The BIG Crossing 4-23-09

Whenever we have a big body of open water to cross , our senses begin to heighten subtly, we become attuned to the slightest wind shifts and start scanning all sources of weather data (NOAA, passageweather.com, Caribbean Weather net, etc. ) rather obsessively. The problem is that they do not necessarily agree, or you think you have a great forecast for the next day and then overnight big winds and waves blow in. You are so ready, and then have to stop abruptly and inertia sets in. You second guess yourself that the forecast for the day before that you rejected as too dangerous “wasn’t so bad.” It can go on like this for a few cycles. This is the hard part of cruising.

It was great to have the company of Loopers, Dave and Peg Miller aboard “See Ya’” and Bill aboard “Tortuga” as well as non-Loopers, Deb and Dan aboard “Freedom.” We’ve been together here at West End for the past few days reviewing all the data and possibilities as well as sharing refreshments and fun. We all agreed on Wednesday night that this would be our last Captains’ Meeting here as our lucky day would be tomorrow. We adjourned to our boats for a restless night (waking up hourly to make sure the wind was still from the east and not the dreaded north—still east, listening for crashing waves in the distance--none, answering the questions about whether we were ready to face the 2,000 foot deep ocean in a 1985 single engine, 32 foot boat???).

It seems that we finally got to sleep when the 5am alarm clock rudely rang calling us to action. We sleepily looked at each other, consulted NOAA one more time (east winds, 5-10 knots and 2-4 seas) and then got excited that it was a “GO.” The adrenaline kicks in and you start battening down everything, run the checklists, check with your accompanying boat buddies and cast off the dock lines.

We are the slowest boat in the flotilla and left the dock at 6:30 am just before sunrise and noticed immediately that the Bahamian blue water changed to the darker Atlantic Ocean blue rather quickly. We did have east winds 7-9 knots but had 2 foot swells from the S/SE initially. We were pleased to be going west as the blazingly bright sun was not in our eyes. The other boats joined us rather quickly and the Captains’ had ongoing discussions about boat everything—course for the day, whether to go to Lake Worth or Fort Pierce, who has the biggest caliper—they are guys and it is a long day. Bob and I do 1 hour shifts watching the GPS and autopilot but I am not one to talk much on the radio.

We swung into the Gulf Stream at about 9am and it started pushing us north so a boater has to compensate by steering slightly south to make landfall. We all decided to go to Lake Worth (67 miles) as it was the shortest time on the water and it provides more convenient Customs check-in for the boaters in our group who did not have the Local Boater Option. However, the swells increased from 2-4 feet to 5-6 feet from many directions but they were far apart and not breaking. Some of our buddy boaters had not been out in conditions like this so it was one of those learning experiences.

As the FL shore condos came into view at 3pm, we felt the elation and tiredness that overtakes you when you pull an all-nighter for a very important final but we passed!!!!!!

Heading to West End 4-17-09

On 4/17, the windlass lifted a very heavy anchor and rode full of marle, chunky sand and grass—great holding ground and we slept very soundly. We have 35 miles to go to Great Sale Cay where we anchored previously on 3/12. We are following “Antares” and Sea Dog” and have had a lively discussion of all the weather parameters. We have Single Side Band and can listen to Chris Parker on the Caribbean Weather Net at 6 and 8 am and we share this with other boaters.

The highlight of the day was passing a pod of 6 dolphins at 1pm on the northwest corner of Great Sale Cay. They rode our bow wave for about 10 minutes and here are the best shots, however, the pictures do not capture the sense of play and acrobatics. There was a baby dolphin just learning how to do this and he/she did very well and was line leader at times. We took it as a good omen that they greeted us and ushered us on our way.

After 5pm Captains’ Meeting on “Sea Dog”, the winds started to increase to 20 knots with some rain. There were about 30 boats at the anchorage and with our anchor alarm set, we slept very soundly.

On 4/18, we raised the anchor again covered in marley sludge and we followed “Antares”, “Sea Dog”, and a Mainship trawler, “Lady J” the 35 miles to West End. We had 15+ knots of wind on the rear quarter with 2 feet seas, and at times, we were surfing from 6.5 to 8.5 knots. The sailboats were motor sailing as it is important to get to the Indian Rock shoal section just before high tide. Depths go from 14 feet down to 6.7 and with their drafts of 5 feet, every inch is important. Our Chartplotter had a hiccup but we had a backup with Explorer charts, a handheld GPS and way points so did fine.

We started this trek toward West End now as the winds were clocking to the north and there are good anchorages for these conditions. Another factor was that east, south or west winds were forecast for 4/19-4/21 so the jump to FL would be very doable. As any cruiser knows, planning is great but Mother Nature will dictate what you really get.

It was great to get to West End again on 4/18 to enjoy the lounge chairs, hammocks, pool, Bahamian band and beach glass hunting at Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina. We have had to gulp hard at the high price of $106 per day.

At 5pm Captains Meetings, we've had ongoing discussions about the optimum conditions: the sailboaters are fine with beam seas (waves on the side of the boat as they have weighted keels and the sails counteract the rolling seas); we trawler types are not. So on 4/20 and 4/21, a number of sailboaters, some with 1-2 dogs on board, left for FL with a forecast of 15-25 knots of wind, 4-6 foot seas + swell, and possibility of squalls.

We trawler types are waiting for W/SW seas (waves on our stern or aft quarter). At this moment, I am listening to distant thunder and hoping that the front comes through so we can leave tomorrow. Looper boats, “See Ya’” and “Tortuga”, came in today and we will be traveling with them and other trawlers. It will be a long night and a very early morning.

4/21 Update: Remember that I was saying that Mother Nature is in charge--squalls and winds this morning so we will not be going until at least Thursday so back to the beach and lounge chairs after the squalls pass.

Leaving a Lasting Impression 4-16-09

The past two nights at Black Sound have been memorable for hot, hot, hot humid weather and 3 am thunderstorms, which until today, did not cool the air a bit. I did not know that this Minnesotan could sweat that much! We finally have the promised cooler N/NE winds and are ready to head out for Allans-Pensacola Cay about 28 miles away on our way back to the West End.

Allans-Pensacola Cay was initially two separate cays and were joined together as a result of a hurricane decades ago. NASA supposedly had a missile tracking system here in the past. The cay is uninhabited now (although we did hear a generator and see a hodge podge dwelling on shore), offers good protection for most winds except W and NW and although the holding ground can be marginal, we had no trouble setting our Delta.

We took our dinghy into the abandoned dock area, tied it to a tree and followed the trail lined with conch shells, and through the mangrove forest, to the ocean beach. There we found the “signing tree” where cruisers leave signed mementos of their visit here. We took our picture with our improvised leather sign made out of a chaffing guard. What do you think Bob means by the date—is that a trendy way to denote “09”, have we been here already in the 1990’s or are we time travelling and haven’t really been here yet?

Later, we were joined on the beach by Will and Muffin and their dog, Lucy, aboard “Antares.” They have been here several times before and found a kayak paddle that a friend from Lapland made and left here years ago. We also met Buddy and Ria, dogs aboard “Seadog”, who were out walking their parents, Jim and Connie.

As the sun began to set with the cloud backdrop, Bob joined the chorus of conch shell blowers to signal the closing of another day and the beginning of the night filled with a million shining stars.