Feb 7th, 2014

Anchors up at Georgetown was at 7:00 and Luna, Mar-A-Lago and Amarone II started our trek North, destination farmer's Cay. Our first challenge was navigating the Sound, the forecast from Chris Parker was ESE 15 to 20 and let me tell you the waves were thereto greet us. We hoisted our jib and easily were traveling at 7 Knots with waves on the starboard quarter, gosh did we roll for almost 8 hours. At one point, coming off a huge 2.5 meter wave, I saw 9.1 knots on my SOG. It was not unpleasant at all, the only unpleasant portion was being at the helm for 8 hours (auto pilot on) and hanging on not being able to relax.

The turquoise sea was beautiful and every 15 minutes or so we saw schools of flying fish all skimming the waves and like a good airline pilot always flying into the wind. Some of these fish were at least 1 meter above the sea.

Backing up a step, the reason for the 7 am departure was to hit slack tide at the Galliot Cut where we leave the sound and re-enter the Banks. The importance here is that if you try to navigate a cut at either an ebb or neap tide, the wave action counters with the current causing huge tumultuous seas for about 300 meters. So our calculations put us about 1 hour after slack tide. As we approached the cut, Mar-A-Lago was the first boat through and we could see his gyrations through there. Luna and I decided to furl our jib by 50% to gives us some stability through there. As a side bar, a Gozzard 42 named Eleanor Q, who we met and sailed with from Bimini to Nassau caught up to us so we were 4 boats anxiously waiting to cross the cut. Eleanor Q was next in line, then Amarone II then Luna. Understand that these cuts are very narrow, Galliott being a larger one maybe has 500 meters accross and in 3 meter waves that is not wide at all.
My only concern was that I was a tad close to Eleanor Q who slowed considerably and with my 50% jib out, I could not slow down in these turbulent and very rocky waters.

I enjoyed the experience on many fronts:
1) I have yet to feel the slightest feeling of nausea,
2) Out triumvirate of boats really strategize everything
3) We only move if we all agree
4) we are like minded.

For example when we decided to leave GT, our plan was to leave the day before we actually left. I got on SSB and asked Chris Parker if he thought our travel plan was sound and he said NO. The only way for us to make the Galliot Cut was at slack tide because of the size of the waves and the wind direction. When I informed the triumvirate of his warning, we all ate our humble pill and re-strategized; hence our move to the next where the slack tide would be 45 minutes later, allowing us to have a safe passage.

So here is our plan for tomorrow:
1. Yesterday and today we are at Black Point Settlement (Had a Facetime with both Mary and Nancy from the restaurant that has wi-fi (incredible spot here, recall the laundromat)
2. Tomorrow we leave for Cambridge Cay to anchor or pick up a mooring ball in the Exuma Park
3. Sunday we leave through another cut between Belle Isle and Cambridge and head 35 mile towards Powell Point on Eleuthera Island,
4. Yes I did ask Chris Parker this morning if our plan was sound and YES he blessed it.

Our spirits lifted today, a friend from EYC hailed Mara-A-Lago boat name Flextime (happens to be a friend of Bob Hedley's) and he told us that though the Exumas were mostly park and uninhabited, he said we would really like the Abacos which are much closer to the BVI in look and feel.

We are looking forward to this next part of the adventure

Miss all our family and friends and see you all in April.