PREPARING FOR THE JOURNEY
We left Connecticut by car on Sunday, October 21, and were at the ACY Boatyard, where Duetto stays in Florida, on Tuesday, October 23. We checked on Duetto, then checked into the Tortora Bed and Breakfast, which is owned by our good friend’s Dan and Lenora. They very graciously gave us access to their house.
The next day, it was on to tasks required to get splashed (launched). We had ACY paint the bottom of Duetto this year, so that was one less huge task we had to complete. Our days were long and nonstop for two weeks.
In between boat tasks, we shopped for six months of provisions, purchasing items that are just too expensive to buy in the Bahamas. By the time we are finished provisioning, we don’t want to see Wal-Mart for another six months! The task of storing provisions is always very challenging as well! We do have this process down to a science though after six years.
Duetto was splashed on Monday, November 5. John was now able to finish testing those systems that required sea water to operate. We stayed at the boatyard for a couple of days to do final preparations.
On Wednesday, November 7, we departed ACY for our shakedown cruise to Ft. Lauderdale, stopping for an overnight in West Palm Beach. While underway, John checked the engines and found one of them was leaking water. So, we picked up a mooring at Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart to diagnose the problem. It turned out to be a loose hose clamp. The weather prediction didn’t look good for a Gulf Stream crossing in the near future, so we decided to stay in Stuart and visit with fellow RMHYC members, who were in the immediate area or marina waiting to cross as well.
THE JOURNEY
Now it was time to start the mentally exhausting phase, looking for a weather-window to go across the Gulf Stream. The anticipation seems to be more exhausting than the crossing.
Part of the challenge of cruising is being able to predict the weather. At its most basic, this starts with being able to get a weather report from either internet (wifi, phone) , a satellite weather service (sirius/xm), or VHF. There are other options but these are the main ones. The other issue is interpreting the data that you see. During this time, we learned things about both of these even though we've been doing this for almost a decade. When you see weather forecasts on the web you're seeing statistics about wind and waves. There is more to these statistics than meets the eye. Over the years we've developed a rule of thumb which says that when wave height divided by wave period exceeds .5, the trip will be uncomfortable (eg. 4' wave / 6 sec period = .6). It has proved pretty reliable up and down the East coast.
We require a two-day window to be able to travel the 200+ miles to either Green Turtle Cay (GTC) or Marsh Harbour.
This year there haven't been many "windows" of good weather to allow a comfortable Gulf Stream crossing. On Monday, November 12,we learned that a couple of days were coming up later in the week that had very little wind, but 5-6' waves at a period of 9-10 seconds. Our rule of thumb predicted a very uncomfortable ride, but a couple of fellow sailors pointed out that the lack of wind meant that the waves would be smooth swells rather than the bone jarring "square" waves common to Long Island Sound. We chose to go knowing that if we were uncomfortable we could change course to Ft. Lauderdale.
On Thursday, November 14, we departed the US from St. Lucie’s inlet, which was very calm. The conditions were as predicted with a little wind wave coming from the NW, which was behind us. Once we got into the Gulf Stream, the seas actually calmed down and we had gentle swells averaging about 4-5 ft. Upon exiting the Stream, there were a couple of confused waves for a few miles, then the seas calmed down completely for the last 30 miles of the trip. A very comfortable crossing…….lesson learned, thanks to other experienced cruisers.
We arrived in West End in six hours and stayed at Old Bahama Bay, where we cleared customs and immigration and were happy to launch the Bahamian courtesy flag.
Raising the courtesy flag…..priceless!
On Friday we left West End at first light and had a very calm 8-hour trip on the Bahama Bank to Green Turtle Cay.
Another weather issue that we face in the Bahamas is staying in touch with the weather. NOAA VHF doesn't reach most of the Bahamas. We have used satellite weather for years but haven't really been pleased with it. Last year we got a smartphone from the local carrier, Batelco. With it we purchased a data plan which got us internet access in most areas. However, some of the best cruising grounds are in remote areas which have marginal cellphone coverage. A fellow cruiser showed me his cellphone booster. No bars became four bars! When we got back to US last spring, we bought a booster kit. This fall we installed it on Duetto. When we crossed and were in some of the remotest areas we still had four bars and internet access and therefore weather info……problem solved.
We have been in GTC for a week because the Whale Cay passage between GTC and Marsh Harbour has been too rough to navigate. We will be having Thanksgiving dinner at the Green Turtle Club with other RMHYC members who are waiting here as well. Our hope is that the seas calm so we can get to Marsh Harbour early next week.
We are back to bicycles and the dinghy as our mode of transportation. However, on Thanksgiving Day we are going to have the luxury of a golf cart to get to the restaurant for dinner.
2012-2013 SEASON
We are expecting a busy season since we are the Social Chairpersons for the RMHYC, responsible for all the social events. Our first event is the Holiday Party on December 11.
We are also looking forward to visits from family and friends from the states this season! We love sharing these beautiful islands with our guests!
