So our departure from Treasure Cay signals the voyage back to the continent, leaving behind these great islands. Somewhat depressing, but looking forward to getting up north for a few months as well. Have to say time while cruising goes by incredibly fast. Felt like yesterday we crossed the stream for Bimini, and here we are on the run back. One thing we both want to do while cruising is some volunteer work, and this winter our schedule did not allow that. As well, we have really missed a proper visit of many of the Cays here in the Abacos, so our plans for this fall are starting to change. At this time we are thinking of coming to Marsh Harbour much earlier and staying longer hoping to do some work with the wild horse lady and as well the ECC (Every Child Counts) school.
Our run back starts with a short hop from Treasure Cay to Green Turtle Cay. An easy three hour sail, but with the Whale passage in the middle. This passage can be really rough if currents and winds are in opposition, and even worse if a large swells are coming in. This condition is called “Rage” by the locals and can be so rough even cruise ships will avoid them. Fortunately for us the Whale passage was relatively calm with only 3 foot rollers coming through.
Since we had to time our departure from Treasure at high tide this meant we could not get into Green Turtle Harbour by the time we made our way there, so we anchored outside in a bay. Took a bit to get the hook to set, but once in was solid. We dingied into the northern harbour and walked Maggie and had lunch at the marina. What a great little island, and we immediately regretted not being able to spend a few days here (short weather window pushing us to get across the stream). We met up with another Canadian couple from Hamilton (the Weeks), who happen to also know the Lerners, once again proving this is a small world, especially within the cruising community. Fortnight was also heading west so we ended up buddy boating with them to West Palm. The evening was a bit exciting, especially being in an exposed anchorage, as a front came through with 30+kt winds and lots of rain and lightning. Fortunately by 2200 it died out and we got a good night sleep for our early am start.
Next day we left at daybreak, going North then West to Great Sale Cay. This uninhabited Cay has a great anchorage which is protected from three sides. We got Maggie off the boat and explored a bit, but it’s a pretty rugged place with not a lot of area accessible by foot. Next morning another early day to push West to West End on Grand Bahama Island. Great sail, running down wind with jib and jigger at about 7kts. Wind shifted near end of day so had to furl the foresail and motor through Memory Rock channel leaving the banks and into the straight. Once clear the banks we had a 15 nm run south to West End, with lots of wind on the nose and big rollers on the beam, not a comfortable 2.5 hours.
West End has no real anchorage, so we stayed at the Old Bahama Resort, a very classy comfortable marina. We decided two days would be nice, one to enjoy the resort, but also give the weather a bit of time to settle down for a good crossing. So we had some beach time, pool time, and also some housekeeping (top up fuel/water, laundry ect). Met a cruising family on a beautiful Mason cutter. They had spent the year cruising, home schooling their boys as they went. Great folks who are now looking at settling in New Bern, NC so the boys can get some social time in a real school. We rounded out our stay with a fabulous dinner at the restaurant to commemorate our last evening in the Bahamas.
Next morning up early again and cast off for West Palm, Fl, a 50 mile jaunt due west, but because of the Gulf Stream, we had to aim SW meaning most of the way we had only 5 kts as part of our effort was fighting the current. Good safe trip with 2-3 foot rollers, but not enough wind to sail, and about half way across died out so much we had drop the sails all together as all they were doing was flogging themselves. Interesting entry into the West Palm inlet, Coast Guard was inspecting boats entering, and freighters were exciting the inlet forcing us to wait for a gap. Once this occurred we pushed forward to head in, when 100 m to port two divers popped to the surface, right in the middle of the channel! We circled them and they asked us to contact the dive boat, which we did on VHF and then held station to ensure nobody ran them over. Once the dive boat showed up we finally made our way into West Palm, headed south past Peanut Island and dropped the hook. We were back on the continent and first things we noticed was dirty water and lots of noise. Wendy immediately got back into texting mode, now we were back in the land of Verizon!
After checking in with CBP, we hit the sack, content with another Gulf Stream crossing safely done. Next morning it was up early and over to the Customs and Immigration to clear in and get our new cruising permit. Big advantage of clearing in at West Palm is the offices are easy walk from the dingy dock at Riviera Beach Marina. Once cleared and new permit in hand we headed back to the boat to start our trip north, this time with no freezing temperatures driving the schedule.