Down Island

We have made good time and have had the weather surprisingly reasonable for this time of year. I took advantage of an opening weather window and left Marathon's Boot Key Harbor as the winds were still from the NE. Now as any sailor knows, winds from any part of the North can make the Gulf Stream miserable and maybe dangerous. We had fueled up as we left on the high tide, and anchored outside the harbor on the SE tip of the island. At 5PM the anchor was raised and we headed out at 125 degrees(near SE) to get off the shelf of Hawk Channel and past the reef and crab and lobster pots. I was glad I decided to do this with some daylight available because I had to dodge the floats for these traps all the way out to 205' of water on the edge of Florida Straits. Once beyond that we were motor sailing into 5-12 kts. of wind, that was too close to use sails only. It was important to me to make this trip as fast and comfortable as possible, because it was evident Dorothy was a bit nervous and while
Nassau Architecure
she has always done well on night crossings, they are not at this time her favorite! All went well, radar tracking of ships made night traffic observance a gentle game. No problem at all. The added features of being able to connect instruments and gps data to one screen at the helm, gave us reassurance at our fingertips, that all was well and we really were in more control than normal early concerns before leaving. We settled in well and tried 2.5-3 hour watches this time rather than our usual 2 hour watches. I think the added time to fall asleep worked well and I did not feel strained. I had taken the bite out of things by taking the helm till 2330 hrs. Two real watches each, and we were enjoying sunrise well past any ship traffic. Surprisingly though we came across a cruise ship or an similar looking ship heading south along and close to the Bahama Bank, maybe there was a counter current there or he was off to the SE and the Windward Passage.
Only one other sailboat was out there that night, a 43' Morgan named Contessa. She was ahead early on, but we passed her before morning. I was able to motor at rpms with working sails up and keep keep hull speed or better.

Once on the Bahamas Bank just south of South Riding Rock, I turned for Russel Light. Older charts were vague on depths along this lonely stretch and especially for a part called the Yellow Bank. The newer Explorer Charts confirm more water and clear passage. From South Riding Rock, the depths dropped from 21 to 12' then slowly increased again to about 17 near the NW Channel Light leading into the Tongue of the Ocean. We stopped for a nights sleep just south of Russel and were in company of about 6 other boats doing the same. Early bird gets the worm, so we were underway at 0630 and for 2 hours were on our own until the mega yachts started to appear from behind. 100 footers are common down here as this is a playground for the wealthy and a short hop from Lauderdale.

Bahamas Landfall at Sunrise

Instead of clearing into customs and immigration at Chub Cay, I turned south and headed directly for New Providence (Nassau). We were making good time and the weather behind us back up in N. Fla. was building. Motorsailing again with 5-7 kts. of wind on the Tail, which meant that motoring SSE to Nassau, we were deprived of any wind. A note tho to others. While other sailboats did not pay much attention to wind speed or direction, they floundered around at a knot or two and later in the afternoon when winds were building, they were bouncing around and late to get into port. We arrived in Nassau harbor midday, good light, good spirits, fueled up and tied up with the last remaining reasonable slip...so choose your plan.
Fueling up at the Nassau Yacht Haven marina, then taking a berth at the end of one of their 'inner' T docks was fine for the next 2 days or so, from my weather predictions. I was trying to consider wind direction/speed/and tide....to be sure I could get off the dock safely, then get where I either needed to go or position myself for the next crossing.

It's not brain surgery, but some things do need to be considered for a pleasant week. First off I refused to take the slip assignment they gave, which had a dangerous entry considering strong currents and very tight spacing within their slip arrangements.....it was far too limited ingress and egress to consider, unless one was a fool or unsure. (Nothing wrong with being unsure but dont be so nice you cannot say...I don't thinks so...I'm going to search for another slip!

Rather than see me leave they gave me a great slip! Actually I was quite relieved, as theft is a real problem in Nassau and marinas there now have 24 hour security to protect yachts.. $1.75/ft for your boat....2 years ago it was $1.15....inflation?

Held on for 2 days as a norther arrived and clocked NE. Six o'clock n the morning it was already from the East. I quickly cleared our bill with the dockmaster and set up lines for departure. The wind was already moving slightly SE and the tide was near a change..the time was perfect to escape the dock and crowded marina!
Downtown Main Street Along Waterfront


With a bit of luck and the last sip of coffee, we did everything perfectly and headed out. No other sailboats appeared anxious to leave the harbor yet except a crew of 3 on a small Canadian sailboat and I thought for sure they would turn back, but they made it to Allen's Cay (known for the food begging Iguanas that meet you on the beach) by early evening. All is well. We did some boat maintenance...(another story completely) the next day then departed for Waderick Wells, several islands south, again at first light.

More later.