The Gulf Stream
It’s 7:00am and we have made it all the way to South Bimini after an 18 hour run/sail from Marathon Key. For some reason, this crossing was the easiest thing we have done in the last 6 weeks. Maybe we hit the weather window right, maybe we just finally caught a break.

Either way, we are farther from home by boat and have sailed farther than either one of us have ever imagined. The path we have travelled has been complicated, but at the same time is teaching us life lessons.

A week ago, we were on the edge of the Gulf Stream when we turned around because my Dad learned his wife passed away. It was so unexpected and such a shock. Having made our way all the way up the coast and getting the nerve up to cross in a North breeze was a task, but now we had to head all the way back to Marathon Key on little sleep. It was the best choice and the easiest way to get my Dad back to Ohio.

Just over a week later, we reconvened after the funeral. Dad arrived back in Marathon on Monday, December 5 and the weather window had us set to leave on Tuesday, December 6th.

The crossing itself became a non-event in terms of fun or drama. The weather was a south breeze that was very light and dying thanks to an approaching dying cold front. We hoped for small breeze and flat seas and we got more than we wished for in terms of breeze and seas. As the Tuesday night wore on, the breeze went lighter and lighter, the seas went flatter and flatter! From midnight on, we rolled up the sails and motored!

Leaving Boot Key Harbor at noon time we saw 15 knots out of the south as we motorsailed up Hawk Channel to just south of Alligator Reef. About 5pm we turned east and headed out towards the Gulf Stream and wished for the best. As the sun set, our stomachs all started to churn a bit as darkness set in, the seas rolled and we wondered if the weather forecast was correct.

Around 9pm, we really began to see the effects of the Gulf Stream…which is truly amazing. The air temperature went up…the speed we made over ground increased a good 3 knots and how we steered completely changed. While we steered a course of 95 magnetic, we were actually moving at 60 degrees course over ground….a 35 degree set to the North!

I came back on watch at 3am to find Bonnie and Dad happy as can be at that time of day, but now it was time to bring it home to Bimini. Dad and I began to see the lights of this out post island and we knew it was just about complete.

Around 6:30am, the sun began to rise and we saw the coast of North and South Bimini. After 18 hours, 2 attempts and 6 weeks, we had finally arrived and completed our first major sail! Looking around the waters, we saw nothing but flat land and crystal clear waters. Even in 50 feet of water, we could see the bottom! The colors lit up with light greens, dark blues and sandy whites like you see in the tourist magazines. It’s real and to see it is unbelievable!

Since our boat draws 7 feet of depth, we needed to be sure we could get into our resting place. We jogged around outside the marina entrance for a couple of hours while we waited on the tide to come up to high tide. As we all began to get tired after being up for so many hours, we anchored for a bit outside of Bimini Sands Marina. About noon, we made our way into Bimini Sands on the rising high tide….Bimini Sands has a VERY narrow entrance with limited depth at the entrance. Thank god we waited for high tide….entering we had 8 feet on the depth sounder…a foot to below the keel!

Exhausted, excited, relieved, feeling accomplished….what an incredible feeling to have made Bimini after having planned it for so long. The topper of the day was Bonnie cracking a bottle of Champagne as we raised the Bahamian courtesy flag and “officially” clearing into the Bahamas.

We will press on through the Bahamas. Next stop is Nassua and then through the Exumas! Stay tuned!