| We had to cross the Northeast Providence Channel, on Saturday, to reach safe shelter in the Abacos before the arrival of a strong cold front on Sunday. The sail across the channel was 50 miles; that is 8 to 10 hours by sailboat. The water depth in places reached 13,000 feet. The wind was on the beam 10 to 15 knots. The seas were a little unsettled but Shibumi is a heavy vessel and she handled the sloppy waves with ease. Seven ships left Royal Island that morning, all seeking shelter from the coming storm. |  |
 | I had selected Little Harbor, in the southern extremes of the Sea of Abaco, as a safe haven. The only issue with Little Harbor is that it lives up to its name... it is little. I was told there was room in the harbor for only 14 to 15 boats. There were seven boats traveling with us and we had no idea how many boats were already there. If we could not get into Little Harbor it would be very dark, at the speed we travel, before we could get to any other safe shelter. We put all of our eggs in the 'Little Harbor' basket. One other boat, a very fast catarmaran, "Movin' On" with Toby and Sonya onboard, reached the harbor before Shibumi. Much to our relief Movin' On radioed that there was plenty of room in the harbor for all of the ships that traveled with us. We picked up a mooring ball in Little Harbor and stayed there for 4 days until the weather settled. |
| I have many pictures of the beautiful and quaint Little Harbor. I will upload them from home, next week. |  |
