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The big day had finally arrived. The wind had moderated a little but was blowing slightly N of W. We would leave after lunch and either stop at No Name Harbor and leave the next morning for Chub or sail S for a while and head for Cat Cay when it got dark. We took final showers and had lunch at Scotties and brought back ice. We left the dock around 1 PM. We had only a little problem backing the boat out of the pilings. The boat moved OK under power so I decided the prop did not need cleaning and we sailed out Stiltsville with a good W wind. As we got out into deep water we noticed a swell running from the N. We sailed S until 6 PM and then turned SE. We watched the evening news and the Nightly Business Report. As we got further out in the Gulf Stream the swells became bigger and by 8 PM they were quite impressive. They would build up behind us until we could not see anything but water above us and then the boat would lift and the wave rolled under us while the boat rolled and the sails flapped. The rolling was enough to cause the crew below in the bunk to slide off and I once found Jill just about to fall off the bunk. But for all the rocking and rolling we were making very good time, 5 Kt. in the right direction. Only 2 freighters came close to us and we passed in front of both of them. It is always a little scary watching them approach and hoping they see us. After we passed the center of the Gulf Stream the swells started decreasing again but the wind generated waves increased somewhat to produce a confused sea. We were being pushed N of the course to Cat Cay and we could have gone on the other tack to get there but I thought the entrance might be too rough in this W wind so I turned a little N and headed for Great Isaac Light and Chub Cay. We were going so fast we would have to wait 4-5 hours for daylight at Cat Cay before entering and it looked like we could make Chub Cay by Wednesday evening. After turning NE with the Gulf Stream current we were traveling 8.5 Kt over the ground. By midnight we were nearing Great Isaac Light and the swells were much reduced. We did not see the light until we got within 4 miles and then we could not see it when we got closer and N of it but we did pass N of 3 boats also going around so we were pretty sure we were in the right place. As we made the turn E we were going down wind and all the waves were coming from behind us. The wind cycled from light with the sails flapping when we rolled to strong when we would do 6+ Kt with just the jib. The waves were 6-8’ and occasionally a higher one would hit us.
The "fish" cover log book was filled with writing on the day we left
Miami. And what a wild ride it was! :) We left the Dinner Key Marina about 12:30
PM. We had considered spending a few hours at No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne,
but Rich decided to go out and south and take off for Chub Cay - a straight 24 -
26 hours of sailing - after the 5 - 6 hrs wait at sea. So we were off! The high
pressure system was on us - so the NE winds were reasonable - if somewhat gusty,
but that Gulfstream was rolling like a serpent. 12 - 15 ft waves. They wend on
all night long. It wasn't long before I threw up! Yes, I had taken Bonine at
noon. Boy, if I would not have done that I'd now be too weak to write! The
auto-pilot saved us. Rich steered for a while toward dawn, but with the seas
rolling all around that was too difficult to concentrate. When you look at the
horizon hills were coming. Sometime during the night Rich started the engine so
that we could arrive at Chub Cay before night. Even though we were sailing 4-5
kts. right along. Much of it was going up and down those hills. The sails and
engine got us a steady 5.5 - 6 kts and Rich says the GPS shows our over ground
speed at 8 kts. some of the time. Chub Cay came into view about 4 PM. By 6PM we
were anchored and watching a brilliant red sunset. All day the waters were wild.
Once we had seen flying fish. One tiny 2" flying fish landed on deck. Dead. His
body was yellow and his fins were the full length of his body. The eyes are Paul
Newman blue. We had taken turns with watch and sleep, but I slept a lot more
than Rich because of being sick I went down to bed. Rich never slept long. One
hour here and there. Checking navigation. Once I was almost on the floor from
sliding cushions. Most everything on the boat moved itself to the waves. I was
really grateful that we were not slamming , just rolling - most curls were from
the stern and port side. Oh, I am dizzy again remembering. We had great
(strong!) rum drinks and cheese to celebrate our arrival and praised that we got
little spray and no rain. The stars were brilliant, few clouds. And, Ahhh, we
are finally here in the Bahamas! The water is so clear and there is a
strip of white beach near our anchorage. I took a picture of Rich hanging our
yellow quarantine flag. We have to check in with Customs today. There are a few
large beach houses facing this lagoon. Rich says we will stay here a few days
and explore. The sun is shining brightly. The temp feels about 65°F.
Breezy.
At dawn the sky was filled with clouds which dissipated slowly during the
day. The wind kept cycling but the waves gradually reduced to 4-5’ as we got
into shallower water and finally 2-3’ when we got on the bank. We also started
seeing more fishing boats. We were doing 4 Kt in the lulls and 5.5 Kt in the
puffs. At 9 AM I started the motor to charge the batteries and with the motor
turning over at 1800 RPM we would do 5 Kt in the lulls and 6 Kt in the puffs. At
this rate we could make Chub before dark so we ran the motor for the rest of the
day. The NW channel light has just a couple of pilings sticking up with a light
attached to one. When we got into deep water the waves were only 2’ for the
final few hours to Chub. There were 2 sailboats and a fishing boat anchored off
the beach on the S side of the island and nobody in the little harbor so we
decided to join them. The guide book said that the harbor was scoured out and
holding was poor. There was a little swell from the W but it and the wind died
away during the night. We were so tired we did not even notice. After cheese and
crackers, drinks, spaghetti and Cherry wine we fell soundly to sleep.
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