Miami to Long Island
Saturday May 30 - We left Miami at sunup headed towards the Gulf Stream. This time we were going to cross the Gulf Stream on purpose so we could get into Northwest Providence Channel in the northern Bahamas. This would set our course to make it make it to the Eastern side of the Bahamas and then onto St Thomas. David and Joe took the first watch and Ashton and I took a nap. By that evening we were in our first new country on our own boat. WE WERE IN THE BAHAMAS!!! There were ships anchored right off the channel where the water depth went from 16,000 feet deep to 45 feet. They weren’t but a few miles away and it was an awesome sight. Since COVID-19 had shut down the cruise industry, the cruise ships needed somewhere to be and it seemed like the Bahamas was that place.
Sunday May 31 - We continued motor sailing through the Northwest Providence Channel headed towards Clarence Town, Long Island, Bahamas. Unfortunately we couldn’t stop and explore any of the beautiful islands because of COVID-19. We had however, applied to the Bahamian government requesting safe passage and we had their approval to pull in at a couple of islands for fuel, provisions and rest if needed. We had to keep to a specific time frame and we couldn’t get off the boat.
Monday June 1 - Our journey continued to take us past so many Bahamian Islands that we weren’t allowed to make a stop, but we made plans to come bak up once this COVID mess was over and vacation on our boat in the Bahamas. This whole part of the journey was beautiful with it’s sunrises, sunsets and viewing the islands from a distance. We also knew we weren’t alone as we passed tankers and more cruise ships. Night watches were easy with the wind and waves and the conditions in the Channel.
Tuesday June 2 - We arrived at Clarence Town, Long Island at 0900. We pulled up to the fuel dock to refill our diesel tanks in order to make the rest of the voyage since we would mostly be motor sailing. We weren’t allowed to get off the boat; however, we were given permission to sit at anchor in the harbor and swim for a bit in the beautiful Bahamian waters. We had weak cell service, but we were able to text and call our family and friends. It was my sister Stephanie’s birthday so we sent pictures and lots of love. I made lunch and put up the the 20 pounds of ice that we were able to score from the fuel dock (those who know me know how much I love my iced tea). It had been decided that this would be a fuel/lunch stop only, so around 1300 we pointed our bow towards Mayaguana and set off.
Wednesday June 3 - We had been bobbing around the Atlantic Ocean headed southeast for about 12 hours when David came below and woke me up. We hadn’t waited for an updated weather route and it came in 2300 on Tuesday. The report said we should wait to leave for a couple more days because we would be slogging and bouncing and making very little headway in the direction we were going with the wind and the waves. And the prediction was totally correct. In this 12 hours we had only made about 60 miles. The nearest island was Crooked Island and we weren’t allowed to anchor there and we didn’t have a way to get fuel at Cooked Island. David and I talked it through and decided that again, the most prudent course of action would be to turn around and head back. This time to Long Island where we would wait for a much better weather window. It was as sloggy coming back to Long Island as it was going out and by the time we arrived back at Clarence Town, we were all exhausted. It had been a full 24 hours since we left this place. We again called our families to let them know our plan and took naps. A nice bonus to us being “stuck” in the Bahamas for a few days, we got to run the generator and have air conditioning for a night and we all slept like babies.
Thursday June 4 - Since we had permission to be in the Bahamas for rest and fuel, we were comfortable hanging out on anchor for another day. We had a big breakfast, made homemade pizza, including the crust, played in the water, drank the rest of the Texas beer that we had and generally had an extremely relaxing day. We refueled at the dock and got me another 20 pounds of ice. :) Then we all turned in for one more night on the hook to prepare for our last part of the journey.
Friday June 5 - We were up at the crack of dawn to head out towards St Thomas. This time though, we would take a different route. We would sail to the northeast and when we got close to longitude 65 W we would turn south and finish our course to St Thomas.
Until Next Time,
Cindy, S/V Verano