ABACOS CROSSING REVISITED

This years crossing to the Bahamas was definitely the easiest and most comfortable we’ve experienced to date. Four factors were responsible for this:

1. The Autopilot:

In previous years we hand-steered all the way. This necessitated one of us sitting for hours on end in a cramped position, with hands steering the wheel and eyes glued to compass and GPS all day and all night. Not a pleasant experience. At the end of the passage we were both utterly exhausted and dying for sleep--not to mention suffering from excruciating back aches and various other joint pains. But THIS year Vince installed an autopilot! Now we simply set our course and make ourselves comfy in the cockpit or below decks. We can walk about the boat, prepare and enjoy meals and drinks, read a book--do whatever we want. The person “on watch” is still responsible to check the boats position periodically and keep a look out for potential obstacles but is not glued to the wheel. No aches, pains, or sleep deprivation. Relief!

2.The Buddy Boat:

Psychologically it is ALWAYS preferable to sail on long passages in the company of others. This year we were fortunate to hook up with a great couple--Vanessa and Andrew aboard “Tally Ho”. And it was SUCH a comfort to motor along beside them during the four hours of darkness during which we crossed the Bahamian banks to our anchorage at Great Sale Cay. For me at least, it’s very easy to “freak out” when the boat is enveloped in the blackness of a night sail, blindly speeding towards “who knows what!” and knowing you’re alone, in the middle of the ocean, with your husband soundly sleeping below decks. Yikes!! But with “Tally Ho” lit up like a Christmas tree alongside of me, (to paraphrase Vanessa), I knew I was NOT alone. Every hour or so we’d talk on the radio and it was comforting to hear the voices of friends and feel “safe” because they were there with us.

3.The Route:

There are several different ways to reach the Bahamas--some easier than others. We left Palm Beach at 5:30am--just before dawn, arriving on the Bahamian Banks at Memory Rock 10 hours later. This allowed us to safely cross the busy Gulf Stream in daylight. Once on the banks, it was only another 7 hours to reach our anchorage at Great Sale Cay--a protected island where we could actually safely STOP for the night and get some real sleep. On past trips to the Bahamas we sailed from Key Biscayne to Nassau--necessitating a gruelling 20 hour day/night trip from either Bimini or Gun Cay across both the Bahamian Banks and Tongue of the Ocean without stopping. One CAN drop anchor on the banks themselves, in the middle of nowhere, with no protection. But this is not a fun thing to do. Crossing from West Palm to the Abacos was MUCH easier.

4.Weather/Sea State:

We REALLY lucked out on this one! There was virtually no wind and the waters were flat. This certainly felt safe, but had our motor conked out, we would’ve been in BIG trouble! Without wind, we would be unable to sail and the strong Gulf Stream current could’ve carried us far out into the Atlantic beyond the Bahamas and perhaps into really bad weather. So there is always a risk--even on calm days. But if given the choice between no wind and big wind, give me no wind any day. Big wind means big waves and the week before we crossed over they were horrendous--16’-20‘ in the gulf stream. And even two days before we left, “Tally Ho” reported seeing huge waves crashing on the shore at St Lucie inlet. The night we did cross over, the 3:00am NOAA weather forecast was reporting 5’-6‘ swells out in the gulf stream. But when we actually got there we found nothing. Go figure! Our weather guru, Chris Parker, had predicted benign conditions and he was absolutely right. But you never can tell. That’s what makes the night before a crossing always so stressful.