NR Cruise

I have been asked to report on the cruise. Holland America from Port Everglades to grand Turk to San Juan to St Thomas to Half Moon Cay back to Port Everglades. Well run ship with very good food. the purpose of the cruise was a series of seminars put on by by National Reviw Magazine. There were sessions every morning afternoon and some evenings and you get to eat with some of the speakers in the evenings. We ate on separate occasions with Tony Blankley (used to be Newt Gingrich's press secretary, Deroy Murdock (a conservative ecomomic commentator) and John Yoo (the lawyer in the Bush administration who wrote the memos justifying enhanced interrogation methods on selected terrorists). At every session in which he participated Yoo was introduced as a "war criminal". The cruise was well worth it and both enjoyable and very informative. They do it every year and some of the partcipants had been to over 12 of them. I recommend it for anyone interested in politics and who prefers a more conservative approach to our governance.

We left Port Everglades on Ariel on Wenesday evening at 9:00 PM and arrived at Old Bahama Bay Marina West End on Grand Bahama Island at 9:00 AM Thursday. A pretty uneventful trip (motoring) against an east wind across the Gulf Stream. Bumpy but not nearly as bumpy as I expected. We managed to pick the only weather window for a long time and when we arrived the marina was empty. After we got in two catamarans and four monohulls arrived all from Lake Worth Inlet (a much shorter trip). No one has arrived so far today and I don't expect anyone, the wind is 15-25 knots out of the North East and is expected to stay there for three more days at least.

The marina is very pleasant - clearing in was easy and the people are very friendly. Tonight we will have our Thanksgiving dinner at the Bonefish Grill. Tomorrow if the weather looks good enough we are off to Great Sale Cay and then to Rosie's Place on Grand Cay - at least that is the plan but this is the Bahamas and plans can change. I am sure Sue will have more to say but I hope everyone who reads this (both of you) have a great Thanksgiving, wherever you are.