Hi All! Ribbitt!!, our Motorcat 30 just got back from 25 days exploring the Abacos. We had been to The Berrys, Eluthera, Nassau and the Exumas on our Hunter 450 Passage but had always deemed the Abacos as too shallow for the Hunter's 5'-6" draft. We were right. We got into places with the MC30 others had never ventured, i.e. a keyhole harbor on Manjack Cay, and anchored regularly in water so shallow we stepped off the boat and walked ashore. We had a Sea Eagle Paddle-Ski lashed to the deck and it stayed there deflated for the entire trip; we never had to use it. I can fully appreciate Ken Williams' excitement at the waters of the Bahamas and would be so bold as to offer the following: 1. Onboard Internet: Globalstar Satellite Phone(GSP-1400) and Car Kit (GCK-1410) 9800 baud downloads at $0.25 per minute with a monthly plan. It isn't broadband, but it's the most cost effective on-board solution presently available. With Ocens email compression software and Weathernet software subscriptions keeping in touch and being weather wise is very easy. 2. Charts: Explorer Charts, Edition 4. Monty and Sara Lewis have documented the Bahamas in 3 chart books. Every ENC I've seen copies their charts. 3. Shower: Get a 5 gallon sunshower and shower in the cockpit. The water usually get so hot in the Bahamian sun it needs to be tempered. 4. Anchor: We have found a plow anchor works best in the sands of the Bahamas. Just make sure you snorkel down to the anchor and check it. Every time. 5. Dining: After you leave Nassau you will not find a comparable restaurant. Fish, lobster(the season re-opens in August), and try making your own cracked conch. Scott and Wendy Bannerot's "The Cruiser's Handbook of Fishing." will provide all the guidance needed to fish and prepare conch. Try the conch salad in Georgetown. Ribbit!! accumulated about 920 miles in 3 weeks+ and averaged 2.34 MPG, cruising around 19-20 MPH. Crossing the Gulf Stream was a non issue, as we planned for weather with <10 knots of wind out of the southeast. Late April and May provide this on a regular basis. The largest weather we saw was the inside passage at Dont Rock, between Whale and Treasure Cay, with 15-20 knots of wind and 4-6 foot seas. A little bouncy, but Ribbitt!! handled it effortlessly. Enjoy the Exumas. We may be back down there in November. I just need to figure out how to carry enough fuel to visit the Jumentos. Drew Dolak ps. If Ken thinks the Bahamas are shallow, he should cruise SW Florida. ;) DD