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Finally, We Are In The Bahamas!

09 January 2010 | Nassau, Bahamas
by Jen
After passing up multiple decent weather windows for a Gulf Stream crossing, (maybe we were being too cautious) we committed to the Thursday-Friday window earlier this week. We departed Marathon, FL on Wednesday morning, originally planning on anchoring just outside the harbor, staging for the crossing from there. Once we did some recalculations our findings proved that it would be best to cross from further North. So, instead of anchoring outside Boot Key Harbor we sailed up to Key Largo and anchored in the lee of Rodriguez Key. We dropped the anchor in 8' of water and settled in for a nap, as we would be heading out to start the crossing around 2AM.

At 2AM we got up and ready but decided to check in on the offshore buoys before leaving. The buoys were still reading 15-18kts out of the NE so we went back to bed to wait a few more hours for the wind and waves to settle. At 6AM they were still blowing and there were reports of 6-8' seas in the Gulf Stream. So we decided to take Thursday as a day of rest and depart around 8PM instead.

We pulled the hook at 8PM, Sharp! We made our way through the reef and dipped Anastasia's nose into the stream! The reason for leaving at night is so that we would arrive into South Riding Rock, Bahamas, in the daylight.

The traffic in the Gulf Stream was crazy! We felt like Frogger out there dodging cruise ships and freighters. Thank goodness for our AIS. Most all of the large ships popped up on our chart plotter with the vessel's name, size, type, heading and speed. So, if there was one we were going to come close to, we just hailed them on the VHF by name. Of course we had our radar on too. However, we are not completely dependent on the electronics. We use our paper charts, compass and our eyes and ears just as much. When we are traveling in the dark, we use absolutely every tool available.

At dawn we could begin to see a few trees on the horizon. Land Ho! We passed through at South Riding Rock and entered the Bahama Bank. It was awesome! The water is even clearer than in Florida. I could see the bottom in 40' of water. Cool! The wind was calm so we motor sailed the entire way. It was 50 miles from S. Rock to the NW Channel. It was a long day crossing the Bank. Strangely, we got to a point where we could see nothing at all but water that dies into sky.

Around 6PM we found a spot to anchor for a few hours so we could rest and also to kill a few hours so we would not arrive in Nassau in the dark.

We made our approach into Nassau harbor around 8AM and found our marina. Yes, I said marina. This is the first marina we have been to since we left Deltaville. Since we needed to clear customs and there is a strong cold front coming tonight we thought it would be best in a marina.

So here we are! I found internet at a Starbucks (I know, they are here too), paid $5 for a coffee and 2 hours of internet. I am working on posting photos and video of the trip over.

Until then!

P.S. I anyone likes the SmugMug site and wants to sign up for your own, mention us, and you will get $5 off of your membership! Who knows, maybe that $5 will buy you a cup of coffee somewhere
Comments
Vessel Name: Anastasia
Vessel Make/Model: 1982 Baba Ta Shing 35' (Flying Dutchman Hull #51)
Hailing Port: Gloucester, VA
Crew: Maxwell & Jen
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Team Anastasia

Who: Maxwell & Jen
Port: Gloucester, VA
Sailing Anastasia

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