The wind has been mighty fierce these couple of days and as usual we have a fear of getting stuck in Bimini for longer than we wanted. We await our Chris Parker (our weather guru) email to see what the coming days will be like. There is chatter all about the marina of folks leaving and while one weather app may say it is doable, another may conflict. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut and know that you can turn around if you have to. Well after watching the beautiful night sky we had made plans to sit one more day. The weather sounded better to leave on Wednesday and we were settled on that being our plan. Until……our buddy boat (a 39 Leopard Catamaran) untied their lines Tuesday morning and headed to Great Harbor. We radioed to see what the sea state was and while he gave no ringing endorsement one way or another, we quickly started shifting gears and turned on the computer to listen to Chris Parkers early morning forecast. That sealed it for us…..we were quickly settling our bill and stowing things away for a mid morning departure. Our plan would be to sail….I mean motor through the night with hopes of arriving in the Exumas on Wednesday.
So our departure was about 10:30 am after getting all settled and the plan would be to get to the Northwest Channel hopefully before dark as it is a tricky passage. Very skinny water is places with lots of boats/ships passing through the night…..having visual clarity would be a plus. We would pass by North Rock which is marked well…..I wish all the markers in the Bahamas stood out as well as this one. Well even doing 8.5 to 9 knots we hit the Northwest Channel as the moon was coming up. Great thing……a full moon! It pales in comparison to full sun but we will take it over pitch black. Lots of chatter on the radio as yachts 110 foot with 10 foot drafts are calling to let us little guys know they need the center of the channel. With only about five miles to cross, we would be in the Tongue of the Ocean when we get to the other side.
We were out and on our way. We did three hour shifts…..and Jaxon would stay downstairs and sleep while the puppy, Cooper wanted to stay awake and watch the entire trip so he would be the co pilot. We were both up early in the morning as the coffee was ready and we could see Exuma shorelines. The decision of where to go was a tough one. The weather is still somewhat questionable with winds coming and going but that is January and February in the Bahamas. Since it was so smooth we decided to head to Blackpoint where I could do a load of towels and sheets and get the boat cleaned up before continuing. We left is such a hurry that the things I had planned on doing Tuesday would now be my Thursday…..cleaning bathrooms and floors.
We are here in Blackpoint and could not be happier. We celebrated with a glass of Cabernet, White Truffle Cheese, Salami and crackers. It is such beautiful water and just seeing it calms the soul.
