I'm never super excited to leave the Bahamas, but I had a little incentive this time...I'm out of good olive oil and I am super excited to get a COVID vaccine! So yes, I am moderately happy to be back in the U.S.A.
Our crossing was a decent mix of sailing, motoring, and motor-sailing. We did one overnight from Spanish Wells, Eleuthera to West Palm Beach, Florida. The worst seas were probably on my reveille watch (0400-0800) as the wind went right on the nose and I struggled to try to keep sailing. We opted to motor into the westerlies for a bit, then point more northerly as we got into the Gulf Stream for our push to the Lake Worth Inlet. We managed to drop the hook just before sunset and checked in smoothly via the Customs and Border Patrol ROAM app.
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| Officially checked back in...time to take down the Bahamas flag and put down some Bahamas drinks! |
The big news of this transit is that the kids fully entered the watch rotation! We decided to forego school this week and focus on navigation. While Katreina mostly ran the show, Trent was up there to help out, fetch stuff, and keep her entertained. She did great and even negotiated some tight CPA's with merchant vessels. We were always nearby in case they needed anything and usually one of us was awake anyway, but it was nice to be able to tune out a little and recharge. We kept the kids on daylight watches and worked to our strengths (Frank is not a morning person!)--it worked so well that I can't wait to try it again! So our watch rotation looked like:
0400-0800 Jo
0800-1200 Katreina & Trent
1200-1600 Frank
1600-2000 Katreina & Trent (until sunset, ~1935)
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| Watchstanding MVP! |
This year I tried to keep our track up-to-date on NoForeignLand.com. I didn't adjust the track to stay out over water, but here is a nice snapshot of our three-month stay in the Bahamas.
Today is a "down" day. It's not a great day to make a run offshore and we avoid transiting the ICW on weekends if at all possible due to the insane amount of boat traffic. We are happy to watch the excitement from the comfort of our cockpit while anchored!
~Jo, 1st Mate
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