The Crossing

 Fire in the sky!

Up at 4:30 & underway by 5:00, it took us nearly an hour to feel our way from our anchorage near Stuart, FL to the Atlantic. There were lots of twists & turns & both lit & unlit markers to help us avoid the multitude of shoals. However, we safely made it to the ocean and then God smiled as the skies opened up to this spectacular sunrise. 

With a bit of trepidation and some assistance from Dramamine, we headed for the Bahamas - some 72 miles away in a stretch of the ocean that can be either life threatening and treacherous or benign and forgiving.  It didn't help our spirits when the Coast Guard came on the radio just as we were leaving to issue a small craft warning about high seas and winds in the Gulf Stream.  Argghhh!

We decided to trust the Lord and our weather router and proceeded anyway and we're glad we did. The first 40 miles was a bit uneasy with 3 to 5 foot swells but the wind was down so the wind-driven chop was nil. Woo hoo!

On longer trips like this, Jim regularly does engine room checks to make sure all is well with the boys. Carol keeps an eye on him with our monitor to make sure he doesn't end up getting wound up in the engines.

40 miles out, we finally broke out of the annoying swells and with the wind down, the ride was wonderful. Thank you Lord!!!!!! 

For a while, we played chicken with a big freighter. Would you believe that 50 miles away from land, we had to change course to avoid becoming a crunch muffin?

Our first sight of land after crossing the Gulf Stream is always a great relief!

Though we trolled the entire day, we didn't have any interested fish so Jim hauled the lines in and Carol hauled the dock lines out to make ready for our Bahamas docking and check-in to Customs.

It took Jim 1 1/2 hours to get through customs & immigration - ughhhhh! Their new idiotic, bureaucratic procedures are really a mess and reallllly expensive.

Then it was off to check out Old Bahama Bay and get some requisite conch fritters from the beach bar. Carol, of course, had to get her toesies in the sand & sea.

Ahhh, what could be better after an exhausting day? A little wine, some conch fritters - AND some bug spray for the nasty little no see-ums that show up just as you sit down.

Tomorrow, we leave civilization and head nearly 50 miles to Great Sale Cay where we plan to celebrate Thanksgiving. It's a deserted island in the middle of nowhere but, for us, it will be somewhere because we'll be there.

Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!