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For the last few weeks, we have been carefully eyeing the weather for a possible window to make our run to the tiny island of Bimini on the outer edge of the western Bahamas and then across the Gulf Stream to Florida. Bimini is the first Bahamian island that we visited on our trip south and it holds a special place in our hearts. This time around it would be our last Bahamian island, at least for the next six months. After waiting out some strong winds over the weekend, we could finally see the weather window we were hoping for. Starting Tuesday April 30th, we had a forecast that called for good wind for a sail to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands, then calm seas for an overnight stop on the Mackie Shoal and, finally, by Thursday we would be in Bimini. Even better, Friday May 3rd was looking ideal for a fast sail from Bimini to West Palm Beach, Florida. Our cruising permit for the Bahamas was set to expire on May 14 so the timing was perfect. Our departure from New Providence was wonderful. The wind was in our favour and several of our dock mates came out to say goodbye and to wish us safe travels. This is one of the things we love most about this sailing gig. Everyone we meet becomes new friends. It is a strangely small community, geographically spread across the world but, as soon as you meet someone, the sharing begins. Cruisers just love to help each other out and to pass along whatever tip or tricks they have learned along the way. We all seem to know that cruising guides, navigation apps and Facebook only tell part of the story and each one of us has to piece together our own understanding of a passage or anchorage or gear or whatever. First hand knowledge from another cruiser is gold. In fact, the most recent example of this sharing happened in New Providence. We were rafted up with “Cookie Monster” a beautiful monohull owned by a guy from New Jersey. For fifteen years, he has been storing his boat at Green Cove Springs (where we will be storing our boat for the first time this year) and he gladly shared great tips for summarizing the boat. We are used to winterizing a boat but this “summerizing” thing is its own beast! Interestingly enough, we had first heard of “Cookie Monster” through a cruiser named Rooster that we had met in the Raggeds. Yup, “Cookie Monster” and Rooster. These are our peeps 😊.
The trip to Chub Cay in the Berry Islands was a fun motor sail made even more fun when we caught our first ever Mahi Mahi. Barry from Caretta had given us some great info about fishing gear over the past week and it really paid off. Even more fun was that we caught the Mahi using an old lure of my dad’s. Sometimes it really does take a village 😉.
We only spent one quick night at Chub Cay and were very happy to move on the next morning. Chub Cay offers a wide-open anchorage with good holding but it was very rolly the night we stayed there. We had a strong southeastern wind forcing the sea around the island’s southwestern tip and it caused the ocean swell to slam at us broadside. Thankfully a fellow cruiser stopped by (more of that cruiser sharing that we love) and suggested we set up a swell bridle to reduce the roll. It worked perfectly and gave us a chance to sleep well.
We were up fairly early on Wednesday morning for a long trip to the middle of nowhere. Well, not exactly. We were headed for the Mackie Shoal. This is a known sandbar along the Bahama Bank where, in settled conditions, cruisers can drop anchor for the night to break up the 82 nautical mile trip from Chub Cay to Bimini. It is a wonderous treat. There is no visible land as far as you can see. Just stars, our boat buddy Caretta and that beautiful blue Bahamian water.
Thursday morning, we weighed anchor just before dawn and were underway to Bimini. Last time we were in Bimini we stayed at the Bimini Blue Marina (highly recommended!). This time, we opted to anchor off the western shore. The next day was to be our Gulf Stream crossing day so we wanted to easily weigh anchor at first light rather than try to read the shallow water at Bimini’s narrow inlet. We were excited to be headed to Florida but sad that this would be our farewell to our fabulous friends on Caretta. We will be pointing our bow north to make our way to Green Cove Springs, Florida while Caretta is going south to the Florida Keys and then on to their home port in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We have sailed together for about 15 months now so the whole crew of Wild Horses (Ocean included) is feeling a bit melancholy about moving along alone. All is not lost though! We have plans to meet up again in the Fall and to spend next winter in the Bahamas together. Yay!
On Friday morning (May 3rd), we waited for the sun to make its appearance and then quickly took Ocean into shore for her morning business trip. Next was to weigh anchor and get the sails out. The seas were calm and the wind light, making for a very comfortable journey. And we were fast! The Gulf Stream gave us an extra 3 to 4 knots most of the day, allowing us to arrive at the Lake Worth Inlet a few hours earlier than planned. We were finally back in North American waters after leaving Grenada on October 28th. We are now looking forward to an easy and slow trip up the ICW to Green Cove Springs for our planned haul out of Wild Horses. We are targeting our arrival there for the 3rd week of May.
We have a Garmin InReach that keeps our tracks up to the minute (Recreation Plan). Check out where we are right now by clicking on the button below.
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AuthorVictoria is a hiker, dog-lover, blog writer and planner extraordinaire. Oh, yeah and she is kind of fond of living on a boat. Categories
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