The Crossing

Navigating pre-dawn.  You can just see Dan's beard.

       We got up around 0400 on New Year’s Day to get underway for the Bahamas.  It had been a rather sleepless night - a little too rolly, a little too hot, and fireworks at midnight - but we were excited to get underway.  Mike on Gilkey as Charged took the lead, we were in the middle spot, and Rick and Debbie on Raison D’Etre were behind.  We slowly threaded our way through Angel Fish Creek, using handheld spots to pick up the markers and show off the few obstructions lurking in the dark.  About two miles from Key Largo, Debbie informed us all they’d developed an engine problem and were turning back.  “Bon voyage!”  was her parting wish, while ours was “Good luck and keep in touch!”  The two of us left in the convoy pushed on into the glorious sunrise.  It was a little lumpy, but we’ve been through worse.  About midmorning a large pod of dolphins came to frolic around us, leaping and breaching.  We took it as a good sign.  We also saw a lot of flying fish, and many Portuguese Man of War ‘sailing’ by.  

Sunrise in the Gulf stream

We reached Cat Cay about 2pm and pushed on, having decided our check-in point would be at Chub Cay.  We raised the Q flag and kept going another ten miles or so, putting the anchor down on the bank of Mackey Shoal just after sunset.  Mike anchored nearby and we all slept soundly that night.

Cat Cay

            We reached Chub Cay mid-afternoon on Monday, Jan 2.  This is a small island with some large colorful homes and a very busy marina that seemed to be catering to larger yachts.  They closed the fuel dock for us and gave Dan and Mike a lift to the airport where customs and immigration were located. Since we’d all already gotten our cruising permit via Click2Clear online, checking in in person was just a formality and took only a few minutes.  It took longer to get to and back from the airport than it did to check in.  Once back aboard, we both left the dock and moved out to nearby Bird Cay to mellow out for a few days while the wind shifted and stirred up some heavier seas.  The water there was various shade of emerald green - so beautiful and yet so elusive to capture on film.  We snorkeled.  We swam.  We visited Mike on his trawler for dinner and then we hosted him on the Willie Dawes the next night.  We watched the sun set every night and saw our first green flash of the year.  

Trust me, it was green at the very end.

This morning (Thursday Jan 5) Mike left before dawn for Nassau.  We had a quick swim and then left around 0830 to follow in his tracks, but our destination was Rose Island, as we’re not fans of Nassau harbor and have no reason to go ashore anyway.  We got to the anchorage at Rose Island about 3:30 pm and almost immediately donned our snorkel gear and set out to see what we could see.  Bird Cay offered very little beyond grass and snails (though we did see a lion fish lurking under some sunken construction materials) but here at Rose Island there were many coral heads and lots of tropical fish of all colors and sizes.  There were too many to name here, but they were a welcome sight and now we feel like we’ve really arrived!  

This doesn't quite capture the beautiful green color, but it's close.