OMG… we opted to not stay in Bimini tonight, but to cross the Great Bahama Banks right away.. what a great decision. We have found nearly perfect weather to enjoy the banks to their maximum, what a gift. Almost no wind, flat water… I went up on the bow and counted 10 starfish on the bottom in as many minutes.
If we had spent even one full day in Bimini, it would mean we would not been able to move the rest of the week. As it is, the sun is bright, there are almost no waves…. I have my throttles set on 50/60% making 5.5 knots….. We are travelling with a decent size group of boats in sight, no communication but visually available. I guess 5 or 6 boats chose the same time frame to cross the banks. So far it looks like I’m the least hurried to get across… half of those I can see have passed me. Today is one of those days that you can see your stern wakes fade away far behind the boat. Normally the waves blend immediately with the windblown chop, but not this time. Today SYL is making her own waves.
In Bimini I put 5 gallons in each tank, it filled them both back up. That’s from Islamorada. Most of the burn was running one engine, going to two periodically during the night. It’s 2PM, I just ate and took a shower to get the night’s salt water off me. My intent was to go directly to bed…. but I can’t lay down and miss this water! I’m sure I’ll have to sleep sometime but just not right now!
Tonight (Saturday Night) we will probably anchor at about 10PM in the open water. Tomorrow is supposed to be a mirror image of today so we should sleep comfotably. The GPS shows a 2:30AM arrival at the NW channel light (the other side of the banks) From there it’s another 15 miles to Chubbs marina, or about 45 to Nassau. As long as we are somewhere to hide from a Monday night blow, life is good. I expect that to be Nassau.
Man you really do forget what this water is like…. imagine swimming pool water at it’s best and you’ll be close. It’s times like this were I wish I could teleport all my friends onboard to see this water. The stern wakes make a refelction on the bottom that looks like a line of light going out from each stern at 30 degrees. I can see the reflection of my wakes on the bottom 40 yards away from the boat (that’s a reflection on the bottom) how cool is that? Like I said OMG.
Sea Yawl Later!!