The Crossing To Nassau

Ideal weather conditions were being predicted on Jan 7th and 8th for a crossing from Bimini to Nassau and so, on the evening of Wed. Jan 6th we all moved our boats out of our slips and anchored just off the marina in readiness to leave early the next morning. This was necessary to ensure that we could in fact “get out”. We’d be leaving at low tide and, with all of us having deep drafts, could’ve easily found ourselves trapped within the marina had we not done so.

On Tuesday evening--our last night ashore at Bimini--we all went out to a local bar to celebrate our friend Jim’s 60th birthday, and then it was back to bed to get a good nights sleep before making final important preparations to leave the marina the next day. But all did not go according to plan for us. Early the next morning, as Vince was attempting to leave the boat for a final shower, he slipped from the dock, splashing into the deep water beside the boat, and we finally got a chance to practice our “man overboard” drill. After I managed to haul him back up and into the boat, we had to make an unexpected trip to the local laundromat to wash salty clothes and towels. We lost all of our grooming gear--shaving kit, dental supplies, shampoo, soap, brush etc--along with two carry-all bags overboard. And despite Vince’s diving attempts to find and retrieve them, they were nowhere to be found--out with the tide I suppose. Another blow was discovering that Vince had our expensive camera “on his person” when he went overboard. We tried to revive it but were met only with sad popping noises as it died. Later that morning we all tried to contact home on our computers to tell family that we were leaving and what our route would be--but the server was down. And so we couldn’t access the most recent weather forecasts either. But we cast our lines off anyway, anchored out for the night, and left at 7:30am on Thursday morning--the next day.

Getting out out of Bimini was no easy task. All week north-westerly winds had driven breaking waves into the channel and although conditions had moderated considerably over the previous night, it was still a rough go, at extreme low tide through an unmarked channel. Thank goodness for GPS and a following track! Once out and offshore however it was wonderful. We had a close reach from Bimini to North Rock for about an hour and a half. Then it was a beam reach with 10k of wind with 1-2’ waves over the banks. We averaged 6.5k for about a quarter of the way, but it petered out by early afternoon and we motored the rest over flat water till dark. (This was VERY OK with me)

The skyscape was spectacular the whole way across the banks. This was especially true at sunset when the sky was almost fluorescent with the most brilliant hues of reds, oranges and hot pinks that I have ever seen. Unfortunately because of Vince’s camera “incident” we were unable to capture any of this magnificence on film. But our friends did and hopefully we’ll get some shots from them. After the sun went down however it was an entirely different scene. When there is no moon to light up the water on the banks it can be downright eerie at dusk. Sky and water gradually fade into the same greyish mass and without any light, there is no depth perception. It is impossible to know if the boat is even moving under these conditions because there is nothing to compare it to. It’s a really horrible feeling and I hate it. If you close your eyes and imagine motoring through “that” you can have some idea what it’s like. Fortunately however there were boats ahead of us--one even at our intended anchorage, and we could steer Fortnight towards the tiny pinpricks of light they provided up ahead. For me, this was a godsend. As we approached, the lights got bigger and more numerous and I was REALLY happy when we finally stopped, in company with 6 others and set the anchor for the night at 7:00pm. We had been told that nights spent anchored out on the banks could be choppy and uncomfortable, and we were extremely lucky to get this absolutely perfect window with light wind and flat water on which to sleep.

We awoke at 4:00am as planned and set off alone in the dark by 5:00. We wanted to get an early start to ensure arriving at Nassau before the marina closed on Friday and at this time of the night--with a clear sky, moon and stars, we were able to actually see. We passed the North Channel Light at 6:00 under ideal conditions and entered the Tongue of the Ocean about an hour later--just as the sun was coming up. The wind was light and variable, seas were almost flat and we motored all the way across, averaging 6k and tying up in our slip at Nassau Harbour Club at 2:30. What a wonderful feeling to be in Nassau again! The water was that incredible blue, skies were clear and temperatures were hot. Our boat buddies arrived over the next 2 hours, anchoring in water just off our marina. A really strong cold front was just a day away and we all took extra care preparing our boats for the blow.

The next morning everyone met aboard our boat to plan for the days activities. We all had various errands to run and agreed to meet for lunch at ”Double D’s,” one of our favourite restaurants here. We spent a very productive morning downtown, strolling through the gigantic Nassau straw market, finding a great deal on a waterproof camera at an upscale “duty-free/tax-free” shop and watching an American weather report on TV at a local coffee shop before meeting our friends for lunch. We were surprised to hear reports of snow and sleet in northern Florida and to watch footage of iguanas falling out of trees in the freezing temperatures of southern USA. For us it was especially comforting to afterwards walk out of the shop into bright sunshine and balmy breezes on our way back to the boat feeling we had escaped all of that at last!