Bahamas, Here we Come !!!



Yes, yes, blogging in the pilot house, while cruising south on the ICW to stage for a crossing tomorrow.  First, let's catch up on repairs and social activities.  New water tanks went in great and Steve built a sight gauge out of clear PVC and a couple of fittings mounted on the wall so we can actually see how much water we have left.  The main exhaust pipe runs along the hull in that same compartment ... 30 year old 5" stainless steel pipe, you can see it on the ground below, a 14 foot length and a couple of bends to reach the engine .... rusted enough to need replacement. 

So we had to come outta the water for just one overnight last week, and Steve worked hard replacing it with a fiberglass pipe with hose attachments.   On our way back to our slip at Harbortown, we were followed by a large pod of dolphins, gotta be a good sign, right?  We've had way more rain this winter than we had last winter.  But after the rain comes  the rainbow, and that's gotta be another good sign.

We really like this marina and have made many good friends here.  Last night there was a Chili Cook Off and I made my Sante Fe Chicken Chili.  Nine entries and alot of yummie side dishes.  Did I mention it was 80 degrees?

I won the prize for "Outside of the Box Chili". That doesn't mean I made it out of a box, it means it was different than traditional chili.  Here is my first "selfie" with my $25 gift certificate, which I applied to our fuel fill up today. 

and here's the F Dock gang wishing us smooth sailing. 

Which brings us up to present time.  We had been looking at a weather window all last week and prepping to leave.  Our forward cabin is filled with canned goods and freezer packed with meat for 40 meals.  I've applied twice to the Bahamian Dept. of Agriculture for a permit to bring Lucy into the country and still don't have a permit.  But we have all her papers and a copy of the form (gotten from another boater) signed by our Florida Vet that she is vaccinated and healthy.  Other cruisers tell us to not even worry, they often don't even ask.  BFF Sue sent us our old iPhone3 and we've gotten it "unlocked" to accept a BaTelCo sim card and will be able to access the internet through the phone.  We are headed for the Abacos, which is the more civilized part of the Bahamas and is reported to have a good cell phone network. 

So what's the big deal with the weather for a short 54 mile day time crossing?  Well, it's the Gulf Stream .... a 25-30 mile wide "river" in the ocean that flows north up the entire east coast ... here in Florida, it's only 5-10 miles off shore, flowing between us and the Bahamas.  When the wind is from the north, or has any northerly component to it, you have "wind against current" and that is a set up that should be avoided .... big waves.  It's like petting a cat backwards.  In the winter the prevailing wind is north and every couple of weeks it "clocks around" to the east, then south, then west, then back to north.  So all us snowbirds watch the weather, and scoot over when the wind clocks to the south and the sea lies down.  Just make sure you get there before it clocks back to the north.  One of the local Floridian boaters said to me "oh we don't go to the Bahamas in the winter, it's too rough" ... but us crazy snowbird cruisers do and then run for cover during hurricane season when the Floridians are cruising leisurely to the Bahamas.   

We had been anticipating a "weather window" to cross this weekend, but then yesterday it didn't look that good, so we lazed about.  Got up this am, and it looked better, so we really scurried with last minute prep:  filled the water tanks, loaded the bikes, got last minute groceries, cash and dinghy gas, and got the car to storage.  Fueled up, pumped out, showered and here we are.  We should pull into Lake Worth by dark, this is a popular place to anchor for the night before leaving out the Inlet there for the crossing.  We will be checking into West End on Grand Bahama Island tomorrow afternoon.  Forcast is for 2-3 foot waves 6 seconds apart.  Not smooth, but hopefully tolerable.  Stay tuned, will get back on as soon as we are back on the grid.