The Third Crossing

The Third Crossing – December 7, 2011

Waiting in the anchorage at Peanut Island gave us time to check off the last few things on our pre-departure check list. The Net 10 phone was still active and had enough unused minutes, after calling our credit card providers to give them updates to our travel plans, that we could still make some last minutes phone calls to let our families know that we would soon be leaving for the Bahamas.

I also called US Customs and Border Patrol to let them know that we were leaving and was told that there was no need to check out. Last year when I called the same phone number they took down my cruising permit details and gave me a departure number. Go figure!

The alarm was set for a 4 AM departure but no one really got much sleep. After triple checking the weather forecasts and comparing the predictions from Chris Parker, Passage Weather, NOAA , Weather Underground and as many other sources as we could find there was still a certain amount of trepidation in our minds. Until you are actually out there you can’t be sure that you have made the right decision. We knew many of the boats that were staged at Peanut Island with us although most had slightly different schedules or routes planned than us. A number of boats departed before us and reported back that the wind was on the nose and the seas were lumpy with well-spaced waves. Amokura’s plans were the same as ours but we expected that they would be able to travel more quickly and arrive at Great Sale Cay ahead of us.

We needed to rely on light pollution from the buildings on shore to make our way out to the lit shipping channel. The wind in the inlet was light and variable and we had three foot waves on our nose from the incoming tide giving us a bit of a bumpy ride. Compared to the last two exits it was pretty mild.

We began by steering a course of 90^o. By 6:15 AM we started feeling the northward push of the Gulf Stream and our course over ground shifted to 63^o while our autopilot was set to steer 106^o. Our intention was to leave the Gulf Stream in the area of Little Bahama Bank, about 12 miles north of Memory Rock then carry on to Great Sale Cay. We would arrive in the dark but were familiar with the area and knew that there were no hazards.

By 6:30 AM the eastern sky was getting quite light and the Palm Beach skyline was visible to the west.

There was not much chance of catching any fish in the Gulf Stream but without a line in the water the possibility was zero. Tom let out lines on two rods and one Cuban yo-yo using ballyhoo with skirts on two plus a cedar plug and a bird on the third one. (I am starting to catch on to the fishing lingo.) He then proceeded to make himself comfortable in the cockpit while eating bagels in his underwear. I think you get the picture of the stress this crossing caused.

With both freezers already packed full anything edible we might have caught would have to have been consumed quickly. What a hardship that would have been.

Once we reached the banks we started to see large mats of weeds that fouled our fishing lines and drive leg and got caught on the bulbs on the front of our keels.

After catching a 30 inch barracuda on the banks Tom gave up and brought the lines in.   

We were welcomed back to the Bahamas by a pod of six dolphins that played between Ploar Pacer’s bows. I think they could tell by our yellow ‘Q’ flag that we were just arriving back in Bahamian waters. They are such fascinating creatures and we never tire of seeing them.

Sunset on the banks. You can’t get water much calmer than this.

We reached Great Sale after dark. There were already at least a dozen boats at anchor and a couple more came in behind us. It had been a long day. We took showers on the back deck, had dinner consisting of a glass of red wine each and a small triangle of brie and went to bed.

We were both up again just after midnight. Outside it was eerily quiet, not a ripple on the water, not a breath of air moving, not a sound. After remarking on the silent state of our surroundings we went back to bed. Three hours later things had changed. The wind was back and blowing about 20 knots, just enough to stir up some rolling waves through the anchorage and my stomach. After a Gulf Stream crossing without any problems it was annoying to be feeling seasick while snug in my bed in a protected anchorage.

In the morning we were still experiencing 20 knot winds from the north. We had good protection in the lee of Great Sale Cay but Chris Parker advised that they would stay that way all day then clock around to the east and stay that way for several days. We would have to move on quickly or stay put at Great Sale for several days. We could sail in the north wind and if we could make it as far as Powell Cay or Manjack Cay we would have protection from the east and would be in easy range of Green Turtle Cay where we would go to check in with Customs.

We fought the north wind and waves up the west side of Great Sale, rounded the corner and had a great sail with the wind on our beam all the way to Manjack Cay.

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Crossing the Gulf Stream – December 9 -10, 2009

We were ready and waiting at North Palm Beach on Lake Worth for Chris Parker’s weather service to confirm that we would have a good weather window to cross the Gulf Stream from Florida to the Bahamas. We waited for winds that were not from any northerly direction and preferably not too much from the east. North winds against the Gulf Stream would make big waves and east winds would be pushing us back to Florida. We got a forecast of wind from the south and southwest at 15 to 20 knots for a short window of about 20 hours which was about the length of time we needed. The closer we got to Christmas the weather windows would likely be shorter and less frequent so we decided to head out.

We charted a course that would take us to Memory Rock then mangrove Cay and on to Great Sale Cay where we could anchor for protection from the weather front that was expected to move into the area shortly afterwards. The distance straight across is about 65 miles. We planned to follow an S-curve pattern for our crossing heading south to counteract the northerly flow of the Gulf Stream as much as possible then changing to a more northerly direction once we reached the Bahama Banks. Our distance to travel would be around 100 miles.

The Bounty at Peanut Island as we left Lake Worth Inlet

We left Lake Worth Inlet with Decibelle at 4 PM hoping to arrive at Great Sale Cay by noon the next day. The wind was from the south at 20 knots as we left the inlet with gusts to 30 knots. The wave height was about 4 feet with a few 6 footers thrown in.

The crossing was like being inside a giant washing machine with Polar Pacer pounding through the waves and taking waves over the bow almost into the cockpit. Tom had the foresight to take some Bonine (sea sickness preventer) before we left but I needed to use the bucket a couple of times during the night. It was my first time to get sick since we started the trip in August. I may not have succumbed this time either except I spent too much time down below when I found out that the bilge was almost full and there was water sloshing around on the floor in the head. It was not too big a surprise asa we had water come in that area before and we really did take a lot of water over the bow. We also knew there was some loose tabbing in the forward anchor locker that needed fixing. We should have sealed it with duct tape like we did for the last overnighter on the ocean! Not a big problem, just keep pumping out the bilge, wipe up the salt water and rinse it with fresh water in the morning.

The next surprise came when I checked the starboard bilge and found it full too. We had never had any leaks on that side before and were a little annoyed. There was not much we could do about it in the middle of the Gulf Stream in the middle of the night but keep pumping.

It was too rough to sleep down below so we took turns napping in the cockpit while the other kept watch. I was in no condition to do any cooking so we both skipped dinner.

We had a visitor sometime during the night. It was too late to save this little flying fish by the time we found him lying on the back deck.

Once we reached the Bahama Banks the wind and seas died down. The stars were spectachlar. I watched Orion as he traveled from our port bow to directly overhead and down over the starboard stern quarter. A half moon came up and gave us a little more light for the passage. I have not seen a night sky that beautiful since we lived in northern Alberta. Even better – the temperature did not drop below 82^o F/24^oC all night. So sorry about the cold and snow back in Canada.

By daylight the sea conditions were much tamer and we were in Bahamian waters. Down came our American courtesy flag and up went the yellow Q (for quarantine) flag we needed to fly until we cleared customs and immigration which would be a few days yet.

Our first Bahamian sunrise over Mangrove Cay, our first sighting of land in the Bahamas

By noon we were anchored at the uninhabited island of Great Sale Cay, well protected from the squalls that Chris Parker assured us would be coming our way over the next few days. The temperature was 92^oF/34^oC. We set up the lawn chairs on the back deck and enjoyed a couple of ice cold beer before going to bed for some well needed sleep. We had arrived.

Our view of Great Sale Cay from the back deck