Dream Catcher: Ready, Set, GO!

So Long America

For the past three months, we’ve been dreaming, scheming, and planning for crossing the Gulf Stream and entering that magical place that cradles the fabled islands in the stream. Visions of white sandy beaches, gin-clear water reflecting every shade and hue of green and blue, vibrant reefs, and dinner….er… fish on the line, have underscored each stop along the way since we left Connecticut on September 13^th.

New places discovered, paths explored, and moments shared with family and friends have struck bittersweet notes on our heartstrings as we savor the meeting, yet mourn departures that come all too soon. We only hope that our family and friends will continue to join us along the way and enrich our journey as only loved ones can!

Expectations

As a family, we anticipate the islands in different ways. For me, the Bahamas hold echoes of the familiar and the promise of delights yet unexplored. While I sailed throughout the Berry Islands with my family when I was a kid, the rest of the islands are an unknown. For Ken, it’s all new and I’m only hoping that my waxing eloquent over the clarity of the water and beauty of the islands holds up to the reality. As for Jeanette, she’s the same age as I was when I first came here. Like me, she is taking it all in and is looking forward to some kid time. For that reason, we are pressing on to Georgetown – the promised land for boat kids – and, most likely, the southernmost part of our journey.

Tis' the Season! The annual Xmas Boat Parade in Miami passed right by us in our anchorage

The Day Dawns

Every morning and evening for the past two weeks we analyzed the weather data in anticipation of making the crossing. Given the beautiful weather that Florida’s been having, we were hard pressed to discern any kind of favorable wind pattern that would calm the Stream, fill our sails, and allow us to set a reasonable course to our destination. Although we do not subscribe to a personal weather forecasting guru, we do listen in to Chris Parker’s forecasts in the morning and have learned a lot. In fact, we’ve learned that we actually do a pretty good job analyzing the data! So, after several maybe’s, we finally hit on a short but real weather window that had us leaving Sunday morning and arriving in Bimini in the afternoon.

It seems a small thing to go such a short distance, but as anyone who’s crossed the Gulf Stream in the wrong conditions can tell you, the wind direction and speed make all the difference between a miserable day and a fun crossing. As it was, we had a great crossing. We weighed anchor at 6am and headed out in the pre-dawn darkness, following the channel markers out to Fawey Light. We trailed behind a couple of sloops, but quickly gained and then left them – and the other dozen or so boats that left the anchorage with us – behind when we raised our sails and picked up speed. (This may seem like a trivial detail, however, according to sailing lore, whenever two sailboats are on the water at the same time it’s considered a race – and, just for the record, we won!)

After all the “should we or shouldn’t we,” the weather did not disappoint. With seas running in a rather poorly organized southerly swell at 2-4’ and SW winds steady at 15-18kts, we made 6.5-8.5kts under sail, averaging 7kts. It was a boisterous, rollicking ride, but we made the 50nm crossing in 7 hours from up anchor to docking – not too shabby! As a bonus, we caught a Spanish mackerel and a Blackfin tuna along the way and were rewarded with fresh fish for dinner.

Some tasty tuna, we think it is a Blackfin tuna, but we're still beginners with the hook and line thing

Land Ho!

The Gulf Stream ends rather abruptly at Bimini, with depths of several hundred feet only ½ mile offshore. The bottom shoals rapidly at ¼ mile off the beach and the water turns from a deep purply blue to emerald green in just minutes. Once through the channel, the water calms dramatically and the beach-lined shore gives way to rather rustic-appearing marinas to the west and sandy flats to the east. I wonder, not for the first time, how did the frigates and barques of old manage to navigate these waters and stay afloat?!