Surprise!  Actually, it probably would have been more of a surprise if I had gotten this update posted last week when we actually landed back in the Chesapeake Bay.  In truth, we've been home for a week already, having pulled in after a fast passage from Nassau on the 27th.  Our last week in the Bahamas was plagued by showers and thunderstorms and generally cloudy weather.  With the forecast calling for the same trend over the next three or four days, and mostly favorable conditions for a passage to the Chesapeake, we decided to just go for it!

    We visited a few places that we had stopped at on our first visit to the Exumas in 2006 and added a few new ones to the list.  We continued to search out good kiting venues but there is a real danger in finding the absolute perfect spot.  We never should have left our beautiful sandbar behind Cave Cay!

     We stuck with our traveling and kiting companions on Sky the whole way.  John had to come back to Annapolis on business and there was some nasty weather heading our way, so we tied up the boats at a marina in Nassau for a few days.  This was the first time that Zia had been in a marina, excluding our haul out at Nanny Cay, for over six months.  That is a pretty amazing run, if you ask me, and extremely good on the budget!

     Not so good on the budget was our day at Atlantis.  It is a fantastic water park full of amazing slides and a mind-blowing aquarium.  I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when I asked for a large bottle of water to go along with our lunchtime hamburgers and saw that it was priced at $9.75.  It was worth it though.  The girls had a fantastic time, despite the rain.  They had added a whole new set of water slides since our visit three years ago and this time both kids were tall enough to legally ride all of them.  "The Abyss" was there favorite, which they plummeted down a grand total of ELEVEN times! 

     Provisioning, boat chores and other preparations completed, we took off from Nassau on Friday afternoon, not sure if we would be hanging around the Abacos for a few days, heading to Beaufort or Charleston, or straight to the Chesapeake Bay.  Such is the cruising life.  The weather conditions were a little unsettled, with a weak low pressure system working its way through our projected path.  The winds didn't look like they would get too strong but there was lots of rain and thunderstorm activity.  At any rate, we decided to complete an overnight passage to West End on Grand Bahama Island, stop there to check the updated weather forecasts, and then decide whether we would keep going or not. 

     After a nice buffet breakfast at the local yacht club and a little internet access, we decided to keep on going.  There was still lots of convection in the area, but it is just as bad to be in a thunderstorm at anchor as it is at sea.  Actually, that isn't entirely true because if your boat is struck by lightening while on passage, it is likely that you would loose all of your electrical equipment, including your autopilot and all your navigation tools which would make the rest of the passage challenging to say the least.  We do have a back up computer and GPS system which we actually stuck in the oven, which theoretically conducts any electrical current around itself, during the first and only thunderstorm in which we found ourselves.  It was a doozey.  For about half an hour we huddled inside the boat, reassuring the kids that everything was fine while we watched countless bolts of lightening strike the water around us, and prayed.  At one point a jagged streak came down right between Zia and Sky, who was motoring along a mere 300 yards behind us.  Luckily, neither Zia nor Sky were struck and we continued on our way, humbled and awed by the power of Mother Nature.

     The rest of the trip was uneventful.  We made our way about 20 miles west of the rhumb line in order to pick up the Gulf Stream.  This amazing natural phenomenon brings warm water from the Caribbean rushing up the Southeast Coast of the United States at up to three and a half knots.  With light southeast winds, we were cruising along with our screecher and main at an amazing 12 or 13 knots.  Woohoo!  It was a great ride that lasted all the way until we rounded Cape Hatteras.

     As we approached Norfolk, we discovered yet another benefit of traveling with Sky.  John had contacted the Customs and Immigration authorities and arranged for them to meet us at a dock in Norfolk to clear us into the country - at 10 o'clock at night.  This was the first time we had sailed Zia into the United States and we never would have been aware of this service.  Two government officers actually drove out to meet us on Little Creek, filled out all the paperwork, checked our passports and inspected our boats.  This was by far the easiest check-in we had ever experienced and a wonderful way to be welcomed into the country. 

     Of course, our official welcome home came the next afternoon.  Following Sky up the Chesapeake (can you believe we don't have any electronic charts?) in the dark and then the fog, we were all on the edge of our seats.  It was by far the most harrowing part of the passage, closing the final 120 miles from Norfolk to the Rhode River.  Fifteen hours later, our welcoming committee came out to greet us.  Bruce hopped into his powerboat "Rhodekill" and blasted down the Bay for twenty miles to meet us and welcome us home.  The kids were falling over themselves with delight and surprise.  Bruce brought ice cream for all four girls, a bottle of Skyy vodka for "Sky" and a bottle of tequila for Zia.  He loaded up the Zia kids for the ride back to Camp Cunard so they could greet Holly as she got off the school bus. 

     If you are wondering why we left the crystal clear Bahamian waters to return to the greenish-brown, jellyfish laden Chesapeake, wonder no more! Our friends and family have made our homecoming absolutely unforgettable.

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