Crossing back to Florida

We lifted anchor at 4.00 am and sounded our way through the reef out on the open ocean. The night was not very restful. The short interval of the waves did not allow for a good sleep. It was role and bumpy. In addition there were a lot of questions in regards of the upcoming crossing. The weather forecast was ok, but we knew, we would not have a smooth crossing, like when we came to the Bahamas.

We got up at 3.00 am, having a short breakfast and getting ready for the day. Turning the navigation lights on, removing the additional lanterns, we have set out, to make sure, any fisher boat could see us out on the plain water. Of course we had to put on the life vests, safety harness etc.. Finally I did check the way points again, which I have dialed in in to the navigation instruments. Agreed, it would be very hard to miss the US coast, when crossing from the Bahamas, but we did not plan for a visit at Cape Canaveral or New York...

Heading for the bow to lift the anchor was some sort of work out. The waves caused quite a bit of movement on deck. So I had to make sure, I always could get a good grip at a line, a handle or the life lines, which run from the cockpit all the way to the bow.

One we headed for the ocean, it became clear, that the waves are higher than forecasted and the wind less, than it should be. Both worked against us. The waves were about 5 feet high and it was a kind of a cross seas. The wind could help stabilize the boat, as soon as the sails are up, but it was not enough wind to really help stabilizing the boat.

So we were looking forward to a bumpy ride over the Gulf stream. Although the autopilot provides a great support, you need to be at the helm a all times. There is a lot of commercial ship traffic in the Straits of Florida and you need to pay attention to the seas and the sails. Standing at helm for 10 hours, constant movements of the boat, after a night with little sleep, can be somewhat exhausting.

The "Gugelhopf" was just fantastic!

Just about two hours, before we reached the Lake Worth Inlet, the shackle witch connects the lower end of the jib to the roller furling system became lose and the bolt fell over board. The jib started to tear. I had to respond immediately. You certainly won't have an uncontrollable flying jib, approaching a very busy inlet! I ran down to the cabin, cut a piece of rope, made my way to the bow again (which was not an easy task at sea...), and latched the jib down to fuller again. Then I made my way back to the cockpit, furling the jib, to avoid any serious damage to the sail.

Land in sight - Florida, we're coming

Finally, after just 10 hours, we reached our anchorage at Lake Worth. We called the Customs and Border Protection Office, to prepare for immigration and customs for our selfs and the vessel. We lowered the dinghy, took Bob and Sherry aboard and headed for the immigration office at Lake Worth. The process can be easy or difficult, depending on how and where the boat is documented or registered. We had a very fast and easy process, while Windsong, as a Canada documented vessel hat to apply for a cruising permit. Finally we all got our paper work done and went back to our boats, laying down for a good sleep.


Especially Bob deserved it, his autopilot failed the day before the crossing. He had to hand steer during the whole passage and did a fantastic job!

The anchorage at Lake Worth, jump off point for many cruisers

In the middle of nowhere

We planned our last anchorage in the Bahamas on the Bank, in the middle of nowhere. All around us, just water and the horizon. Only 2 miles west, there is the drop off, where the Bahmas Bank becomes the Atlantic Ocean. Within a few hundred Meters, the water depth changes from 3 Meters to over 800 meters. the color of the water changes from turquoise green in to a very deep blue.

So there we were. No protection at all. Very little information about this place was to be found. But it offered a perfect place to get a very early start in the morning, and heading out on the ocean.

Windsong II anchored out on the Bahamas Bank

Reflecting the past couple weeks

Our last sunset in the Bahamas - it's truly better in the Bahamas ...

Mangrove Cay

The wind slowed down a little bis, and we left Great Sale Cay, heading towards Mangrove Cay. None of us has ever been there, and we did not really know, what will await us there. Beside of the wind protection, the holding of the anchor, current etc. are very important factors, making an anchorage a pleasant stay, or a horrible stop, with little rest.

Wen we got to Mangrove Cay, it was still a little breezy and the wind direction was not favorable for this anchorage either. We decided to stay, and see, how things are developing. At least, the holding seemed to be really good. The wind should shift overnights, to an even more unfavorable direction, leaving us totally unprotected. Luckily, at about 5 pm, the wind calmed down a lot and we had a wonderful and restful night at Mangrove Cay.

Beatrice baked a "Gugelhopf", a sweet treat, which will help us out on our crossing.

The sunset at Mangrove Cay was fantastic. Look at the heart shaped cloud, wishing us a good crossing and a coming back soon!

Sunrise the other morning

 
The next morning, we were listening to the weather forecast on Single Side Band Radio (SSB) again. Monday seemed still to be the day for our crossing.

Back to Great Sale Cay

Today, wed about 40 nautical miles to go. So we left Crab Cay early in the morning. It was a nice sailing - at first. Then the forecast 10 to 14 knots of wind soon became history. The wind picked up and we were sailing in 20 to 25 knots of wind. This wind helped us to cover the distance rather quick. But it was not what we wanted for the night. The wind direction was unfavorable for the anchorage at Great Sale Cay, the only anchorage in that area.

Like every day, I had the cuban line out, not expecting to catch a fish on our last couple miles in the Bahamas. But right at the Northern tip of Great Sale Cay, a Cero Mackerel hit the lure, and i managed to reel it in. This fish was about twice the size of the Mackerels, we caught the other day. I just managed to reel the fish in and send him off to heaven, before I had to furl the sails and getting ready to set anchor.

A beautiful and fantastic tasting Cero Mackerel

After cleaning the fish, Sherry and Bob rowed over in their dinghy. We had to discuss the weather and  our next moves. Of course it made good time to prepare the fish and serve another fresh fish snack.

We decided, to stay another day at Crab Cay, then to proceed to Mangrove Cay. The weather changed once more and a crossing on the Saturday was not recommended because of a front of thunderstorms and squalls. Sunday should bring wind from the north over the Gulf Stream, which would make for a very unpleasant crossing. So the crossing was postponed until Monday.

The two nights at Great Sale were a bit rolly and bumpy. Many cruisers anchored at Great Sale Cay and there was a vivid discussion on the radio, what the weather will be, when to cross, etc. Some fast moving boats can work with much shorter weather windows, the a sail boat or a trawler.

Crab Cay

On our way to the West, we stopped at Crab Cay again. The anchorage is well protected from many wind directions, provides good holding for the anchor and will serve as our starting point towards the western end of the Bahama Banks, from were will cross the Gulf Stream back to Florida.

A view on the anchorage at Crab Cay

It took us only about two hours from Powell Cay to Crab Cay. So we got there early and had again time to explore a slough with our dinghy. On our way back, we stopped on a sandy patch, thrower the anchors for the dinghys and plunged in the beautiful waters. We even got a short visit from a small shark. He came very close to us. But it was too small to scare us off.

Sometimes, the hard job of captains deserve a cool swim

In the late afternoon, Rick, a fellow cruiser came in to the anchorage. Immediately, the weather became the most discussed subject. Everybody was trying to gather the latest weather forecast and trying to determine, when it would be best, to cross the Gulf stream. Our plan was to cross on Saturday. Rick was heading to Fort Pierce and planned for the crossing on Friday.

Just before dawn, finally a catamaran pulled in as well. Only four boats shared this nice place for the night.

Tranquilizer at anchor at Crab Cay

Powell Cay

Finally we have left Green Turtle Cay. It was again a very nice place to spend a couple of days. Our next stop was just about 6 nautical miles away. Powell Cay is again a beautiful place with beautiful beaches, clear water and other cruisers found the snorkeling fantastic. The places for snorkeling are usually on the Atlantic side of the islands. The seas are still rough, so snorkeling is off the list. Even without submerging your head, you can find beautiful saline right off the beach.

But hey, I got a fishing rod and bought a Cuban line to fish. What a shame, for more than 3 weeks, I did not catch one single fish! Ok, I'm not the most experienced fisherman... The last time, I tried my luck, was in Alaska - and that was in 1991! So I had to try harder.

And there we go!

I caught the first fish in the Bahamas - a Mackerel. Let's see, if we can catch more and make it a meal. Mid afternoon, Bob joined me and we went trawling the lines from our dinghy. We had several hits, I lost two other Mackerels an finally Bob could reel another one in. By the end of the day, we had two Mackerels, which we cleaned and prepared immediately. The fresh fish made a very good afternoon snack.

Fish and - chips? ;-)

Getting ready for the next destination

We spent 3 nights at the Bluff House Maria in green Turtle Cay already. Tomorrow, we will leave this very nice place and move to Powell Cay, an island just 6 miles west from where we are right now. After that, we will move on to Crab Cay, Great Sale Cay and then anchoring on the bank near Memory Rock, for the Friday night, before we cross the Gulf Stream on Saturday. As so often during the last couple weeks, these plans are subject to change, depending on the weather. But so far, it looks like the crossing will take place on Saturday.

This will be the binning of our last couple legs on our way towards Florida. Since we try to avoid the overpriced, narrow marina at West End, we will not have a further opportunity to top up fuel and water. So we bought some diesel right here at the dock, and filled the water tanks, according to what we will need on the approximately 6 days, until we will be doled in Stuart again.

This afternoon, we went to the small but very nice beach on the south side of the island. It's just a 5 minutes walk. The water is beautiful and the beach bar had Conch Fritters, which are just delicious. Conch is a local, quite large shell, from which various dishes can be prepared. Conch Fritters and Conch salad are our favourites.

From now on, we will not have internet access, to post anything here, unless we have get back to Stuart Florida.

The beach on the south side of Green Turtle Cay