White Cay, the Berry Islands...on the way to Nassau

So there’s Randy…naked as a jaybird prancing around the cockpit of the boat. Does that mean we’ve arrived? I guess so!

What fun we had in White Cay. Our trip from Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island to the anchorage at White Cay in the Berry Islands went really well. We had scouted out the destination on our charts and I had researched it online via other cruisers’ blogs and articles from different cruising forums. It sounded like a perfect place to stop on our way to Nassau, which was our final destination on this leg.

We left Lucaya at night…again we leave at night!! One of these days, Randy, I want to be able to see well when we leave a spot. But we had good moonlight, so that helped…a lot. And if we left at 9:00pm we would get to our waypoint at White Cay at a perfect time in the morning. Because we had been at Lucaya so long I knew the way out, so it was easier. It was a nice calm night. I easily backed Kwanesum out of her spot and slowly made way out of the port with Randy standing on the bow to make sure I didn’t hit anything; a.k.a. Proactive Boat Protection Management. Got out no problem and off we go. The seas weren’t bad at all and we motor sailed the whole way. Randy and I both put patches on this time to be sure we did well. We put them on and then covered them with bandage tape to make sure they stayed on; a.k.a. Proactive Puking Protection.

We did our 3 hours on/ 3 hours off. There was plenty of company out there. Lots of cruise ships all lit up. But nothing that came near. It keeps you entertained. We arrived at White Cay in the morning. It was a beautiful day. We found our plotted waypoint and worked our way into the anchorage lining ourselves up with the various islands per the guide books; a.k.a. Shoal Avoidance Management. We anchored just as they said we should and started our day. We relaxed a bit, napping a little. I did not like how the patch made me feel. Though it did keep me from getting sick it made me feel lousy otherwise: dry mouth, kept having to clear my throat…just a funny feeling. I think next time if I use them at all I will cut it in half and see how I do.

Randy jumped in the water with snorkel and fins and checked our anchor. Ahhh…to be able to see your anchor: a.k.a. Clear Water Excellence! We put the dinghy down and went exploring on the island. We are by ourselves except for one boat anchored far, far away. We did, later, have a few boats come in and out and one catamaran anchored that first night in our little area but far away from us. It was a Saturday and people were out and about. Even way out there.

The next day was a beautiful morning and we put on our bathing suits. “Today, Ran, we are going to take champagne to the island and do some snorkeling. We need to toast our arrival!” What a great day we had! We toasted ourselves and prepared to snorkel. I just love to snorkel. I could do it for hours. The water was so clear. There was plenty to see, too. Randy found a huge conch. Unfortunately we didn’t know how to get it out of the shell or prepare it so we put it back: a.k.a. Conch Survival Management! It was so big and beautiful with lots of yellow on its shell edge. I found what I thought was a jackpot! There was a pile of shells just waiting for me. But Randy signaled to me, no, no, no! I surfaced and he said that hole that’s next to the pile of shells might be an eel’s hole. You do NOT want to put your hand anywhere near there…just in case. That eel might pop out and bite your hand. Allll…righty…then! I don’t need to do that: a.k.a. Ellen Survival Management! But it killed me to leave all those neat shells behind. It was still so wonderful to swim and to see everything so clearly. More! More! I want more!

We went back to the boat and continued to celebrate. The sun felt so good. We put on music and drank wine and danced on deck. What a fun day! This is what I’ve been waiting for! I could have stayed there a week.

But…we were headed to Nassau so off we go the next morning. At least we’re leaving in the daylight! Woohoo! Having had so much fun the day before, with all that sun and adult beverages, I wasn’t sure how I would do the next day. I didn’t want to wear the patch so I took a Bonine and put on my wrist electrifier. It gives you a little electric shock that you feel up your fingers. The day was nice and sunny and the seas were calm so it’s not a good test of whether it worked or not but I felt just fine on this trip. I manned the helm the whole way, until we docked for diesel.

Before you come into Nassau harbor you have to hail the harbor patrol and ask permission to enter the harbor. We had never had to do this before. They get your information and ask where you will be and that’s it. Apparently before you leave you also have to let them know.

Once we were in the harbor Randy pulled Kwanesum into the diesel dock like frosting a cake. That’s sort of a lame analogy but it was so smooth! We are definitely getting better at handling our boat. Our friends Jack and Marianne who had been in Nassau a few weeks recommended the Texaco dock. Best price. It’s good to have friends in the right places. We filled with diesel and water and were on our way to the anchorage.

Drop the anchor…have a beer. Wait, and wait, and have another beer. Back her up at 1200 rpms, hold that and wait. Finish that beer and stop. Holding good. By golly, Tonto, we’re getting this anchoring thing! Take a reading with the hand held compass. Get SPOT out and send off our location to the kids. Get that dinghy down we’re going for sundowners on GravyBoat!

We’re in Nassau! Cheers: a.k.a. Active Attitude Adjustment!

Our Port Lucaya visit. The Grand Bahamas Island.

We’re heading off to Nassau so I want to complete our Port Lucaya visit.

When I last left you, we had an 8 day cruising permit to stay in the Bahamas in our possession. That is for the whole enchilada! The whole nine yards! The complete set of dishes! All …of…the…Bahamas. Well THAT’S not going to work. Randy and I looked at each other and decided we needed to check on this as soon as possible. But…we have 8 days so we’ll do it tomorrow. We need to finish cleaning up the boat, check email and take a nap.

Up early the next day…well not EARLY…early is different when you’re retired. At least it is for me. That won’t surprise a lot of people that know me. =) Our morning routine, when we’re in a marina or have internet coverage, is that Randy makes the coffee and we sit and read email and the news online. We have breakfast and then start the day. All comfy cozy in the salon of our boat.

On this day, we catch the ferry across to Port Lucaya and climb the stairs to the immigration office. It’s not far away. We dinghy there all the time but our dinghy was still on the davits at this point. We hadn’t put it in the water yet. The ferry is free and the guys are so nice. Everyone here is so friendly and nice. I love that.

Because I didn’t go with Randy when he checked us into the country I hadn’t seen the office. When you come into a new country the routine is that you haul up a yellow quarantine flag on your mast and the courtesy flag of the country your visiting. Only the captain of the boat goes to the immigration office with all crew passports and paperwork to check everyone in. We decided to stay here at the Bahamian Yacht Club as we were advised that they are very helpful in checking into the country. This was true. If you are not in a marina the authorities see your yellow flag and either come out to your boat to check you in or advise the captain to go into the immigration office. The yellow flag shows that you are new in the country. Once you are checked in, you remove the yellow flag but still fly the country’s courtesy flag.

Ran and I are in the immigration office, which is very small. Apparently this is only a satellite office…and out comes this very tall, buffed Bahamian with his dark green uniform on. Looks like a bouncer! And sunglasses. He’s wearing sunglasses. Sunglasses always make you think….”he’s bad.” Holy moly. But he’s very nice…but he’s very somber. To my relief, he says this happens to others but unfortunately he has entered everything into the computer and we have to go to the main office to remedy the situation. He said a couple of days before we leave Lucaya, go to the main office downtown and get an extension. OK. We can do that, sir. Whatever you say, sir.

Now…clearly, again, I wax dramatically. From the picture attached you’ll see that he wasn’t wearing sunglasses, but tinted regular glasses. And he’s probably not as tall as I imagined since Randy is 5’11”. But it felt like he was enormous and ominous!

“Well, Ran, at least we have 8 days here!” I mark on my computer calendar the exact day we need to get our extension so I don’t forget. I tell ya, if I don’t write it down or put it on my calendar I get lost in the ambience of cruising and forget! Don’t want to forget this one!

In the meantime, in true Kwanesum spirit….we go have a beer. Right away we discover what will turn out to be our Port Lucaya hangout: Rum Runners. Appropriately named I would say as during the Prohibition period I do believe the rum runners kept this place in the pink! Servicing everyone in the states with their booze/hooch/spirits.

Of course I step right up and have a pina colada…although the beers are 2 for $5.00. That is a darned good price considering that a case of beer here is $45.00 or more!!! The beer at the marina where we’re staying, and those at the hotels down by the beach, are $5.00 a piece. Even the local beer. The local beers are Kalik and Sands. I think you can get a case of those for a mere $35.00. The liquor, in the liquor store, seems to be about the same price as you can get in the states. And of course, there’s rum (called ron here) to be had by the dozens at a good price. All shapes, sizes and flavors.

We hang out where it’s cheap. At the Port Lucaya Marketplace. I want the fancy drinks. I’m an expensive date. So here I’m the expensive date in the cheap place. Which is not as expensive as an expensive date in the expensive place. The guys behind the bar are so fun. It’s an outside bar so it’s perfect. My fancy drinks are $5.00 each, which I didn’t think was too bad considering the beer at the beach was that price.
Our days in Lucaya are spent mainly waiting for weather. We had hoped to just be here 2 or 3 days; we’ve been here 2 weeks. We walk, we explore, we drink beer, or Ellen drinks Bahama Mamas and Pina Coladas. The expensive date. We dinghy around a bit, though it’s still very chilly for the Bahamas so we wear our jackets. Not what we thought we’d be doing here.

We met new friends who were docked near to us. Robyn and Peter on Sequel II. They are from New Zealand. They just sailed their beautiful 60ft boat over from Fort Lauderdale. We had tea (read coffee for Randy and Ellen) with them aboard Sequel. As you can imagine it’s a magnificent boat. We roamed around the Marketplace with them and had cracked conch and fries. Yummo! Reminded me of calamari that I so love.

Robyn and Peter went on ahead to Nassau after a few days. We spent a fun night prior to their departure drinking wine and the ever popular beer on Kwanesum. With their boat having a longer waterline, they are able to ride the rocky seas better than Kwanesum so they took off during the still unsure weather. We have a weather service in the name of Chris Parker that we listen to each morning on the Single Side Band radio. We subscribed to his service so we are able to receive emails from him with weather updates as well as talk to him on the SSB to ask him when the best time of departure would be for our particular upcoming trip. It gives us peace of mind as we are still learning about weather.

So now…it’s the 6th day of our 8 allowable days in the Bahamas. I don’t want to get thrown out of the country so we make our departure for the main immigration office downtown. First we need a cab. No problem mon, cabs are everywhere at the marketplace. We ask the price…$14.00. Ok. What do we know? We don’t know how far it is and we need to be taken to just the right spot. Sounds like an ok price. He ends up being a super nice man. He told us his son is a professor at a university in New York. Randy and he chat away while we ride into town. I guess the town is Lucaya. I don’t think it was Freeport. I forgot to ask him. But it’s not very far away. Oh well. It’s good to have been driven to the right spot. I asked if he would take me to a grocery store, too. As it turns out, the store is right next door to the immigration office so that’s not a problem. He waited for us. All the buildings and surrounding areas look very run down and unkempt. Even the grocery store area. I’m not sure why they don’t fix things up or clean around. It reminded me of areas in Mexico.

Our visit to the immigration office to extend our stay in the Bahamas was pretty uneventful. I know…you’re probably disappointed that there wasn’t more drama which is more typical of me. But it went very smoothly. We just had to wait here, get that form there, go back over there, and wait here. We finally got in to see the main officer and we thought great…they’re going to charge us more money. It cost us $300 cash for the original filing of our forms. But that didn’t happen! We sat in his office for quite some time while he chatted away about the Bahamas and asking about us and where we are going, etc. I’m telling ya these people are nice here! Most of them anyway. We extended our stay until May. He did inform us that when we leave for our son’s wedding in April, leaving our boat in the Bahamas, that we will have to alert the immigration folks there and then check in again when we return. I never thought about that! More of our learning process.

We went to the City Market, which is their supermarket, after we visited immigration. Our cab driver still waiting for us. (I feel like I’m on the Amazing Race... having my cab wait for me, except I’m not arguing with my husband and running from place to place with my backpack flopping all around.) Food is expensive here and not too abundant on the shelves. A gallon of milk is $6.29. A bag of Fritos, which I grabbed on the way to the checkout stand, was $5.49. No more Fritos for me! Apples are $.99 each. We passed. I bought a head of romaine which was $2.79. Bread wasn’t bad, $2.72, but there wasn’t much choice. The racks are pretty bare. I didn’t check meat prices. There wasn’t much available it appeared. Fortunately we stocked up really well before we left Port Canaveral. The dollar and their money are even-steven here so there’s no problem with currency. We previously went to an ATM for cash and it handed out $50 bills instead of the usual $20s and it didn’t charge us any fees! We were surprised about that.

Our driver delivered safely back to Port Lucaya and we were good to go! Why we didn’t have him deliver us right to the marina is beyond me but…we took the ferry back across. A good day, and now we can legally stay in the Bahamas for more than 8 days!

This has been a good place for us to get our feet wet on traveling in the Bahamas. It’s been easy to get around and our facilities here at the marina are A-One. The marina price is fairly reasonable, $1.20/foot. Then we pay $5.00/day for water. (So we’re taking long showers to get our money’s worth.) Marinas in the Bahamas, as a rule, are not cheap so we felt this wasn’t too bad. And it’s been a nice safe place for our boat considering the weather and winds we have had. There is a small place to anchor just adjacent to the marina but the good positions were already staked out anyway.

We had a great super bowl day beginning at Rum Runners. Lots of people milling about and they were setting up big screened TVs all around. We ate conch and chatted with people at the bar. One young man was off a cruise ship he worked on. He was from Malta. We chatted quite a while with a young couple that come here often to fish. Spent the day exchanging stories all around. So fun. We then decided to go back to the marina to watch the super bowl at the bar there since it’s on so damned late on the east coast! We met up with Robyn and Peter and had great fun eating bar food. By then I was drinking water. However, we did smoke our 2 cuban cigars we had purchased. Nice…

We’re off on the next leg of our adventure this Thursday, the 12th. Our weather guru said it’s a good time to go. We will leave about 9:00pm again with Ellen feeling her way out of the marina and into the ocean. I think there will still be a big moon which will help light the way. We will head to White Cay, which is in the Berry Islands. We’re hoping to stay there one or two nights and then head on to Nassau where we’ll meet up with our friends Jack and Marianne aboard GravyBoat. My cousin Deb and her husband Tom, from Nebraska, are meeting us there on the 20th for a couple of days. That will be really fun. They will experience life on Kwanesum, on the hook as they say.

Cheers everyone! We love that you all are enjoying our adventure with us. You are our loyal followers! Til next time….

NOTE, if you haven’t already read it, THE PRECEDING POST HAS AN EDUCATIONAL FLAIR…for your learning enjoyment.

As an aside, the educational portion of the blog: a Brief History of the Bahamas

Taken from Skipper Bob’s Bahama Bound publication and History of the Bahamas, by Jerry Wilkinson

The Bahamas were discovered in 1492 by none other than Christopher Columbus. He landed at San Salvador, located at the southeast edge of the Great Bahama Bank. Of course, while Columbus may have “discovered” the Bahamas, it was already inhabited by a race of people called the Lucayans. Apparently the Lucayans are descendents of the Arawak tribe of Indians from Hispaniola. Lucaya means “island people.” The Spanish forced, or lured, the Lucayans into slave labor on Hispaniola, destroying the entire indigenous race. The Spanish brought to Florida a West Indies native word, "Cacique," pronounced "Ka-SEEK-ee" by some, but "Ka-SEE-eh" by the Spanish, meaning Chief. The fierce Caribe tribe, Spanish for "cannibal," gave rise to the name Caribbean. The slaves were mostly taken to Cuba where they were worked to death. By 1600 there were no Lucayans left.

Over the next 150 years, the Bahamian Islands were mostly uninhabited and largely ignored. Water routes to the Bahamas were dangerous. With the Gulf Stream and tidal current to contend with, at a time when navigation equipment was at a minimum or non-existent, getting a large ship near an island was not easy. Many vessels met their end against a Bahamian reef. Once there, there was little to keep anyone. No mineral deposits, no farmland, little if any fresh water, and a rugged terrain. The Bahamas eventually became British property and were granted to Sir Robert Heath in 1629.

The first organized group to try to settle the Bahamas was led by Captain William Sayle. Seeking religious and personal freedom, his band of about 70 tried to land in 1648 on the northeast coast of Eleuthera and were shipwrecked. Most of their provisions were lost and over the coming years the group struggled to survive in a very hostile environment. Little local fruit, almost no game and soil that begrudgingly grew meager crops meant life was hard. They survived, but never flourished. Even today, a living can be earned in Eleuthera from the land and the sea, but it requires a lot of effort.

Over the coming years numerous groups would try to settle the Bahamas with great ideas of success and riches. All would fail. The land would provide a place to live and a refuge from the sea. But only fishing and tourism would keep the Bahamians alive. Pirates chose the Bahamas for refuge and a place for a base of operations. After 100 years they were hunted down and eradicated. Wrecking would become a profession as more and more ships plied the oceans and came to an unexpected death on an uncharted reef. The locals would collect all the material off the wrecked ship and sell it or use it to buy goods to augment their life.

The American Revolutionary War caused a large influx of settlers in the Bahamas. Those American Colonists that chose to remain loyal to England during the war were treated harshly after the war. (They were called Loyalists.) Many fled persecution in the new country of the United States of America and went elsewhere. Some to Bermuda, others back to England, but almost 4,000 settled in the Bahamas. They started cotton plantations (eventually killed off by a worm), salt ponds (could not remain competitive to modern mining methods), farming (land would not support long term crop growth), etc. This English ancestry is clearly visible today in the many small towns and villages throughout the Bahamas. Even more obvious are the many failed ventures. There are visible remains of plantations, resorts and other ventures that have been tried throughout the years.

During the period of 1780 to 1805, the last group of Bahamians to enter the stage emerged. They were slaves. Before the Loyalists fled to the Bahamas there were probably not more than 1,000 slaves in the Bahamas. The Loyalists brought an estimated 4,000 slaves with them. Over the coming years thousands of additional slaves were imported to the Bahamas. However, slavery was abolished in 1833 and the slaves became citizens of the Bahamas. Years of hard work followed, but the black population in the Bahamas has been largely absorbed into the mainstream. With interracial marriage a common occurrence, racism has been virtually eliminated in the Bahamas. Today the black population outnumbers the white by three to one. As you might expect, blacks hold most government positions.

Over the years the Bahamas was to endure pirates, liquor smuggling and drug smuggling. Each flourished until the authorities could bring them under control. Because of their history, the Bahamas often gets a bad rap as a “dangerous” place to visits on a boat. The truth is that there is very little danger from pirates or other criminals in the Bahamas.

By 1973, when the Bahamas was granted independence from Britain, the Bahamas had transformed itself from a deserted group of islands to a functioning nation with industry, a government, and very valuable assets: its geography and climate. Today this independent nation plays host to thousands of cruisers each year.

Freeport/Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island

We finally made it! We are in the Bahamas. Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

We are so excited to be here….finally.

We left Merritt Island just as we had planned. What a concept! Sunday, January 25. It was a beautiful morning. Very calm. Backed easily out of the berth we seemed to be ‘stuck’ in and headed to the fuel dock. Added fuel and pumped out the head…always a charming event, but necessary. Paid our bill and we’re off!

Down the Barge Canal… headed to the ICW south. Seagulls followed behind our boat…must have been stirring up fish. And dolphins. I love when the dolphins are out there. We had them appearing a lot on this leg of the trip. They just make you feel GOOD! I think I want to come back as a dolphin in my next life.

First day we anchored out behind a spoil island on the Indian River, which is this leg of the ICW. That put us around mile 925. The spoil islands are created from dredged material, sediments removed from rivers, oceans and estuaries to enhance navigation. Dredged sediments are deposited in the water to create new islands or to add to existing natural islands. Spoil islands can be less than an acre to more than 50 acres. The island we anchored near had a little sandy beach that several power boats pulled up to on the sunny Sunday where they were having a great time partying. Nice.

Considering we started at Mile1 it’s pretty fun to know we’ve almost gone 1,000 miles.

We are getting so much better at anchoring and knowing our boat; much more patient now. We just drop the anchor and get a beer! Works for me. Or…I’ll have white wine…depending on my mood. =) We let the anchor just sit on the bottom and do it’s thing, then let out more chain…the rule we go by is 5 to 1; five foot of chain per foot of depth, depending on how we feel the holding is, or how strong the winds are. We let that sit through at least one beer, then back down ‘til we know we’re not going anywhere. We open another beer and just smile! That’s the Kwanesum way of telling length of time…by beer.

We started again the next morning heading down the river to Ft. Pierce, FL at Mile 965. We plotted out a nice anchorage in front of the Harbortown Marina just past the North Bridge. We’ve become more patient about dealing with opening all the bridges, too. 98% of the bridge tenders are really nice and efficient. There’s always a couple that you wonder why they pursued this type of job. There were about 10 of us anchored there. A nice quiet anchorage.

Up again and off to Lake Worth, FL our final spot on the ICW until we head over to the Bahamas. We’ve had great weather on this leg of our trip. Not as warm as we’d like but nice. Always the dolphins poking up to make us feel good. We’re starting to get into more fabulous real estate on this leg heading into the Jupiter/Palm Beach area. We leisurely motored down the river admiring the homes along the banks. Some of these places have totally screened in back yards. I mean the WHOLE back yard! I guess they must have some honkin’ bugs out here! Just before Jupiter we passed Mile 1,000! High five, on the side, under the leg, bump the behind…!! Here we are drifting along in our home, down the eastern seaboard, experiencing this part of the country from the water. It’s very surreal.

This leg of the trek along the ICW is open-bridge-city. But remember…we are now very patient people. Uh huh.

MILE 981.4: Jensen Beach Bridge – no problem, 65ft.
MILE 984.9: Indian River Bridge – no problem, now it’s a high rise.
MILE 995.9: Hobe Sound Bridge – opens on the hour and every 20 minutes, no problem
MILE 1004.1: 707 Bridge – opens on request, no problem.
MILE 1004.8: Jupiter Federal Bridge – opens on request, no problem.
MILE 1006.0: Indiantown Road Bridge – on the hour and half hour, problem!

“Indiantown Road Bridge, Indiantown Road Bridge, this is Kwanesum, Kwanesum over.” “This is Indiantown Road Bridge, go ahead.” “Yes, this is southbound sailing vessel Kwanesum requesting your 3:00 opening, over” “Can you please spell the name of your vessel, over” “Uh, roger, that’s K-W-A-N-E-S-U-M, Kwanesum, over” “Sorry folks, there’s a delay while we do some repair, we’ll open in 15 minutes.” “Roger. Kwanesum standing by on channel 9, over.” Arrghh! That’s going to put us at awkward times for the next 3 bridges that open on the hour and half hour. We slow down, turn around, turn around…turn around…
“Southbound sailing vessel the bridge will be opening in 5 minutes. What was the name of your vessel again?” “Uh, yes, that’s Kwanesum, over.” “Can you please spell that, over?” “Uh, roger that’s K-W-A....”
The alarm sounds, the arms go down on the road, the bridge opens… “Put the pedal to the metal, El!” We get under that one and race to make the next bridge so we don’t have to wait around.

MILE 1009.2: Donald Ross Bridge – on the hour and half hour.

“Donald Ross Bridge, Donald Ross Bridge, this is Kwanesum, Kwanesum, over.” No answer. Again we hail. No answer. There is another sailboat hailing the bridge so we’re not worried. Not sure why she couldn't hear us. The other bridges heard us fine. As we head under the open bridge we hear the bridge tender hail the Indiantown Bridge tender.
“Indiantown Bridge what was the name of the southbound sailing vessel that just cleared your bridge, over?” “That would be Kwanesum, over.” “Can you please spell that, over?” “Are you ready for this? K-U-A-…..” We laughed as we went along the way.

MILE 1012.0: PGA Bridge – on the hour and half hour, no problem.
MILE 1013.5: Parker Bridge – quarter after and quarter to the hour. Ok, so the last bridge we have to encounter has to be different. But we’re patient, remember?

No more bridges! We have arrived at Lake Worth at Palm Beach. We travel past Peanut Island to an anchorage next to the inlet out to the Atlantic. There are about 25 other boats anchored there but plenty of room. We find a nice spot and settle down for the night. It’s beautiful. The water is the most beautiful aqua color and clear enough to see the bottom. We now wait for a weather window. What we need are south winds; south, southwest or southeast. We need to travel over the Gulf Stream that flows north and you want a south wind to do that in the most comfortable fashion. We’re not sure how long we’ll have to wait here. Some of the other anchored boats are heading south to Miami and crossing over to Bimini. We want to cross here to Freeport/Lucaya, Grand Bahama Island. Then we’ll work our way down to the Berry Islands and then to Nassau. From there we’ll go on to the Exumas. We’ll stay in Georgetown there for awhile. We’ll leave our boat there while we travel back to California in April for our son’s wedding! It’s a place where cruisers love to stay for awhile. Should be tons of fun and a good place to fly out of and leave our boat safely behind until we return.

As luck would have it, the south winds were available right away. So we decide to leave Lake Worth at 9:00pm the next night. We’re ready to go.

As Randy and I try to get a little sleep before we leave on Wednesday night, we both look at each other and decide…let’s just go! Up comes the anchor and we feel our way out of the anchorage in the dark at about 8:15pm. I’m at the helm…Randy is standing on the bow letting me know if I’m going to run into anything. I spotted my course out before we departed and had it on the chart plotter, too, just the way I wanted to go. It’s not easy to see in the dark! But we did fine. “See that red marker, El?” “Yeah, that’s the one I want to turn around…whoa! There it is! A little closer than I thought!”

We made our way out just fine, despite my little drama part I put in above. It makes for good blog reading to have a little drama. (I wasn’t really that close. Well, not too close, anyway.) It is always a challenge to exit an area in the dark. Thank heaven for the green/red lighted channel markers. The saying its Red Right Return to remember on which side to go. When you return to a harbor, red markers are on the right/starboard. When you exit the red markers are on the port side, green on the starboard. Just stay in between. I can do that.

The seas weren’t too bad. Winds, of course were right on our nose as we were traveling south. We did our usual 6 knots or so motor sailing since the wind was on our nose. We did 3 hours on/3 hours off watches. After a bit, we were slowing to about 3 knots! Which is crawling! We had hit the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream goes about 2.5 knots in the opposite direction. Like watching paint dry. Did I mention patience? Yes…patience. We need patience as we’re on this adventure. Longer/faster boats can power across the GS at a quicker pace. We aimed our departure at 160º which put us more south than we needed but then we’d ride the GS up a bit to aim across for Freeport/Lucaya.

The seas got a bit steeper and yours truly did pretty well most of the way. I put a patch behind my ear this time to be ready …just in case. As you know from my previous posts…I don’t always do well on rough seas. Randy powers through better than I do. On my 2:00-5:00am shift I started getting a little queasy. Crap. I wasn’t too bad but wasn’t very comfortable. Randy came on at 5:00am and I stayed in the cockpit and slept on the port side. After a bit I heard Randy rustling around putting up the sails and, whoa, I almost fell out of my spot. Ran had turned the boat up and it was a great point of sail with strong winds. Woohoo, we’re a sailin’ now! 8 knots, which is fast for our little boat. But it’s rough…I didn’t do so well on that leg of the trip. Dog-gone-it! But it doesn’t damper my enthusiasm one bit for what we’re doing. Not sure why, but it doesn’t. When later analyzing my sailing tummy situation I discovered that the patch behind my ear had disappeared! Somewhere along the line it fell off. Well no wonder! Right?! Next time I'll put super glue on that thing.

The sun is up, Ellen is green, and the sea is the most beautiful sapphire blue color. Just beautiful! I can’t move. I try to get up to relieve Randy but I can’t. I have to stay perfectly still or things won’t go well. I have my little bucket by my side. Don’t want to lean over the rail…might fall off! Attractive, eh? I’m going to do better. I just know it!

With winds a blowin’ at a pretty good pace we enter Port Lucaya at the Bell Channel. I can’t believe we’re here! We’re in the Bahamas, mon! I immediately start feeling better as the water is calmer in the channel, the air is fresh and bright and the excitement has got ahold of me. Taking my mind off things. The water turns a wonderful turquoise blue. And clear, clear, sparkling clear. We weave our way around to the Grand Bahama Yacht Club where we’ll stay and check into the country.

We were tucked into our berth here by the nicest of people. Randy cleaned himself up and after we filled out all the paper work, went with the harbor tender over to the Immigration office. I stayed behind and cleaned up two very messy areas down below. One of my plants jumped off its perch, despite my thinking it would be ok, so I had a lovely pile of broken pot and potting soil. I also had some coffee ready to be made on the stove, safely tucked into the fiddles on the stove so it wouldn’t fall…it did. So I had coffee grounds in the galley to deal with. What a mess! It smelled good though! Like yummy French roast! Coffee grounds are the WORST to clean up.

All went well with immigration and checking in. I had to count the ammunition we had aboard …every bullet, which are in our safe…and get that info over to Randy, but no other problems. Except…when Randy returned and I checked over the cruising permit for the Bahamas, it only had 8 days down! Eight days?! I had filled out part of one of the many forms, thinking it was only for our stay here in Lucaya, which we anticipated to be for only about a week at the most. Oh dammit. Well we’ll deal with that tomorrow. Right now we’re hungry and tired and need to have a beer!

We’ll update you on the further adventures of Randy and Ellen as they’re in the Bahamas with an 8 day permit in our next post. We be jammin’!