Finally. Joyously. Amazingly. We are here! In the Bahamas!

But let’s back up a step.

While still anchored at Coconut Grove last weekend, we started to see a weather window to cross the Gulf Stream opening up the following week. And it wasn’t just any weather window. It was the perfect weather we had been waiting for – a calm sea state with just enough south wind to allow us to sail. Yay! Finally!
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We finished off some last-minute provisioning in the Coconut Grove area on Saturday and then fit in a fun Superbowl party aboard Wild Horses on the Sunday. It was a great evening of snacks, football, chatter and laughter. It was fabulous to have our friends from Mokacat, Tekana and Ancora aboard to watch the big game with us!

The next morning was Monday and it was clear that our great weather window would be on Wednesday. Very exciting! We moved Wild Horses back to No Name Harbor to stage for our crossing. Our friends on Tekana also moved their boat back to No Name Harbor, but not before doing a little shakedown sail of their “new-to-them” roller furling jib. They had purchased it used for a song and completed the refit themselves, including resizing the rigging and sail. Their test sail on Monday went spectacularly well and they were pleased as punch. These two are incredible!

At No Name Harbor, we prepped the boats for our crossing and did even more last-minute provisioning (and a last beer at the Winn Dixie produce bar 😉). On Tuesday evening our friends on Ancora moved their boat to No Name Harbor and all the crew from the three boats gathered on Ancora to discuss our upcoming journey. The plan was for Wild Horses and Ancora to leave at first light (0630 hrs) on Wednesday morning and head to Bimini to clear into the Bahamas. The following morning, on Thursday, we would head to the Mackie Shoal to spend a night on the Bahama Bank. Tekana, a slower boat, would leave No Name Harbor on Wednesday afternoon and sail overnight directly to the Mackie Shoal, arriving on Thursday at noon. We had our plan! Now, let’s go!
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Our departure on Wednesday was easy…and crowded! No less than ten boats headed off to Bimini from No Name Harbor that morning. It was fun to be part of a huge pod!

​Our crossing was smooth with just a touch of wind and we were able to motor-sail the whole way. We were docked at Bimini Bluewater Marina and cleared into the Bahamas by 3pm. Easy! We even had time to replace our ratty old Gorilla-taped bow roller with a very sturdy one made of Delrin, purchased while we were still in Miami. It works amazingly well and looks far prettier than Gorilla tape!

The next morning, Wild Horses and Ancora left the docks at Bimini and headed for the Mackie Shoal, a shallow area in the middle of the Bahama Bank, about halfway between Bimini and Nassau. But the cool part is that it is just that – a shallow area. There is no land. There are no markers. There is no cell service. You are in the middle of nowhere. On the ocean. Perfect.
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Although our target was the Mackie Shoal, we actually decided to overshoot it by about 20 nautical miles in order to make our next day’s travel to Andros a little easier. How did we communicate the change to our buddy boats when there is no cell service? With Ancora, it was just like any other day. They were in VHF range plus they have Starlink so we could communicate via text too. Communication with Tekana was also easy, even though they do not have Starlink. Once we were out of cell phone and VHF range, we just seamlessly switched to our Garmin InReach which allows for satellite texting.  This device has been the go-to for our boat tracking too. I highly recommend it for boating or hiking!

​This morning, we woke to flat calm seas and no wind. A blissful morning on the ocean! We have a 30 nautical mile trip to Morgans Bluff, at the top of Andros Island. I think the whole crew of Wild Horses will be happy to be back on land again, especially the four-legged one 😉!

We have now been in the Miami area for three weeks waiting for our weather window to cross to the Bahamas. Although it has been a long wait (and is continuing!), it has not been boring.  We are here with our great friends on Tekana and every day is a wonderful menu of fun things to do. Oh and, yes, we throw in a few necessary chores every day too, like making water or doing laundry. Adding to our days is constant weather watching. Not only are we looking for our weather window to cross, but we have also had to dodge and endure a few systems coming across our region.

​Mostly, the days have been hot and sunny, making it easy to get things done. We have managed to get Ocean’s international papers and all our last-minute stocking up provisions for a few months in the Bahamas. We have done a few fix-it things on the boat but we have really used these days to relax and enjoy the Biscayne area. Immediately adjacent to our anchorage is the Cape Florida State Park which houses miles and miles of nature walking trails, a scenic waterfront seawall trail, the historic Cape Florida lighthouse and a few restaurants. This park is a real destination for tourists and locals alike so it is often busy with people walking, biking and running on the trails, and fishermen camped out along the sea wall. Weekends here are especially a flurry of activity with boaters packing into the inner lagoon area. The outdoor restaurant near the lagoon plays live music and ends up packed every night with people trying to catch the incredible sunset over Biscayne Bay.

​For us, we have enjoyed easy access to shore via dinghy so we get to take advantage of all the park offers, plus we have an easy 20 minute walk into town to the hardware store or for groceries. Oh, and even better, the grocery store here hosts an actual bar inside with a never-ending happy hour. Patrons grab an inexpensive beer or glass of wine and do their shopping. Weirdly enough, it seems the bar is usually full of men enjoying the beer while the grocery aisles are full of women actually doing the shopping. I guess they found a way to make everyone happy! Another lovely bonus is that dogs are allowed in the grocery store. It is a fun time going through the aisles with Ocean!

​The latest weather system that came through the region this past weekend threatened strong west winds and a very unsettled sea state to our anchorage in No Name Harbor (Key Biscayne) so we moved 5 nautical miles west to Coconut Grove, where we could anchor close to the western shore of the bay alongside Miami. Even better was that our friend Dale on Mokacat and his pup Josie were already anchored here. We haven’t seen these two for almost two years so it was a great reunion for us, and also for Ocean who just adores Josie.

This latest weather system, although strong, was short lived at just 12 hours. Our anchor held well at our Coconut Grove anchorage, as did the anchors and moorings of all the hundreds of boats here. And, being close to land, the sea state was a gentle roll. It was definitely more comfortable than if we had stayed in No Name Harbor. While we received sustained winds of 17 with gusts to 29 and waves/swell of 1 foot overnight, No Name Harbor was far more impacted with sustained winds of 20 with gusts to 32 and waves/swell of 3 feet. That higher sea state is the kicker. The extra 2 feet means lots of rolling, bucking and fishtailing in a sailboat. Very uncomfortable to say the least!
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Post-winds, this system dropped the temperatures around here to near freezing. It is currently a very cold 2 degrees here which is shockingly cold for the Miami area. No worries though – the temperature is forecasted to return to normal tomorrow. We also have a possible crossing window this week. In just a few days we will not only be warm, we may be in the Bahamas!!