CROSSING DAY

Here's a summary of our crossing day... 

Winds ESE 10 – 15 knots, seas were predicted to be 2 – 3 feet which was down from previous forecast of 2 – 4 with an occasional 5.  Our estimation was that the previous forecast was correct as we know we saw waves bigger that 3.  The wind never did go South enough for us to sail or even put a little bit of genoa so we motored into head seas all day.  At least pitching to and from is better than rolling side to side. 

We left at 5 AM with the crew of S/V Outbound.  It was a great morning to leave as the light of the near full moon helped guide us out of the harbor and past the anchored boats just outside.   Then we got through the markers and out into the Atlantic we go!  

In order to cross over to Bimini Island in the Bahamas, you have to go through the gulf stream.  The gulf stream is basically a big conveyor belt of water sweeping from South to North.  It has an average current of 3 - 5 knots and it moves around, in other words, it is not always in the exact same place.  So when we set our course for our destination we have to take into account the fact that the gulf stream is going to push us North at the same time we are heading East.  It takes a watchful eye and continuing correction through the entire stream to make sure you are going to find the island you are looking for.  The gulf stream is almost 25 miles wide so that is over half of the total distance we needed to travel which was 42 nautical miles. (FYI - the direction the gulf stream travels is why it has taken us so longer to cross it.  The rule of thumb is that you do NOT cross if the wind has the word "north" it in, i.e. northeast, northwest, etc.  If you find yourself in the stream under that kind of circumstance, the wind is opposing the direction of the stream and being there in those waves are said to be like being inside a wash machine.  It is not only unpleasant, but dangerous.  That is why we have been waiting so long as with this El Nino winter, the winds have had a northerly component to them or the window of time where without a north wind was so short, it did not allow for the existing waves to realign before a northely started up again.)

The ride was uneventful in itself but it was definitely a bit rougher than we had hoped for.  Molly just laid on the floor of the cockpit and didn’t move BUT she did not get sick.  In seas of up to 5 feet that is saying something! 

We had a visitor on board briefly as a flying fish landed on deck.  Didn’t get the camera out quick enough to get a shot of him, he was small and continued to flap once he landed and soon he was back in the water again. Other than that all we saw we other pleasure boats, a couple of big mega yachts and lots of container ships!  There was one point where we were navigating in between 2 of them.  John kept saying “oh, he’ll pass in front of us” while I wasn’t so sure.  He changed course just to make me feel better although I am sure he was right.

 We pulled into Bimini and were tied up to the dock by 3:30.  We made it!  Now it was time for the captain to walk to the customs office and get us all checked in.  There is a procedure every boat must follow.  When you enter port you need to have up a yellow courtesy flag high amidships and a flag  showing your country of origin on the stern.  No other passengers or crew can disembark and put foot on foreign soil until you and the boat has been cleared by authorities.  John and Steve (S/V Outbound) walked up  and within minutes were back.  Then we take down the yellow flag and put up the Bahamian flag.  We are official – yay! 

This ie first time we have pulled up to a dock in over 3 weeks.  It felt really good.  Steve and Deb had been to this marina before and it was exactly as the described.  Decent bathrooms, a nice little pool, friendly staff and only $1/foot.  Felt like a place we could call home for a few days for sure. 

Once we were situated and tied up well we just went up to the pool area and had a beer.  Met a few other boaters who were staying at the marina who kind of gave us the scoop on what’s what around here.  All of a sudden there was what sounded like a parade coming.  In fact it was the Junkanoo  Juniors celebrating a recent 1^st place finish at their national music competition in Freeport.  The Junkanoo are school age kids who make incredible music.  I had heard about them from a friend who has been there and we are hoping to catch some of their music before we leave.  They were in the back of trucks playing away with all kinds of other cars following tooting their horns and making merry in general.  They drove past the marina and down to the straw market area.  We walked down to check for places to have dinner as neither Deb not I felt like cooking and the party soon disbanded.  We came to find out that most places are closed on Mondays and we ended up at the Big Game Lodge.  John got some cracked conch which he was happy with and we decided to make it a short night of it as we were all tired and ready to just relax. 

Our next post will have lots more pcitures and details (we have so muc to tell you) but the boat is rocking and Molly is on the move so i need to sign off.  Life is good, enjoy it!