Flying the Bahamian Flag

With the Bahamas so close that we could taste the conch, we pulled up anchor in Boot Key Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, and headed east.

The weather window was right and the five boats we had been planning the passage with were either getting ready to pull up anchor or had left a little earlier. As we sailed out into the deep waters of the Atlantic, the silent question aboard Kaleo was “how smooth will our crossing be?” After a 45 hour passage we’re happy to report that all-in-all, it was a wonderful trip into the Bahamas.

The first few hours after we sailed out of Marathon were quite rolly and uncomfortable and as we headed for “the Stream“, we hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t get worse. During our every-three-hour radio check with our buddy boats, we intently listed to what those in front of us had to say about the conditions. Some reported the same rocking and rolling but two of the lead boats said it was beautiful and smooth sailing up ahead. We altered course a bit and sailed toward those reported smoother waters.

We entered the Gulf Stream about 20 miles off the coast of Florida and were treated to unbelievably great conditions. Other than a few large container ships we had to avoid (one that came alarmingly close, despite telling us on the radio that he was miles away), the whole night we motor sailed at 7-8 knots (the Gulf Stream current was quite helpful). As Troy on Storyville put it “you could water ski out here.” At dawn the sea state was again rolly and rough as a the winds picked up and the swells increased to 4-5 feet. But things calmed down again as we passed South Riding Rock and into crystal clear waters of the Great Bahama Bank.

Still with no land in sight, the day was spent sailing, and occasionally motor sailing when the wind died, over the sea floor that we could easily see through 20 feet of pristine water. We were joined by dolphins that torpedoed around the boat like curious kids of the newbie on their playground.

At sunset on day two of the trip we hove to (parked the boat by opposing the jib sail’s force to the rudder’s force) to ensure that we wouldn’t get into Nassau before sunrise and to get a few hours of rest. Well, Matt got rest while Christie burned off the sugar-free Red Bull she had just drank as it was her turn to be on shift before we decided to heave-to. She used the time, and energy, to clean the boat, to fully catch up on this past season of Mad Men and to keep an eye on the other boats that were hove-to.

As soon as the night’s sky was filled with the most bold and bright full moon, the group got back underway and headed for our next waypoint of Northwest Channel, the entrance of the Tongue of the Ocean. With shoals on both sides and strong currents, the channel can be fairly tricky to navigate through, especially in the dark. So, all six boats within our flotilla lined up pretty tightly, like elephants trunk to tail, and kept in close communication as the depth sounder went quickly from 10 feet to 15 to 25 to 100 to the unreadable depths of 6,000 feet.

The next 10 hours were spent mostly motoring toward Nassau Harbor. Matt was sound asleep when morning came and Christie was treated to an amazing sunrise off the bow and a majestic moonset off the stern.

Soon enough we had radioed Nassau Harbor Control for permission to enter, were cleared and were on our way to dock at the Nassau Yacht Haven to wait for customs and immigration. The check-in process went smoothly as three customs officials boarded Kaleo, remaining in the cockpit, to complete the paperwork.  The only hang-up was that we were over-charged by $150 due to the customs officers not being familiar with the rates based on vessel length (or so we’d like to assume). Note: The official cruising permit fees for the Bahamas are $150 for vessels 35′ and under, $300 for vessels 35.1′ and up. We were essentially forced to pay $300 in cash, although Kaleo is 34′, as there was really no way to convince them beyond our attempts to point out our understanding of the rates. Frustrating to say the least but we plan to investigate the facts further and to take it up with the main customs office in hopes of a refund.

We took down our yellow quarantine flag and hoisted the Bahamian flag to prove Kaleo was now cleared to cruise the Bahamas. Dead tired, but excited to finally be here, the crew of our group of buddy boats met at “The Poop Deck Restaurant” for a celebratory dinner. We finished the evening sipping champagne and sharing sailing stories aboard our friends’ boat, Storyville, then it was back to Kaleo for a deep slumber.