Cross that one off the bucket list - we are now in the Bahamas! We crossed from Florida a few days ago with 3 other boats and spent the first two days traveling and anchored out on our way to Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos. The first night we arrived near sunset and anchored in what seemed like the middle of nowhere on the Bahamian Banks between Memory Rock and Mangrove Cay. We had to pinch ourselves the next morning as we sat in the cockpit with a coffee at 05:30 watching the day start with beautiful sunrise. The 8 foot deep turquoise coloured water was so clear that the white sandy bottom sprinkled with sea grass and the occasional starfish seemed just inches below the surface. We took a quick dip to start the day. Could it get any better than this!
We left Lake Worth at 6:00 am to cross with 3 other boats - Sanderling, Alderaan and Modaki. It was interesting in that we started with the recommended S curve course to manage the Gulf Stream and then promptly forgot to make the swing to the east when we entered the Gulf Stream. A common, rookie mistake. We were very thankful to an unknown but experienced boater who offered advice over the radio when he heard Modaki bemoaning the lack of boat speed. He pointed out that if we turned east vs trying to follow the rhumb line to cross the current of the Gulf Stream we'd solve the problem and sure enough our boat speed promptly went from 3.5 to 6.5 (and even 7.8) knots.
Of course, the weather is never as predicted, no matter how long you wait for a good weather window. The forecasted south winds were mostly east (that would be on the nose) and the 4-5 ft waves, instead of 2-3 ft, made for a bumpy slow ride. Once we began using the Gulf Stream to push us along, we also shifted our course further north and by mid-day switched our destination from West End to Memory Rock and possibly Mangrove Cay, a little further on. Not bad for a first transit, with special thanks to Bob on Sanderling for his more experienced, fatherly advice along the way.
Modaki developed engine problems just as we were entering the Bahamas Banks around 17:00. It was a couple of hours further to Mangrove Cay, so the decision was made to move out of the channel and drop the hooks where we were - it had been a good crossing and we were in the Bahamas! It was so quiet and peaceful; except for the occasional radio call to offer suggestions to Modaki on what the problems could be (including some from a couple of other boats that were traveling within listening range.)
The interesting thing about Modaki is we had sat through their seminar at the Toronto Boat Show last January (as had Greig and Caroline on Lequesteau). It really is a small world...or maybe it's the boating community.
The next morning, the winds and waves were very calm. Modaki's engine was running fine and we had a beautiful trip along the turquoise waters that seemed to stretch on forever. We were on our way to anchor near Great Sale Cay and then on to Green Turtle Cay the following day. The water has been deep and clear for most of the route - and we've been closely following the Explorer chart book and Dodge guide to make sure we're steering clear of any shoals and coral heads.
There are clumps of sea grass here and there in the water and mid-morning we noticed the engine temperature creeping up from the normal 160F to close to 180F. We shut the engine off and sea grass fell off the intake strainer but then some caught on the prop. A touch of reverse caused lots of shuddering until the grass flew off behind us. Our boat speed went up half a knot, the engine settled back in at 160F - happiness and joy all around.
For the most part we've been motor sailing past the various cays, atolls and coral heads - although yesterday we were able to enjoy 40 minutes or so of a pleasant sail with no engine running as we went down the Sea of Abaco - aahhh!!!
We neared Green Turtle Cay around 16:45, took the sails down and motored into the newly dredged channel with minimum 7 ft of depth... hmmmm, our depth sounder saw 6' 1"! However we didn't touch bottom and the entrance is well marked. If you stay in the middle of the 40 foot channel no problem mon!
We're going to stay here for a few days, maybe more...we'll see. For the time being, we're enjoying the wonderful feeling that there's no where we need to go and nothing we really need to do. We know that today we're going to rent a golf cart to explore this island. It's so hard to believe that we're finally where we signed up for on this trip!