Feb 13, Day 4
Ben and I woke up at 0500 and were underway from Justin's dock at 0530.
As I powered up the vessel I noticed the nav lights weren't working. They had been the day before. Fortunately, sunrise was only an hour or so away and there was a fishing boat heading out, so we followed him out the Stuart inlet. Conditions were not much better than the previous day. We couldn't cruise at more than 12 knots, because the 4-6' seas were very confused. I tried virtually every combination quartering the waves, and various RPM's on the twin Suzuki 250's. The waves were just coming from what seemed like every direction. We slammed quite a lot and took constant spray. I was soaking wet and getting cold, but the rising sun inspired me to tough it out. Ben got creative and stuck his head through a trash bag, which made me laugh as his outfit slapped in the wind.
The trip was slow and steady. We were very uncomfortable but safe. It took 5 hours, rather than 2, to cross the Gulf Stream to the Lilly Bank in these conditions, but we reassured ourselves that the payoff would be worth it. It was! Once we reached the Bahama Bank, the ~2000 foot deep cobalt blue water changed to turquoise as the shelf rose 20 feet of water. It was a beautiful sight, akin to passing through the gates of salty hell into heavenly waters! The waves settled to 2' chop, which the catamaran hull just glided over as I increased speed to 28 knots.

Ben somehow actually managed to take a nap, while I piloted us past Great Sale Cay en route to Spanish Cay. We reached Spanish at 2 pm, cleared customs with a smile, topped off the gas, and by 3pm we were underway, dodging reefs and zipping over shallow water at full speed. We got lucky again at Don't Rock passage, which can be very tricky to navigate with shifting sands and various prop destroying hazards at only 3-6 foot depths. We followed a local boat right through, rather than having to feel the way through ourselves. We made it to Elbow Cay and tied up at Sea Spray marina by 4:45. We washed the boat, ate some nachos at Gaffers Pub, poured a stiff drink, and grabbed the golf cart I had reserved. We bounced along the stunningly beautiful ocean side with all of Ben's musical equipment and navigated on the left side of the road to our solar powered treehouse Airbnb. After a quick splash of water on our salty faces, we dropped the bags and golf carted over to meet our new musical family at Firefly Resort.

Despite a long and exhausting day of endurance and adventure, we caught a second wind as soon as we felt the warm embrace and booming voice of the legend himself, Mr. Chris Gelbuda. I knew that we were about to meet some wonderful and talented people, and all I can say is, it was worth it and my high expectations were blown out of the water by the assembled team of Songwriters in Paradise. This music event was started 6 years ago by Patrick Davis. He brings together an A team of some of the best songwriters in the country. Grammy award wining, multi platinum kind of people. Most importantly they are kind. And real. Nobody puts on airs or acts too cool for school, despite some legendary musical accomplishments. You've all probably heard their songs, but you probably associate them with the A list performers rather that the songwriters, who tend to live behind the scenes.

As we walked down the hill towards dozens of masts anchored out front and the setting sun over the Sea of Abaco, I just felt happy inside. Firefly Beach resort has a great vibe, a nice dock, pools, a quaint beach, some of the best food in all of the Bahamas, and most importantly a really fun bar. Then the music started. Each of the performers performed 2 songs, as an introduction night. I wasn't sure what to expect, but as soon as I heard the first few songs, I knew we came to the right place. You see, while I have eclectic tastes in music, I'm a sucker for a good, lyrical, acoustic ballad. It's my favorite kind of music. It was fun to hear Buda sit in with other artists and perform songs that they co-wrote together.

It was a beautiful evening all around that led into the wee hours of the morning as we had those kind of "get to know you" conversations. But these people were different, and interesting, and super talented and witty. My intuition told me that not only were we in for some great music all week, but that I was going to make some new awesome friends. I might have even recruited some crew members for the Great Loop, as we are headed to places like Charleston, Nashville and Muscle Shoals along the way.

When Wyatt Durrette, who has a ridiculously impressive 14, #1 hits, (Zac Brown Band) sang the lyrics to a particular song, I teared up as I sang along. "Maybe I'm crazy, maybe you are too, but I'd walk the desert, swim the seven oceans just to be here with you." It felt like the story of the past 4 days of my life getting here, and it moved me, which is the highest compliment I can give a song.

Mombo had made it to Hope Town. Now hurry up and slow down. Ho o o o o o oh. O o o o hopetown.