We Are in The Bahamas!!

2/13/2026

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!

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 whole gang goes shopping at the Aldi grocery store

Watching the Superbowl aboard Wild Horses

Even Josie and Ocean enjoyed the party!

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!

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!

Leaving No Name Harbor at the crack of dawn

Lots of catamarans bringing up the rear of the pod crossing the Gulf Stream

Mike in his happy place!

Victoria sees the first bit of Bimini ahead

The narrow entrance to the inner harbour at Bimini

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!

Cleared in and I have the passport stamp to prove it! First one in my new passport!

Remember the gorilla tape? Yikes!

That tape is replaced with our beautiful new Delrin bow roller!

Sunset over the Gulf Stream, looking out from Bimini

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.

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!

Leaving our docks at Bimini Bluewater Marina

Ocean is ready for another day on the water

Sails out!

Ocean taking a siesta on our sailing lines!

Love the Garmin InReach!

Our anchorage for the night on the Bahama Bank

Victoria reaquainting Ocean with her pee spot at the bow

Good night Bahama Bank!

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 😉!