March 17th, 2014

Our original plan for yesterday was to leave Treasure cay at high tide at 9:00 and I would travel to Great Guana where I had booked a slip while Mar-A-Lago was to go further east to Man-of-War. Listening to the weather forecasts, Jane on Mar-A-Lago indicated that we should consider crossing the Whale given that it is a very treacherous cut between the sea of Abaco and the Atlantic. The distance along the Whale is only 1.5 miles but you have to transit through 2 cuts 1 leaving the sea of Abaco and the other entering the Sea from the Atlantic. After much toing and froing, the decision was made to cross the Whale and head to Green Turtle Cay about 16 miles away. It proved to be the right decision, the waves were down, the current negligible and the winds favourable.

The Whale is known as one the more treacherous cuts in the Bahamas because of the high potential for big breakers and standing waves. We had great guidance from a member from QCYC on a boat called Resolute and both Pat and Diana gave us advice and waited for us at Green Turtle were they had booked a slip for me and a mooring ball for Jane and Brian.

We are now in Green Turtle waiting for another 2 days of inclement weather starting tonight and clearing by Wednesday morning. Our next decision is when to leave for the West End on Grand Bahamas island where we want to enter the Gulf Stream for Lake Worth (West Palm) in Florida a 56 mile passage which is a very reasonable distance. There we will have to wait for the right weather window to attempt the crossing in ideal conditions which would be a wind of no more than 15 knots out of the South preferably or a South Easterly second best. We still have 90 miles to go before the West end with fewer and fewer stops along the way, so weather is critical.

So we wait for the nasty stuff to pass and we continue planning our journey.

For those who think this is a piece of cake...wrong. It is hard work to plan a course, account for tides and wind and the next stop should we need to hide from a blow. Nice to stop for a few days and reduce the anxiety of always getting it right. We have so far because of bery good planning by both Mar-A-Lago and ourselves.

Hasta luego