June 13, 2015
This morning we returned to Twin Dolphin Marina in Bradenton (our old slip again) after completing our 2014-15 Bahamas Cruise.
We spent almost 6 months in the Bahamas visiting the Abacos, Eleuthera, Cat Island, and the Exumas.
We had a great time, the highlight of the trip was spending time with our Bahamian friends and 'family'. We have several relationships in which both sides call each other family - what a special bond. We will miss them and God-willing will see them next year.
Our return trip was long (568 nautical miles) and the weather was not favorable. We left Black Point, Exuma on May 29th and arrived in Bradenton today. We had an unplanned 5-day layover in Bimini due to the potential of a Tropical Storm in South Florida, but were otherwise underway each day, typically facing some squally weather. On the final leg of our trip as we were crossing Tampa Bay, we had one of the worst squalls we have ever experienced with torrential rain and 40 knot winds. We ended up 'killing time' for 30-40 minutes while the squall passed before we entered the narrow Manatee River Channel. There is some truth in the old saying "It is not the ocean that kills you - it is the hard things around the edges!", but motoring slowly in a high traffic area with zero visibility (visual or radar) is nerve racking.
Until next year!
Tom
Docked Twin Dolphin Marina
Bradenton, FL
Congrats on another great year of Bahamas cruising, we enjoyed following along as always. We are a little late in catching up, but we too have been consumed by moving off the boat and back to home and back to the boat to service the boat and so on. Thanks again for your quality writings and your sincere connections you make with the local Bahamian People, they really are wonderful people.
ReplyDeleteHayden