Assuming all fuel and water are topped off, the evening before any significant passage is spent prepping the boat and ourselves for safety and ease underway.
This involves, but is not limited to, securing the dinghy outboard motor on the stern rail, deflating and storing our dinghy on deck, checking the main engine oil, alternator belt and fuel filter, inspecting standing and running rigging, uncovering the main sail, running our jack lines (safety straps that run the length of the boat that we clip into when going forward of the cockpit), preparing meals that we’ll have underway, organizing and securing all movable things inside the boat and laying out the clothes and PFD’s we’ll wear.
And here’s how we spent the 30 hour crossing from Green Turtle Cay, Abaco to Ft. Pierce, Florida.
6:30 – Matt wakes up to tune into Chris Parker’s weather forecast. It confirms favorable conditions for a smooth Gulf Stream crossing with winds 5-10 knots from the east, southeast and two to three foot swell on the ocean.
7:00 – We pull up the anchor with Matt at the bow and Christie at the helm. The chain rapidly clanks up over the bow roller, most likely alerting everyone in the anchorage that a boat is leaving.
7:02 – Scooted past the sleeping “Honu Lele” and entered White Sound Channel toward the Sea of Abaco. 55 miles to Great Sale Cay, our intended staging anchorage for the crossing.
7:30 – Christie makes egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast while Matt programs the day’s waypoints into the chart plotter.
10:00 – The wind picks up so Matt rolls out the jib to motorsail.
10:09 – The wind dies so Matt rolls the jib back in to stop it from flapping against the shrouds.
12:00 – Lunch is served, salads with summer sausage and crackers for Matt, grilled Veggie-cheese for Christie.
14:30 – The wind picks back up and Matt rolls out the jib again.
16:00 – The wind has held and Kaleo glides along at 6 to 6.5 knots with only the rumble of Mr. Beeker (our affectionately named engine) to disturb the peace of the island we’re floating past.
16:15 – Matt finishes his second book of the day. (Life on a Rock and The Sun Also Rises)
17:30 – We arrive at our intended staging anchorage of Great Sale Cay. Feeling good and decide to sail on through the night and get to Florida by Saturday afternoon. About 110 miles to go.
18:30 – Christie heats up premade foil packets of Quinoa stuffed bell peppers which we enjoy in the cockpit as the beginnings of sunset beckon nightfall.
19:00 – We get cell reception from a lone island tower and use our last $8.00 of Bahamian cell credit to call AT&T and have our U.S. cell phone taken off vacation hold and call family and friends to let them know of our adjusted plans.
19:15 – Matt goes below for his sleep shift while Christie takes the helm.
20:30 – Our fishing reel starts to click, click, click signaling fish on! Matt jumps up to bring it in while Christie goes for the gaff hook and gloves. Much to our dismay, the fighting fish is nothing more than a large Barracuda which we unhook and release. At least we didn’t lose a lure.
21:00 – Christie scans the horizon as a few twinkles turn into a comforting blanket of stars in the pitch black sky.
23:30 – A bright flash wakes Matt up. Turns out it’s lightning about 10 miles off our stern, not Christie taking pictures in the night. Matt joins the storm watching party in the cockpit and eventually takes over for the admiral to get some rest.
24:00 – The storm passes well to our stern with strobing flashes indicating its location.
2:30 – A silver quarter moon rises and gives lighted dimension to the waves around us.
3:00 – The engine mysteriously lugs and dies, leaving an eerie silence in the night. We sail on at 4 knots while Matt opens up the engine room to start diagnosis.
3:20 – The motor cranks and starts back up after Matt traced the problem to a drained starting battery which didn’t have enough power to run the electric fuel pump, starving Mr. Beeker to silence. After hot-wiring into the house batteries, it was back to full steam ahead at 7 knots.
5:30 – Streams of sunlight begin to pierce the sky signaling the approaching sunrise.
7:30 – Breakfast is again served, this time it’s cereal.
8:00 – Our speed increases to a near 8 knots as we’re pulled northward into the strong currents of the Gulf Stream.
9:30 – Christie crafts notes to fill a couple message in bottles and we toss them overboard in the ripping current of the Gulf Stream.
10:30 – Matt lowers our tattered and torn Bahamian flag as we sail back into U.S. waters.
11:00 – Looking over our stern, we realize there is a fish on our line. We reel in a bluefin tuna, which was a little too small to eat so we cut it up for bait.
11:20 – We were welcomed into Florida by a pod of about a dozen dolphins and a double rainbow. Our playful friends escorted us in for about half an hour, some doing synchronized leaps and dives that were so well timed we thought they had escaped from Seaworld.
12:30 – We motor through the channel entrance into Ft. Pierce Inlet and quickly realized we were making our grand entrance into the coast of southern Florida on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend! Boats big and small swarmed the waterways buzzing around at speeds that shattered our laid back island pace. It was an abrupt annoucement that we were back stateside.
1:15 – We dock at Harborview Marina to treat ourselves to A/C, a freshwater bath for Kaleo and a long night’s rest. First stop in the U.S. was “A Touch of Brooklyn” pizzeria where we overindulged in a gooey fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil Pizza Margherita.
6:30 – Matt finishes washing the boat, and Christie wipes the last surface inside clean. After long showers we crawl into the V-berth and are asleep before we can say goodnight.
If you’re headed north all the way to the Chesapeake Bay, we’d like to host you and provide some local knowledge for the northern Bay. We’re leaving in November and I’d love to talk to you about cruising. Send me an email if you think you’ll make it that far north.
Hi Brad – Thanks for your thoughtful note and kind offer to meet up in the Chesapeake. We are always in learning mode so your local knowledge of the northern Bay would certainly be appreciated. I’ll send you an email now. BTW – your site design looks great! You’ll be surprised how quickly the pages fill with memories of your preparations and adventures. Enjoy!