Stuff
So, we’ve made it to Nassau in time to collect our daughter, Leanne and her 2 boys, Luther, 3 ½ and Zeke, almost 2, who have flown all the way from Christchurch, NZ and will be joining us this Saturday.
We left Chub Cay 2 days ago and spent yesterday cleaning the boat. It’s incredible how much salt dries on the boat. You can’t touch anything but you are left with a residue of salt in your hand. At this rate we can just collect the white stuff and there’ll be no need to buy any.
Yesterday was a great day, hot as hades and in the afternoon we had some new friends over for drinks and soon more arrived. We were happy to entertain Mario and Marie-Christine of Schmetterling whom we first met in Bimini and then encountered again in Chub Cay. We also had out current neighbours Vic and Gigi of Oconee over and they gave us their “boat card” which came in the form a music CD – Bahamian music! Joining us too were Bruce and Cindy of Aviva. a very convivial time with snacks and drinks in our spacious salon (out of the sun).
Today was just terrible. The cold front attacked us around 3am and the wind has been howling since then. Add to that, the temperature has plummeted to what I call sub-arctic temperatures. Yesterday I was washing the boat with no shirt on and today it’s been jerseys and the like 
No pleasure here!!
However, I did have some conch (pronounced conk) salad and loved it. Mary wavered but had a taste but declared it too lemony for her taste. I think it was the thought of the raw conch!!
Today, we also had a frustrating day trying to source a new battery and battery charger. It seems that my house bank capacity is not sufficient to cover the electricity draw plus the charger is not up to the task or replacing what we use quickly enough. This results in us having to run the generator for hours while at anchor – much to the annoyance of the sailboaters, I’m sure!!!
Crossings
So what about these “crossings” I alluded to in my heading?
Well, there’s only one – or that’s what everyone, in their blogs and in the various guide books, would have you believe. And that’s the crossing of the Gulf Stream (Miami to Bimini)!!! Every warning, every admonishment, every thought is about this crossing!! Choose your weather window well!! Don’t go if there’s any north in the wind. A north wind against the Gulf Stream can result in huge steep waves making for a very uncomfortable if not dangerous crossing. And so on and so on!!!
Our crossing went as smooth as a baby’s b… well you get the picture!
Nobody tells you how rough it can be on the Bahama Banks!!!
Nobody tell you how rough it can be crossing the Northwest Providence Channel!!
In fact, it’s the done thing to anchor on the Bahama Banks for the night and then continue the journey the next day. Ha!! Talking to those experienced cruisers who have done it more than once, the imparted wisdom is to choose a good weather window and do the 28 odd hours all the way to Nassau from Miami! Who would have thought?? Especially when the advice is to avoid all night travel in the Bahamas?
And the NW Providence Channel?
The forecast was for light (11k) winds and a 2 to 3 foot sea. Great conditions!! Or so we thought. Bad mistake!!
We hit 15-18k and 5-6 foot beam on swells. Sitting – if you can call it that – on the flybridge was next to impossible, we were being thrown around so much!! After the first hour I was thinking to myself – not to worry the admiral, you know – that I wasn’t sure if I could handle another 4 hours of being in this washing machine.
Eventually, I went down into the salon for something – not sure what, now – and “discovered” that the boat’s motion was so much easier!! Why hadn’t I thought of driving the boat from inside before? I guess, simply because we had never done so in the past 1200 miles!!
So we moved down to the salon and had a more bearable trip.
So, dear Reader, if you are planning this trip, take note of these 2 stretches of water – they can be meaner than the Gulf Stream crossing!!
So, we and our friends Mario and Marie-Christine are still waiting for the relaxing times to begin. Up to now it seems to have been a long dreary, problematic haul!!
Can’t wait to get to the Exumas which everybody tells me is magic……..
Woohoo! Glad you made it…not we just have to make the rest of the way. Looking forward to it.