Oh! 'Til I go down to Bimini

Hello from Alice Town, Bimini, Bahamas from the crew of Mystique.

After many days of hard labor in Ft. Lauderdale at the wonderful Casa del Sol, we saw a break in the weather that might allow us to head across the Stream. Theoretically we would wait until the wind blew from any direction but north so we wouldn't have to buck the previously mentioned waves stacking up like elephants in the Gulf Stream. But even the locals said they couldn't remember so many days of northerly winds, and the forecast was for more of the same for the next week. But there was a moderation in the forecast from the typical 15-20kt northerly wind to a milder 10-15 knot wind with waves in the Stream of only 4-6 feet.

With all of our "critical" repair jobs done and at least 10 trips to the grocery store to load up the boat with supplies, we headed down the ICW under three bridges to the Ft. Lauderdale inlet. On the way we passed the boat show area again where all the maga-yachts were also trying to exit out to the Atlantic. So we joined a parade of 15+ yachts worth probably $45M, (not counting Mystique). We jumped down to Miami (motor sailing "outside" in the Atlantic) and then headed to the south of Key Biscayne where there is a perfect little harbor, "No Name Harbor", to anchor in with a bar/restaurant at one end. We wanted to get far south so crossing the north-bound Stream would be easier.

We headed out at first light this morning and crossed the the shallow banks out to the Atlantic. Our course to Bimini was 90 degrees magnetic but we had to steer 110 to counter the effects of the Stream. We were expecting very rough conditions because of the NW wind blowing 10-15kts. We raised the sails early on for speed, and to steady the boat in anticipation of choppy seas. We did encounter 10-12' waves once we entered the Gulf Stream, but Mystique handled them very well. There was a 9-second period between waves and we rode the waves way up, then way down. At the crests we could see out to a far horizon and an occasional freighter. In the troughs we could only see our immediate wave and the sky.

It took us seven hours to go the 50 nautical miles today, averaging 7kts (about 8 mph). We lost an hour because the Bahamas are in a different time zone. So we got into Alice Town harbor around 3:00. We were advised we could tie up to a dock while Jan took all our passports and documentation to the Customs Office. After she returned we hoisted our Bahamian cruising flag on the starboard side of the mast. Alice Town is a pretty low-key, laid back kind of place where there didn't seem to be much going on. On our walk around town the main activity seemed to be road repair of the asphalt road with dirt shoulders. The high season is apparently summer!

Tonight, Jim offered to fix us dinner aboard and we readily agreed. He started messing about in the galley and after a while I smelled an aroma that reminded me of childhood. Turns out, Jim had brought a can of SPAM with him for a surprise. He had told us many times of the wonders of SPAM for cruising meals, and he proceeded to provide proof with his potatoes au gratin a la SPAM. Delicious!




Tonight it's very quiet in the harbor and about 70 degrees with clear skies. Feels pretty good to be back cruising again after all the preparation! Tomorrow we'll head out over the shallow Bahama Banks 70 miles toward Nassau. The shallow waters keep the waves low and the sailing should be magnificent. From the eastern edge of the bank we'll either anchor in open (shallow) water for the night, or proceed on an overnight sail down the deep "Tongue of the Ocean" and then cross the banks to the Exumas the following day (Friday).

Having a great time! And thinking of all the snow falling in Colorado;-)