MIDORI ADVENTURES

After our late arrival to West End, we decided to spend an extra day. The marina is located in The Old Bahama Bay resort with lovely gardens, villas, beach and pool and restaurants. Freeport is located further South on this island.
When we departed Thursday morning at 6:00 a.m. we were in 2 to 4 ft. waves with the wind out of the SW, so pretty much on our nose again, however, we put up both sails and the gulfstream current added about 2 kts to our speed and we were able to average 7+ kts.
During the 13 hour trip, we saw the occasional motor boat or sailboat in the distance heading towards the Bahamas or heading to the States. We saw a freighter, but no cruise ships.
A little finch stopped to rest for awhile on our boat, but he didn't stay too long. And, while Brian was snoozing, I was entertained by dolphins riding the bow of the boat. There were many, many of them who seemed to travel in pairs and take turns playing in the waves. It was my special moment - I didn't wake Brian!
When we were still about 14 miles away from the St. Lucie Inlet we noticed some rain clouds and lightening coming our way, so we brought in the sails.
When the storm hit, we lost all visibility. We could not see beyond our boat. We actually called the Coast Guard to seek advice. (like - how far does this storm extend, and should we take a different heading?) They advised us to put on our life jackets and told us they would keep checking on our position every 1/2 hr. Within an hour the sky started to clear, but it sure felt longer than that!
We were very happy to see the St. Lucie Inlet right where it was supposed to be and found it well marked as we made our way into the St. Lucie River and across the ICW into Manatee Pocket. It was after 6:00 p.m. so all the marinas were closed, but we spotted someone on the gas docks at the Sailfish Marina and he allowed us to park at the gas dock - as long as we got an early start in the morning. No problem!

Another successful crossing as well as some lessons learned!

Lynn