John has been checking the weather every morning. Yesterday, when he checked, he told me that Monday looked like a good day to go to the Bahamas. There was a southerly component to the easterly winds in the morning. We should be able to get the sails up for a bit. More importantly, the waves were going to be low and the interval between them was going to be long enough. You want the interval to be at least twice as high as the wave. So 3 foot waves should have an interval of at least 6 to make for a comfortable trip. Added to that, it was a full moon, so leaving before sunrise should be easier. I took a deep breath. Half of me wanted to say -’You just won’t let it go will you?’, and the other half of me was excited. The problem was, I had just adjusted to the idea that we would continue to play in the Keys, and now we were going to turn around and go back to Angelfish Cut ready for the 65 mile trip to the Bahamas. And the forecast might change again . Well, we were mostly prepared, so we decided to give it one more try and headed back to the cut. John and I completed the final paperwork, prepared Solitude for an ocean crossing and went to bed. I settled down to write the blog, but I knew it would be a disaster. I would end up analyzing my conflicting emotions of worries and excitement. No, I read my book instead. I needed to forget my concerns and absorb myself in fiction. It worked to a point, but neither of us slept until gone midnight and the alarm went off at 4 am. We left Angelfish cut almost on schedule at 5:10. Despite some clouds, the moon cast enough light for us to see our way. We were still bayside and the water was calm and beautiful. John and I sat next to each other at the helm with Timmy on my lap. The adventure had begun. John warned me that it may get choppy as we entered the ocean. I was complacent remembering how I had survived the five foot chop exiting the Fort Worth Inlet. As it turned out, there was hardly any chop. We came out into the ocean and John pointed out to me how magical it is to sail at night. He is right, the semidarkness enveloped us, the scenery emerged from the shadows as we approached, the stars appeared brighter and what looked like a planet guided our way. So far so good, the first half hour had gone well. We were soon motor- sailing. The sails gave us an extra knot of speed and as we got into the Gulf Stream, that increased to two extra knots. The waves at this point were three or four feet, and sailing helped us cut through them. I was looking forward to daytime. Although the night is magical, I was ready to be able to see clearly around me, and I wanted to reach the two hour mark. Not wishing the adventure away, I just wanted to feel that we were making progress rather than having the whole ten hours ahead of me. We celebrated when the sun rose, enjoying the way the colors changed, like watching a photo develop. It was shortly after sunrise that we could see a problem emerging. Not unexpected, but we had hoped it would not happen so soon. The Gulf Stream moves quickly north. Bimini is to our northeast. So to get there we were sailing East. The Gulf Stream would take us north. With the wind coming from the East, on our nose, we were sailing in a slightly northerly direction. It was already apparent that we were straying from our course, we were going too far north. We tacked so we would head slightly south, but our speed slowed to 3 knots. John decided it was time to furl the jib and motor to stay closer to our heading. This allowed us to maintain a speed of about 4 knots. I sat there doing some math calculations to the best of my ability. The journey would take ten hours if we averaged 6 knots. Now we were only going to be getting 4 knots, this journey would take more like twelve - fourteen hours. We were only four hours into our adventure, and worries we’re beginning to crowd my mind. I tried to push them away, but then John made the mistake of asking me how I was doing. Comments were made such as ‘I thought the Gulf Stream would give us 2 extra knots’, ‘you did not tell me heading into the wind would slow us down this much’, ‘I would not have agreed to a 14 hour journey’. The captain had a mini mutiny on his hands. It was quickly quashed when he reminded me that he has not done this before. Even if it does take 14 hours, I consoled myself, we will still arrive in the light. It was not a major problem. I was also concerned about the engine breaking down in the middle of the trip, but decided that I had used up all my hysterical comments, and kept quiet. A more pressing consideration was that storm clouds were beginning to form around us. I watched to see if there was any lightening and was relieved to see nothing. We could see rain coming from some of the clouds and hoped they would stay away from us. Most of them did, and we avoided others, but one cloud ahead kept building so that it was too big to avoid. I knew exactly what to do. I picked up Timmy and brought him below deck. I closed the hatches and side windows. I handed John a raincoat and covered the main hatch. Timmy and I sat next to each other in the cabin, with couple of treats and a packet of crisps respectively, I read my book and Timmy cuddled up. Did we feel guilty that John was up there getting wet? Nope. John said the rain was refreshing and by the time we were back up there it was 1:30. The navigation told us that we should be there by 4:30. The time had gone quickly, we were on the home stretch. What’s more, the ocean had become still, with hardly any waves and the cobalt blue color that glistens in the sun. I felt more confident now - even though there was still a long way to go and knowing things can go wrong anytime, I felt more secure as we were beginning our approach to Bimini. Before we knew it, cell phone service was restored, land came into sight, and Solitude was still chugging away nicely. When we finally pulled into the marina right at 5 pm, our friends from Gilbert’s, Mary and Scott, were there to guide us in. Scott gave us an island welcome by blowing a conch shell. John and I smiled while still focusing on the narrow entrance with shallows. Several people came to help us with our lines and everyone congratulated us on our first voyage to the Bahamas. Picture of Solitude entering Bimini Cove Marina, courtesy of Mary and Scott who also made us dinner and delivered it to our boat!