Well, it was a lonnnnng day but well worth it. The timing was perfect for a Gulf Stream crossing as the seas were smooth, the winds were down and there wasn't any rain - - woo hoo!
We left our marina at 5:30
am and felt our way out of the Fort Lauderdale maze to the inlet by Port Everglades.
Timing is everything! A cruise ship was coming in just as we were trying to exit so we waited over to the side until they passed.
Our weather router advised us to cross on Friday as it was the
only day we would have for low winds and seas. He was spot on - fortunately for us. The day dawned smooth and lovely - wow!
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| Sunrise reflecting on Miami! |
We left our marina in Ft Lauderdale at 5:30 am and dropped our anchor in the Bahamas a little after 7:30 pm. A verrry long day but worth the trip and effort!
So what do you do for 14 hours on a crossing like this? Sleep, read, check the engines, sleep. You get the idea. Normally, we would fish but today, we really wanted to get to our destination as quickly as possible so we didn't slow down to troll.
Right about noon, we caught our first glimpse of "Great Isaac Lighthouse", the guardian of the great Bahamas bank of shallow water. At this point, within a mile or so, the depth of the sea changes from 1,500 feet deep to 30 feet! It is dramatic and always a wonder as we make the transition!
Once on the Bahamas bank, the seas smoothed out even more so we enjoyed the sights from the bow pulpit seat!
The sunset came early at 5:30 and provided a nice transition to night cruising.
We felt our way into our anchorage off the coast of Great Harbour Cay and dropped the hook at 7:30pm. Though dark, it was Oh so calm and peaceful! Thank you Lord!
We finished our anchoring and log book entries and grabbed a glass of wine to enjoy the evening on the top deck. Our anchorage is 5 miles or so from a private cruise ship island. Almost on cue, just as we sat down, they lit up the sky with fireworks! Wow, what a welcome to the Bahamas!
Saturday morning, Jim was listening to the weather on our SSB ham radio at 6:45. Just as our router was talking about a significant weather event coming to our area, Jim looked out the window and saw the massive front marching towards us.
We immediately exploded into action, called our marina & got permission to enter, upped the anchor and took off at full speed for the marina which was about a mile away. This is a picture of the protected cut that leads to the marina.
We made it ahead of the storm and high winds, though we could see lightning flashing as we approaced the marina! By the time the front hit us a little later that morning, the winds were up around 40MPH! Wow, what a day it was!
Fortunately, we were tied up and ready when the winds hit! PTL!
Here is a close-up of our steel rail. After just 3 days in the sea, everything was covered in chunks of salt. It had built up enough you could have scraped it into a bowl & used it as sea salt. Hmmm, maybe that's how they make it?
These are a few pictures of Samba at rest in Great Harbour Cay marina in the Berry Islands of the Bahamas.
Due to the high winds, the power was out much of the day in the marina so Jim took advantage of the time to do some fiberglass repair work. Notice all of the blue tape above the area he's working on.
At this point, we don't have any idea how long we will be here. It all depends on the weather and the weather isn't looking so good at the moment. There's a possibility of a very strong front coming through next week that may have tropical low characteristics. Ughhhh! Well, stay tuned for the next chapter.
See you on the water!
