The Exumas from Nassau

December 17, 2000 to January 13, 2001

6:00 PM - get some sleep

We're in bed, planning for a 12:00 departure. By 12:00, we're both fast asleep finally, but wake up in time for a 1:00 AM raising of the anchor and motoring out to sea from Ft.Lauderdale. Plan is to sail down the coast towards Miami 2-3 miles offshore and see how the NE winds are. If they are too strong, we can duck in behind Biscayne Key near Miami. If they are OK, then we set course directly for Gun Cay across the Stream, pass through Gun Cay cut around noon in daylight and if the wind is OK, start to cross the Bahama Bank.

3:00 AM along the Florida Coast - November 17

Sailing / motoring south, many cruise ships are "circling" as they wait for their turn to enter Miami. They are huge, very fast and very lit up. Two times we think we're approaching some kind of lighted buoy or fishing boat when it really is another cruise ship 3-4 miles in front of us ! This was a great test for the radar (we could see all the ships and the coastline) though the radar wasn't critical to our safety as we had a clear night.

The radar did not see the small Coast Guard skiff coming fast behind us. It's only when this huge spotlight lit up the whole boat that we saw it ! I could see it now : the Coast Guard boarding, guns drawn, tearing the boat apart as they search for drugs or illegal aliens, and after finding nothing, the long hours of interrogation with no water or food, spending the night in some dark cell, Cinderella damaged as it was towed, … (it was 3:00 AM, the mind wanders)
A quick exchange over the VHF cleared up that we weren't drug smugglers trying to sneak into Miami but 2 French Canadiens striking out into the "Bermuda Triangle" (I guess the fact that all our lights were on, our speed of 5 knots and the Canadian flag probably made that obvious) .

So with the official USCG send-off and the winds still at 10 knots, we turned east across the Stream.

My first time sailing at night, a first step towards bluewater cruising. The glow of the Florida coastline disappears slowly behind us. Under an incredible dome of stars, the boat, all white and lit up by the stars, just seems to float as it slips through the very dark water. It's awe-inspiring and it fills me with a lot of respect for those who sailed before we had maps, GPS, radar, etc... With our maps, GPS, radar and knowing there is no land ahead of us, we can relax, enjoy the experience and let our senses take it all in.

6:00 AM in the middle of the Gulf Stream, the sun is rising through small cumulus clouds, and we're still motorsailing in very light NE winds. No more than 3 or 4 feet of long swells, so the sail is very comfortable. It's beautiful out here and I can't wipe off the smile on my face.

1:00 PM and we've just gone through Gun Cay cut. Surprising how small these cays are from the water (mostly barren rock sticking out of the water ) and how tricky the cut is as you squeeze through two islands and then wind around the sand banks before being clear. Stressful when it's your own boat !

We slowed down Cinderella long enough to take some quick showers off the steps, and then continued to motorsail east across the Bahama Bank. The water on the Bank is no more than 10 feet deep. The color of the water is something you have to see. You can't describe it or take pictures of it that will do justice to the colors (but I tried).

4:00 PM The Bank is a good 70 miles wide, and it's hard to cross it all in one day on a sailboat (mind you we did do it 10 years ago, see The Bahamas , but that was different). You don't want to be sailing in the middle of the night because of the shallow areas and the unreliable lights in the middle of nowhere on the bank, and both Robert and me wanted to anchor on the bank, in the middle of nowhere for the experience.

10:00 PM on the Bahama Bank - November 17

Anchored in 10' of water, 10 knots of wind, clear skies, CD playing, and lying on the trampoline watching the stars. It feels like were in a clear bubble drifting through space. Hard to describe.
When we turn off the music, the quiet is a little disturbing. With a little bit of imagination, and all those Bermuda Triangle stories in the back of your mind, one could get real nervous out here in the middle of nowhere. Though we sleep well rocked by the small waves, each of us wakes up in the middle of the night thinking we heard something !

8:00 AM on the Bahama Bank - November 18

Another beautiful day, eggs for breakfast, and we lift anchor early on our way to Chub Cay via NorthWest Channel Light. Unfortunately, the wind is still East and so we motorsail all day.(you have to stay on the track to avoid shallow areas north and south of the track). As we cross the bank, we cross several boats, including some motorboats anchored for lunch and frolicking in the water (it is like a big pool out here).

3:00 PM Just outside Chub Cay, now off the bank and in the Northwest channel (i.e. deep water), the wind has kicked up to 20 knots, and since we have some time, we decide to sail a few tacks and try out the boat on close reach in 8-10' waves. Yeeee---ahhhhh.

5:00 PM We've anchored in the small creek beside Chub Cay. It was a tight entrance (the guide says 3' at low tide) but it's protected from the SW winds forecasted overnite (ahead of a cold front that's coming from Florida).