We have returned from our time in the Bahamas and are currently moored at Coconut Grove Sailing Club in Miami.
The trip back took 5days, over 250 miles, 200 of which were open ocean. The winds were light or on the nose, so no sailing, just motoring, but our trusty 50 HP Yanmar never missed a beat. In spite of the lack of wind, the weather was very squally and we had a LOT of rain.
The weather forecast called for little gradient/synoptic wind for the next week, but squally (rain with wind in storms) weather was forecast. After this week, the weather pattern did not seem favorable for a return passage for at least another week, so we decided to take this window in spite of the squall challenges.
Monday May 14
The trip started in Hopetown with a 20 mile hop down the Sea of Abaco to Lynyard Cay, just north of Little Harbour. We had hoped to visit Little Harbour - but time, tide, and weather did not allow it on this trip. On this day we explored the two cuts that we might use the next day to exit the Sea of Abaco and enter the Atlantic Ocean. North Bar had rolling waves of about 8-10', but no breaking waves; Little Harbour cut had much smaller rollers, but was much more confused. We decided to try Little Harbour the next day.
Tuesday May 15
We got underway from Lynyard Cay a little before 7 AM under heavy overcast skies. Little Harbour Cut was a bit more lively than yesterday. Although the ride out was bumpy, we safely entered the Atlantic Ocean; we both said that we would not have wanted to enter the Sea of Abaco via the cut today. This leg takes us down the largely uninhabited and hostile southeast coast of Abaco, through the so-called 'hole-in-the wall' and then out across the Northeast Providence Channel, a heavy shipping lane. The forecast called for 'scattered squalls with decreasing coverage as you go further south'. Well I guess 'scattered' can mean continuous, because the weather was rainy and windy all morning. Our crossing of the NE Providence Channel was uneventful seeing only two large ships. We arrived at Stirrup Cay in the Berry Islands around 7 PM after about 75 miles of ocean sailing.
Wednesday May 16
We had planned to leave this morning to go halfway across the Bahama Bank, anchoring on the Bank tonight, and then continuing on to Bimini the next day. Because the previous day had been much harder than anticipated due to the squalls, we decided to change the plan, rest up for the day and then cross the Bahama Bank in one night leg of about 85 miles.
First, however, a word about Stirrup Cay. It is one of the 'private' islands used by large cruise ships. The cays are actually Great and Little Stirrup Cay, and the harbour formed by the two is called Slaughter Harbour. Well, these names are, of course, unsuitable for the 'private' islands, so they are called Coco Cay by the cruise lines. I feel sorry for the passengers trying to find their 'private' island in a map or atlas*. They have several man-made beaches and a lot of toys (jet skis, kayaks, etc) for the passengers to use. I do have to say that the barbecue smelled wonderful. We considered seeing if we could bribe one of the jet skiers to bring us a couple of pork sandwiches :-).
We left Stirrup a little after 6 PM. The night passage was very dark, between the cloud cover and the lack of a moon. After being clear for most of the night, we got plastered with very heavy rain as we approached Bimini. Other than the darkness and the rain, the passage was uneventful. Crossing the bank is different. It is very much like an open water passage, but rather than being in thousands of feet of water, you are in 15-75 feet.
Thursday May 17
We arrived at Bimini at around 8:30 AM in a blinding rain squall - much rain, thankfully little wind. We anchored in Nixon's Harbour on the south side of South Bimini. We failed to get the anchor set well on our first try - very hard bottom - but stayed there until the rain died down some. On our second try we found some sand and the anchor set OK - not great. It was not an ideal anchorage, but gave us a quick and easy departure the next day. We rested for the remainder of the day.
Friday May 18
We weighed anchor at around 7 AM and set out across the Gulf Steam to Miami. The weather was nice and the trip very uneventful. We only had to dodge around one freighter early in the trip. We nailed the 'current sailing' this time, arriving almost perfectly at Miami, with one constant course! (We did not handle the current sailing that well on our Gulf Stream crossing from Miami to West End to start our trip).
After arriving at the Biscayne Bay channel and transiting across Biscayne Bay under threatening skies, we were able to get a mooring at Coconut Grove Sailing Club - the same one we had in March.
Clearing customs with our Small Vessel Reporting System registration and float plan was one easy phone call.
Sitting in the cockpit enjoying a drink after arrival, the setting seemed so familiar, I asked Joyce, "Did we really go to the Bahamas for two months, it wasn't just a dream here in Miami was it?" Of course it was true and we have now crossed our wake!
Tom
Coconut Grove Sailing Club
Coconut Grove (Miami) FL
http://g.co/maps/whz9b
* PS I must make a minor correction. As I was more accurately placing my pins on the Goggle map tracing our trip today, I was surprised to see that Goggle names Little Stirrup Cay as 'CocoCay Island', so I guess the cruise ship passengers can find their 'private' island afterall. I still chuckle at the name - I guess they want to make sure that folks know it is an island - Cay and Island basically mean the same thing.
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