01/30/10 0400
Position: 24.33.74N
81.32.20W
Conditions: Clear Skies, Full Moon. Winds SE 10-15, seas 3-5ft.
Update: Close reaching up Hawks Channel. A bit of shoal dodging. We left Key West just after 12 midnight. We were waiting for the wind to make a shift to the South East as to not be beating our way up the Keys. It is a lovely morning. Just a few stars and a big, bright, full moon over the shoulder. Now, to get some sleep.
01/30/10 1200
Position: 24.57.17N
80.23.58W
Conditions: Winds SSE 15kts seas 2-4ft.
Update: Riding the Gulf stream like a champ! We are making 11 kts steady, beam-reaching and just having a fantastic sail. Perfect Schooner conditions. When And If is loving it! Our heading is just North of NE on a course for North Bimini Rocks. We plan to bi-pass Bimini and head straight for New Providence (Nassua) as the winds will be shifting North tomorrow offering us no protection to anchor in Bimini ,and a nice ride down Northeast Providence Channel. And here starts the saga of a boat with 9ft draft tooling around the Bahamas... some of the island most well-known for being shallow, but they sure are beautiful!
01/31/10 0800
Position: 25.30.23N
77.36.93W
Conditions: Winds SW 10kts seas short and steep 2-4 ft. S swell.
Update: Almost there. Caught a glimpse of Bimini just as the sun was going down. Spent the night time hours sailing around Bimini and the morning hours skirting the Berry Islands chain. We thought about pulling in to Great Harbor Cay, Berry Islands for some rest this morning as the winds had increased to 20 kts and had not veered SW as they were forecast to. (go figure) Instead we decided to put 2 reefs in the main at 3 am and by 5, the wind had died. Of course. We set the D-sail (engine) and have been motor sailing since. About 4 hours to go to Nassau. Can’t complain. It has been a fantastic sail. (a very wet, salty, tiring, fantastic sail.) The sunrise this morning was one of the best yet, mostly due to the fact that the full moon was setting at the same time and the color contrast was intense.
