It was still dark when we pulled anchor at 5am on Thursday, January 20th. Marine forecast prediction was 5-10 knots of wind from the East with flat seas. Once we cleared land what we experienced were winds blowing 12-15 knots from the East with waves that were short and steep right on our nose. There was one sailboat in front of us and three sailboats lined up behind us. The sailboats behind us would sporadically hail us on the radio asking if the seas were calmer in the deep water. They weren’t. Due to the consistent slamming, our bow light became disconnected, which meant our red and greens were no longer visible to other boats.
We came across a fishing vessel, Birdie P, and Blake hailed him on the radio letting him know we were there and that our bow light was out. In the most country accent, you can imagine, he responded, “I see ya out there, I’m ‘bout to turn offshore in just a bit.” Blake said that he sounded like one his own kind and I heard Billy Big Rig come out when he responded, “Roger that, Birdie P.” I was waiting for “C’mon,” but it didn’t come out this time.
We were about an hour and half into this sea-beating and we see the boat in front of us has turned around and is heading back. Then the other boats behind us turn back one after the other. We decided we would wait until sunrise and determine if we were going to keep going or turn back. Our experience with the Gulf of Mexico must have increased our tolerance for discomfort because at sunrise, we decided to keep going. Plus, our eyes were on the prize, white sand beaches and clear turquoise water.
It wasn’t until we reached the Gulf Stream that chop subsided a pinch. The Gulf Stream is a north flowing current of warm water, approximately 15-20 miles wide at certain points, with speeds around four knots or more. This allowed us to pick up some speed and why we chose to leave from Key Biscayne versus a more northern part of the eastern Florida coast. We don’t want to go up against Mother Nature anymore than we have to.
While in the Gulf Stream, we see a Coast Guard ship which felt comforting, since we were no longer in the company of other boats. The Coast Guard hailed us on the radio and asked us where we came from, where we were going, how many on board, and if we are U.S. citizens. I guess we answered all those questions correctly and they wished us a safe trip to the Bahamas. We thanked them for checking in on us.
At 2:30pm, Land Ho!
And by 3:30pm we are in the channel and headed towards Bluewater Marina in Bimini, Bahamas.
We were greeted by Chippy and JR, the charismatic dockmaster. We didn’t have a reservation but they let us tie up on the inside of the fuel dock. For $50 a day, you have access to non-potable water, hot showers, coin-operated laundry, trashcans, and fuel.
While Blake went to customs and immigration, I remained on the boat. We read that only the captain (or “Master” as it’s referred to in the paperwork) is the only one that can get off the boat until you get cleared by customs and immigration. He returned about 40 minutes later and we were cleared and ready to explore the Bahamas. We lowered the yellow quarantine flag and raised the Bahamian flag.
By 4:45pm we were walking down Radio Beach soaking it all in. We made it, y’all, our first international destination!
