Deep Breaths
25 April 2022
• Bimini North
by Penni Singleton • A few clouds around
When John first talked about crossing to the Bahamas it made me feel apprehensive. I wanted to get to the Bahamas but I did not want the getting there. After two weeks of looking at weather windows, I was glad when the day finally arrived. The nerves were there, but I was ready to face them. Now we are on the cusp of another big journey from Bimini to The Berry's Islands in the central Bahamas. It is 75 miles and not possible for us to do in one day unless the tides miraculously help us. So we plan to stop at Mackie Shoal, 35 miles from here. It is an anchorage in the middle of the ocean. We are hoping our cruiser friends will be there, but we will all be checking the weather again in the morning and may make different decisions. The waves look calm enough but the wind is a little higher than we would like at 12 - 15 knots from the East which will be on our nose. However, Wednesday should be better with the wind from the southeast so the second half of our journey should be better. Thursday will be more unpredictable so we want to be in the Berry's by then if possible. The trouble is, I have had a week in a beautiful marina with fabulous friends. I don't feel mentally prepared for this next trip. Our days had structure, they were interesting but felt very safe. I have forgotten what it is to live with uncertainty. Will we encounter shallows unexpectedly, will we be able to tie up at the fuel dock easily, will the anchorage be comfortable? Today's questions came crowding in this morning. I felt distracted during our farewell get together on Louise and Serge's boat. Half of me wanted to get on with the journey and the other half did not want to leave. We did not encounter any unexpected shallows, tying up to the fuel dock went smoothly, but leaving was a little too interesting for my liking but John said he had it under control. We first anchored at the north of the island. John seemed surprised at how bumpy it was, but I had predicted it would be uncomfortable because the waves were quite big all the way along as we followed the coastline. However, I said I was happy to stay there so we would not have to anchor again. John thought we could do better. We retraced our steps to another anchorage and enjoyed being able to get the jib up. Unfortunately, when we got there, John realized it was too deep to anchor. I sighed as I was sure he could have figured that out from the charts. Lucky for John, the next anchorage was close by - third time lucky. Sort of. There is a lot of swell so I would not say it is comfortable, but a lot better than choice number 1. I don't feel sea sick, but definitely a little queasy at times. That may be partly due to my unease about tomorrow though. So here I am, shoulders inching their way up as tension builds. Time to forget about the what ifs tomorrow holds and read a book instead. Picture is a quick snap of our anchorage and hope it helps you appreciate how much rocking and rolling is going on.
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