Land Ho
19 January 2010 | Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas
John and cheryl
Cheryl's Notes:
We have made a safe landing in Nassau. We had an incredible crossing. We took the early weather window and were able to cross the gulf stream, the Grand Bahamas Bank, and the Tongue of the Ocean all in one night. Was it what we expected? The gulf stream was. First though, I have to thank my two nephews, Andrew and Matthew. As young boys, they loved to take their frail old auntie on every wild and scary ride that they could find at the State Fair or Mall of America. (They loved to make me scream, but I never got sick.) Just thing Tilt-a-Whirl. We made the crossing knowing that we were riding on the back side of a cold front. The offshore prediction for the wind was almost spot on at 10-15 knots. The average was about 11, but dropped to around 7-8 knots. We had enough wind to use a mainsail for stability, but not really for forward movement. The waves however, were supposed to be 1-2 feet and lay down around noon to 1 foot. Not so much. We started into the stream with 2-4 foot waves and we had big pockets of 6 foot waves that would come in clusters. Noon came and went and still no relief. Now, for those of our friends who sail Lake Superior, 6 foot waves and 10-15 knot winds are a great ride. But, in the gulf stream the wind and waves tend to come at opposing angles. Also, we were trying to move east, and the gulf stream moves north at about 2.5 knots. It makes for a really choppy nine hour trip. The waves did not subside until we passed North Rock and entered the Grand Bahamas Bank. From there things calmed down, and by dark we had a smooth motoring trip.
We watched the sunset, but were not lucky enough to experience a green flash. The stars came out as we sailed across the banks. I have never seen so many stars, even up in the north woods. I wish that I had paid more attention to astronomy in science class. We continued through the night following the three wise men into the east ( Scandia, Kumbaya and Delicia). They have been our guides on this crossing, although they all have bigger boats and engines. We happily brought up the rear. While we would have attempted a crossing by ourselves, we would never have done an overnight on our first try. The crossing does not present any major obstacles to make a boat go bump in the night, but there are shoals to avoid and a tricky channel. Except for the shoals, depth is not an issue. At one point crossing the gulf stream, the depth was 1400 feet. We were amazed until we entered the tongue of the ocean and saw 6400 feet on the charts.
The best news is that John wasn't sick the entire trip. He put on a patch the day before we left, and Scandia gave him a drug for seasickness that cruisers buy in the Bahamas. We don't know if was their wonder drug, or the combination, but John felt great and I was able to get some rest during the night. Although, we are curious about what is in the wonder drug, because he had the munchies the whole way. I have never seen him eat that much while underway. We are going to make a purchase from a pharmacy while in Nassau. We don't expect any more overnight passages for the balance of the trip. Most of the islands are now day trips, some islands are only hours apart. We would like to try a new spot every two or three days. We got such a late start and have so much to see. More adventures to follow.
John's Notes:
"Land-Ho" We made it to the Bahamas mon. As it turns out, not all that bad a passage. Just another day on Lake Superior. However, it is a little daunting when you look at the charts and discover that the bottom is somewhere around 6700 feet below you. Good idea is stay with the boat.
As I write this we are about 5 miles out of Nassau. Not sure how long we are going to stay there. Probably one or two nights max. Now we are here might as well see something. Nassau is, however, a tourist attraction. Every cruise ship in the world eventually docks here.
Only one minor problem to report. Tried to use auto pilot during the first part of the trip and I could not get it to settle down. Changed the sea state and rudder gains without much success. That meant over ten hours of steering by hand in confused seas. Once we got out of the gulf stream and on to the banks it worked faultlessly. I've always thought that this particular model is undersized for this boat, especially as heavily as she is loaded now. My back and shoulders are telling me to upgrade.
Whatever the wonder drug is that Arne gave me, I'm going to stock up on it. I felt great on this crossing.
Now get ready to shell out $300 for the pleasure of entering the country. Hum, why don't we collect an entry fee in our own country. Seems like everyone wants in. How about paying for the privilege?
FYI, if our boat were a foot shorter it would only cost us $150. Someone must have quickly figured out that the average boat is over 35 feet.