In the Bahamas

Sunrise in the Gulf Stream

At long last, we are finally in the Bahamas!  I don't know how to explain the feeling of finally accomplishing this first "big goal" but let me tell you - it is like a big, happy, sigh.  In through the nose, out through the mouth style.  The team of Scott, myself and (of course), Rasmus have come a long way and we couldn't be more proud.

After making a quick breakfast, doing a final weather check, checking the engine fluids and doing one last "once over" of the boat to make sure all systems were "go" - we left at the unruly hour of 4am from Biscayne Bay with our good friends Brian and Lara behind us in their boat Illusion.  The wind (as predicted) was directly out of the East (on the nose, shocker!) so the plan was to motor across the stream as fast as possible and get our boats to crystal blue water.

The night's air was thick, damp and warm as our two little boats motored out for open water in the quiet stillness of the night...

The passage was (wonderfully) uneventful.  We did motor through a feeding frenzy of some type of school fish but even more spectacular were the thousands upon thousands of Portuguese man of wars that were all over the place.  I'm not sure if it's some sort of migration season or what, but if anyone had the hankering for a swim out there it would not have been pretty.  As I watched all of them bobbing on the water, I was struck again by how amazingly ornate, beautiful and odd creatures from the sea are.  If you have never seen one - take a look at this pic.  Nature is pretty damn amazing, I gotta say.

As the hours slowly passed us, Scott and I just sat in the cockpit - thinking, talking, observing.  It was wonderful.  Scott's calculated course of 110 degrees* was spot on, and the stream brought us right where we wanted to go.  She was tame this day.

We made landfall around 2pm, complete with howls and yelps as we watched the amazing water change from Persian blue to teal to crystal-clear turquoise.  This water is truly (truly) take your breath away clear.  Again... nature - what a thing.

We are here folks.  We have arrived!

Flying the Bahamian flag, a must-do courtesy when sailing abroad.

Love,

Brittany & Scott

PS.  Future cruisers, Bimini offers a great place to check in.  We are at the Seacrest Marina.  Not only are they a mere 85 cents a foot, but they will provide you with the proper paperwork and customs is a hop, skip and a jump away.   We had read to 'dress up' for immigration - so Scott and Brian did and we cleared in in a matter of minutes without a hitch (and we each got 150 days!).  Of course it's because they looked so fine!  Be sure to "LIKE" us on Facebook and you can see ALL the pics! 

*Note to cruisers:  When calculating your course, you draw a "rhumb" line to where you want to go (this is the most direct point from A to B) and then you must factor in (the WHOLE way) a 2 knot current pushing you North.  You then subtract that from your original course and draw that line and sail to that point (significantly further south then where we "wanted" to go).  As loyal readers know, I am terrible at math - so Scott did the number crunching as was pretty much spot on.  You can learn more here.