Bimini to West End, Grand Bahama

December 30, 2013

Yesterday we made the 60+ mile trip across the NW Providence Channel from Bimini to West End, Grand Bahama.

The weather, to say the least, has been challenging over the last few weeks.  Cold fronts and troughs have dominated the weather pattern resulting in unsettled and unpredictable wind and waves.  Two- day windows have been almost non-existent , and often a one-day window is not enough to get you to your next planned stop. Yesterday looked like an opportunity to head north before the winds went lighter, but from the  north today.

This trip is a 'blue-water' trip across a very busy shipping channel.  This channel is know as the 'Hole in the Wall' and is one of the few places that large ships can transit from the Atlantic to the coast of the US getting around the extensive shallow bank surrounding the Bahamas.  We saw 10-12 large ships, but no 'close encounters'.  Interestingly, over 1/2 of them were anchored or steaming very slowly, probably killing time before their scheduled docking.   Dock space at large shipping terminals is tightly scheduled, so you must arrive on time; steaming hard and then waiting a day or so away from your destination makes arriving on schedule easier.

The day started with actual winds at the dock and from a weather station at our destination below forecast ( 10 knot @ 145). The forecast showed diminishing winds over the day - wrong!  The wind steadily increased over the morning to solid 20-25 knots with gusts to 30.  The waves progressively grew over the course of the day to 5-7' from astern.  With the wind behind us, the ride was actually not that bad.  Probably the biggest challenge was getting the mainsail down at our destination. This maneuver entails turning the boat into the wind (and waves)  and then lowering and securing the sail(we have an 'old fashioned' fully battened sail, no roller furling or 'Stack-Pac).  Luckily, we could tuck in behind a little spit of land south of the marina and escape the wind and waves some.  Well the operation was a success and we entered the marina with our mainsail down, but a bit 'messy' with dangling furling  and other lines that I would normally neaten up.

Docking at Old Bahama Bay Marina was uneventful, except for  being assigned a slip almost on the inner basin wall (the same slip we had here 2 years ago).  Maneuvering a full-keel sailboat in and out of a spot like this is not trivial.  Before we leave, I am going to make a quick map of the basin, and if we return someday, negotiate a better slip before we are on final approach.

The weather looks like we will be here for about a week.  Other than it is relatively expensive, Old Bahama Bay is a pleasant place to be.  There is not a lot to do here, however, and we may rent a car and travel to Freeport for a day or two.


Tom
Docked at Old Bahama Bay
West End, Grand Bahama