat Cay (pronounced 
key). Let me tell you that there was more than just a little nervousness on 
my and Mary's part having never done this before. The crossing could not have 
been more perfect. The sea was as smooth as glass with not a whisper of wind. 
We ended up having to motor all the way across. We arrived in North Cat Cay, 
cleared customs and anchored at Gun Cay just across the way from North Cat. 
Before Mary and I crossed we filed a float plan with our good friends Kathy 
and Terry Baker. We were supposed to call them once we crossed safely and let 
them know we were OK. Unfortunately the wonderful world of BATELCO had other 
ideas. I called them once we arrived and left two messages on their answering 
machine telling them we were OK or so I thought. I didn't find out until 
about a week later that they never received my messages and that the U.S. 
Coast Guard had been alerted and they were out searching the Gulf Stream for 
us. Fortunately, a boat anchored next to us at Gun Cay heard the Coast Guard 
radio call to be on the look out for us and radioed back that we were all 
right. After leaving Gun Cay, Mary and I sailed across the Bahama banks to 
the Berry Islands and Chubb Cay. Very, Very clear water and the scenery was 
spectacular. We stayed in Chubb Cay one night and then sailed up the Berry 
Islands and anchored in one of the most beautiful anchorages I have ever 
seen. In fact it was so beautiful that 90% of all of the mosquitos and no 
see-ums in the Bahamas decided to make it their home also. Our only saving 
grace was the insect netting that came with the boat. We departed the next 
morning at 4:00 AM with our mosquito friends along in great clouds to see us 
off. If you have never tried to steer a boat out of a narrow inlet in the 
dark while slapping every part of your body continuously you have missed one 
of life's greatest joys! We crossed the Northwest Providence channel (a 
branch of the Gulf Stream, I think) and made landfall at a place called Hole 
in the wall a little after noon that same day. This is the southernmost tip 
of the Abaco Island chain. We stopped for the night in Little Harbor (our 
mosquito friends must have followed us) and then headed for Marsh Harbor. For 
those of you who want to know our itinerary from there on out I can send you 
a day by day account. Suffice it to say that we had a wonderful time in one 
of the most naturally beautiful places on earth. Crystal clear water, great 
sailing and rum drinks in the cockpit after a hard day of working on our 
tans. The boat handled like a dream and Mary and I have become quite 
proficient at flying our spinnaker (a really big parachute looking sail). 
There are only two things that I can really say negative about the Bahamas. 
Number 1 - BATELCO!!!!! it really sucks as a telephone company. Number 2 - 
The expensive nature of every thing. Food, drinks, restaurants, you name it 
and it is two and a half to three times more expensive in the Bahamas. Even 
water is expensive. Some places charge 40-60 cents per gallon just to fill 
the water tanks on you boat. Next year I am going to have a satellite 
telephone and a water maker.
      Mary and I have learned so much about sailing and navigating since we 
started this adventure back in February. I look at our journey this year as a 
shakedown cruise. We have so many plans and ideas about what we want to do to 
the boat to improve it and make it more livable. In all fairness though I 
will have to say that this boat has done all and more that we have asked of 
it.
      Presently, we are now back in the USA in St. Augustine, Fla. and 
tomorrow is 4th of July. We are headed back to North Carolina and hopefully 
will arrive sometime in the middle of July. I will keep posting this 
newsletter while we are on the water but will probably discontinue it once we 
are back home. I know that some of you out there have been praying for Mary 
and I because there is no way this trip could have gone as smoothly as it has 
without the Lord's help. Thanks to all of you for your good wishes and 
prayers. Good luck and God Bless.

Capt. Rick..............signing off