West End Bahamas (2013-12-24)

N26° 42.066', W78° 59.484'

Tonight finds us tied safely to the dock in Old Bahama Bay marina while the winds howl.   Getting to the Bahamas on our own boat: bucket list item, checked off. :-)



We relocated yesterday to the anchorage just inside the Lake Worth inlet so we could be ready if the weather window came through for us.  When I got up at 0500 I checked and we still had a window, although just for the morning, so we made the go call and had the anchor up and were underway by 0600.

Heading out the Lake Worth inlet before dawn

The sun peeking over the horizon

The sun playing with the clouds

The conditions for the morning were forecast to be 2 foot swells from the ENE, with westerly winds in the morning clocking around to northerly in the afternoon.  We decided to run at 9 knots just to be sure we'd clear the Gulf Stream before the winds changed.  We ended up making the crossing in just over six hours, and for the most part had a fairly comfortable crossing.  The swells we were motoring into weren't too bad, but there was also an intermittent swell on our starboard stern quarter that was tossing us around a bit.

We ended up not being the only ones to take advantage of the weather window.  We saw a few sailboats heading out late last night, and another trawler, the Claire de Lune, also out of Ottawa, left the anchorage just before us.  They were heading out to Mangrove Cay via Memory Rock, and then on to the Abacos as the weather permits.  We're hoping to see them when we get to the Abacos in a few weeks.

We got in to the Old Bahama Bay marina just after lunch time, and tied up at the fuel dock to get cleared in.  The customs guy was very pleasant and quite efficient, and had us processed and cleared into the Bahamas in short order.  After finishing with the clearances I gladly hoisted the Bahamas courtesy flag, which we'll be flying for the next three months.

The Bahamas courtesy flag

With the winds due to pick up this afternoon, and the fact that we were a little bushed from being up at o-dark-thirty, we decided to take a slip at the marina here, rather than pressing on.  After getting the boat secured in the slip and getting everything buttoned up we changed into our bathing suits and headed over to the pool for a much deserved celebratory swim. 

The pool at Old Bahama Bay marina

Afterwards we went for a walk along the beach, marvelling at the colour of the water.

The first of many beaches

By now the sky was darkening with the rapidly approaching cold front, so we scooted back to the boat to deal with supper.  Shortly afterwards the front rolled through, accompanied by a bit of rain, as well as greatly increased wind velocities.  Even now it's still blowing hard, tossing the boat around in the slip. 

It's uncertain when the winds are due to diminish, but probably not by tomorrow at the least, so we may end up spending Christmas day here as well.  Still, there are worse places to spend Christmas... :-)