Bahamas Journal - The Crossing |
Saturday, January 16, 2010
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We topped up the water, pumped the holding tank and finished stowing supplies. We motored out of Boot Key Marina to the Hawk Channel, the same area we broke our rudder, almost a month earlier. Our destination is Rodriguez Key. We should get there by late afternoon or early evening. There we will anchor until we cross Molasses Reef to go out into the Gulf Stream and cross to Bimini in the Bahamas. |
| The Bahama Banks from Space |
The last time I took this trip – over 30 years ago – the thought process on the best way to cross the 'stream' has evolved. Weather patterns have changed significantly, as evidenced by the continuous northers blowing down from Canada and making life in Florida – well 'more Canadian'.
First, understand what the Gulf Stream is. Around the world there are ocean currents that flow in a predictable manner. Mariners have used them for years to navigate the oceans. The combination of trade winds and ocean currents brought the early explorers to the 'new world'. Columbus, in pursuit of a shorter route to India discovered the Bahamas and the Americas.
One of these currents comes out of the Gulf of Mexico and joins up with the North Equatorial Current then flows north as the Gulf Stream between the US and the Bahamas. It carries on north close to Bermuda. That is how that island country of Bermuda enjoys such fine weather out in the North Atlantic. The Gulf Stream swings in by Nova Scotia, contributing to the fog that envelops the east coast on a regular basis in the summer and adds to the winter snows in the Atlantic Provinces. It joins / becomes the North Atlantic Drift that crosses to Europe and heads sound joining / becoming the North Equatorial Drift.
Note: The Gulf Stream carries 4500 times more water than the Mississippi River. Each second, ninety million cubic meters of water is carried past Chesapeake Bay (US) in the Gulf Stream. (Ocean Currents)
The stream's position and speed varies. Today it is about 8 nautical miles southeast of Molasses Reef and is moving at about 2.5 knots in the center. This rive within the surrounding sea is approximately 20 miles wide.
Tonight, we are supposed to have westerly winds shifting to northwest after we cross the stream, but before we reach the Bahamas. The waves will also be from the west. This combination of wind and waves will speed our passage. That said, the trip is still almost 80 miles and at 6 knots, we expect to be on the water for 10 to 12 hours. We are leaving at midnight, because the waters in the Bahamas are shallow and full of reefs and rocks. This is not an area to approach in the dark, even with GPS.
Two other boats also left at the same time, both are catamarans with a much higher boat speed than ours. Leaving from Marathon early in the morning, they will be across the Gulf Stream before sundown (not having to make the Rodriguez Key stop) and then navigate the Great Bahama Bank after dark. We have gotten to know these two crews very well, having commiserated about the best time to cross for the past few weeks. We also participated in a boat name-changing ceremony with the one boat – a Canadian couple who purchased their boat in Texas and then had it registered in Canada. Much champagne is required to appease Poseidon and the four wind gods.
We all set out at different times, keeping in touch as long as we could by VHF radio. Late in the afternoon a forecast squall passed through the area. It lived up to predictions with a bit of rain and a bit of wind, but nothing too serious. Once the front passed, the winds settled in from the West.
One of the catamarans ran into some problems with the squall when the wind shifted suddenly and their Genoa caught the radar dome. The radar was left dangling by the wiring and they had to turn back to correct the situation. We caught up to them at anchor at Rodriguez Key.
We got into the anchorage around 7pm, anchored close to the catamaran and settled in for a short nap. At 11:30pm we woke to the alarm we had set and prepared to finally venture into the Gulf Stream.
The reef is shallow – we selected an area that was only 8 – 10 feet deep to cross from the Hawk Channel to the Atlantic Ocean. In the daytime, I am always nervous crossing this reef. At night, my eyes stayed glued to the route we had plotted the day before. We slowed to 3 knots in the shallowest places and I adjusted our route slightly when a 12-foot deep section showed up on the chart plotter. 90 minutes later the water started getting deeper – 20 feet, 50 feet and within the hour we were in water so deep, neither depth sounder could find the bottom. Soon after that, we entered the Gulf Stream.
The winds were out of the west as forecast, but a little stronger. With the current, wind and waves all pushing us, we crossed the approximate 20 miles of the stream at speeds of 7.5 to 8.5 knots. We were under full main and jib and sailing beautifully.
We took turns napping, but neither of us could really sleep. There was a quarter moon and the stars were brighter than we had seen in the entire trip.
Sojourn handled beautifully. The new rudder performed exactly as it should and we were through the stream quickly. We still had 30 or 40 miles after the stream and arrived at Bimini in the Bahamas late morning.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
20 miles West of South Bimini, The Bahamas
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Bahamians are supposedly a laid back people. I love the Bahamas and the people. Their attention to detail when it comes to navigation aids sucks. There. I said it.
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| Leaving Bimini Sands, South Bimini |
We had some concerns coming into the new marina on South Bimini – the Bimini Sands Resort and Marina. There was conflicting information on the best route in. We had up-to-date chart books from Explorer and it said the route was to come in from the south, between the sand bar and the beach and then a right turn into the marina. It even provided GPS coordinates that were already programmed into our GPS unit.
Because the water is 'gin clear' we could see the sand bar, the reef, the bottom and all the waves generated by the strong north westerly winds that were supposed to have subsided, but did not. On top of that, the channel was close to the beach. I mean real close. As it turned out the marina entrance was narrow. Real narrow. And the waves were breaking at the entrance on a 45-degree angle.
We were committed, so I turned Sojourn toward the marina, grabbed a wave and surfed into a quiet, beautiful, very well protected almost-empty marina. A couple from a neighbouring boat came to help us with our lines. The gentleman introduced himself and the name seemed familiar. It was not until I looked at their boat and saw the Explorer logo on the hull that I realized it was Monty Lewis and his wife Sara, the authors of the chart book we were using.
We cleared customs at the South Bimini airport and the $8.00 cab ride and received our cruising permit and fishing license through to June 2010. Our immigration however was only good for 90 days. Should we wish to stay long in the Bahamas, we merely have to visit any immigration office and (if we are behaving) we can extent our stay for another 90 days.
Monday, January 18, 2010 - South Bimini, The Bahamas (25 41.3 -79 17.7)
We had not been to Bimini in over 30 years, so we invested a few hours and the $2.00 ferry ride to cross to North Bimini. The recession has hit this area hard. Many projects have stalled.
As we walked through Alice Town, the Customs building on the Government Dock looked the same. I can only assume that many of the houses and shops had received a coat of paint or two, but that was all. We walked up to the Bahamas Telephone Company (BTC) office. I wanted to get a local SIM card for my Canadian telephone as the roaming rates in the Bahamas were prohibitively expensive.
The BTC office in Bimini could not help me because my phone was locked by the Canadian provider. I don't have to tell you which one because they all do it. I had to find an independent to unlock my phone to be able to use a BTC SIM chip. I had been trying to get my phone unlocked since leaving Canada, with no success. I finally found an internet company that would send me the unlock code and direction for just $20.00. It worked. The company was out of Montreal.
After a short walk to the beach (there are only two major roads on North Bimini) we headed back to the ferry. On the way back to the marina and Sojourn we picked up some Bahamian coconut rum and a loaf of Bahamian bread. There was a taste I remembered. Bahamian bread is heavier than we are used to and has no preservatives. When you can find it fresh out of the oven, you just sit down wherever you are and consume the whole thing. So much for losing weight!
We returned to the marina and headed out around 10:30am. We had to cross the Great Bahama Bank (The Flats) – a stretch of shallow water over 80 miles across. Since our cruising range is 50 miles each day, we would anchor on the flats at night and carry on through in the morning.
We entered the flats at Turtle Rocks, just south of Bimini and for the next day and a half would be crossing in 8 to 12 feet of crystal clear water. We started counting starfish on the bottom as a way of passing time. We passed (or were passed by) a few boats as we started onto the flats. After that, nothing. And a lot of nothing there was. No boats, nothing on the horizon and no wind. Notice Mary's steering technique.
The flats are so wide that a sailboat like ours cannot cross it in one day. We pulled off the direct route onto one of the shoals. In 8 feet of water, we anchored for the night. It was a truly eerie feeling, not being able to see land in any direction, no other boats, no wind, no waves and crystal clear water.
The sunset was fabulous, the stars amazing in brilliance and quantity, and the sunrise the next morning just as spectacular. We continued motoring until our bilge pump went off sending a stream of water over the side. We had seen that before and upon inspection found that the heat exchanger cap we replaced in Fort Pierce had once again ruptured.
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We stopped to 'repair it again' and had been at it for about 2 hours when two boats we had seen in Marathon happened by. One, Blessed Spirit out of Maine asked if we were anchored and we told them our situation. Both boats immediately turned toward us to offer assistance. |
| Blessed Spirit and Sojourn on the "Flats" from Interlude |
The other boat, Interlude from Virginia, had an epoxy sealer on board that they willingly shared. They were headed for Chubb Cay, just off the flats and said they would monitor our situation and send help if we needed it. We thanked them and continued working on the repair. The heat exchanger cap is neoprene, so nothing we had would stick to it. The instructions said the epoxy would take 4 hours to set up. We started to make the repair when we heard a call for assistance on the VHF radio.
It seems a powerboat had run out of fuel while crossing the flats and was trying unsuccessfully to get boats to stop and help. We radioed back that we had heard them and then placed an 'all stations' broadcast on their behalf. The US Coast in Miami picked up the call and we became the relay between the boat and the Coast Guard. For the next couple of hours we tried to get someone to help the boat.
When the wind came up, I set the cruising spinnaker to get the boat moving again. Another boat, the sailing vessel America, heard the calls and took over the relay. They were close to the disabled boat and offered fuel from their dinghy. We offered our reserve dinghy fuel (5 gal), but were in no condition to deliver it. America sent over its tender to take the fuel to the other boat and then return our fuel can.
We sailed a few more miles and anchored under sail for a second night on the flats – not far from the North West Channel Light.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
North West Channel Light, The Bahamas
(25 28.25 -78 09.5)
In the morning, the winds were favourable, and we were able to sail to just off Chubb Cay Marina. We started the engine and got into the marina safely. There were Blessed Spirit and Interlude. We went over to return the epoxy and chat with the crews. We were invited and accepted an invitation for drinks and ended up staying for dinner. The cruising life is a fine one.
The two crews had arranged for a local to prepare a conch salad. The fisherman did not arrive until 8pm – too late for dinner. We ended up buying the conch he brought for $10 for 8 conch – out of the shell. Half went in our fridge and half in Blessed Spirit's. We agreed to get together the next night in Nassau and prepare the conch in some manner.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Chub Cay, The Bahamas
(25 24.0 -77 55.0)
All 3 boats – Blessed Spirit, Interlude and Sojourn, were ready to go at 0800. It took until almost 0930 to get the paperwork straight with the marina office at Chub Cay. It seems the marina is in receivership and everyone is making do. Fortunately, there were only a few boats in the marina that day, so the errors didn't become debilitating.
We started Sojourn's motor and eased out of the slip. As soon as we could unfurl the jib we cut the engine, knowing there were only a few good minutes before the 'repair' of the heat exchanger undid. As we neared the end of the channel and open water, we had to restart the engine as we were heading into the wind and the waves. The bilge pump came on once to tell us that the sailing had better be good.
It was.
In fact, we sailed under main and jib most of the day, making 5 to 6 knots. The trip from Chub Key to Nassau is just over 35 nautical miles. At this rate, we would be in Nassau in 6 – 7 hours.
Blessed Spirit and Interlude are larger, heavier boats and in this wind were able to pull ahead of us. They reached the Nassau harbor entrance an hour before we did and radioed back to check on our situation. They even offered to come out and tow us in if necessary. Boat buddies are very important and a great emotional security blanket as well.
The wind dropped and so did our speed. The wind direction was still good, so we unpacked the cruising spinnaker one more time. Our speed immediately went to 6 knots as Nassau came into sight.
We carried the spinnaker well into the harbor, almost to the cruise ship dock. There the wind funneled between the ships and the shore of Paradise Island. The increase in wind speed and the angle (over our stern) made the boat roll quite a bit and, being concerned we might broach, we had to take the cruising spinnaker (chute) down.
With the chute secured, we unfurled our jib one more time and sailed through the Nassau Harbor. We radioed the marina (Nassau Harbour Club) that we were having engine problems and they had someone on the dock to meet us. We sailed to within 100 yards of our slip assignment, furled the sail, turned on the engine and brought Sojourn to a graceful and safe stop in Nassau.
We docked beside Interlude and received quite a welcome from our cruising friends.
That night, I took on the task of preparing the conch, including completing the cleaning process and pounding the meat with a hammer until it was tender. We then breaded and pan fried the conch for a delicious happy hour snack.
We were safe and sound in Nassau and would start the search for a mechanic to repair our heat exchanger in the morning.
Next Chapter: Nassau Interlude
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