February 27, 2014
We have now transited from the Abacos to Eleuthera.
On Monday (2/24) we left Marsh Harbour and moved down the Sea of Abaco and anchored near Lynyard Cay. This staged us for an early morning departure on Tuesday (2/25) out Little Harbour Cut and across the North East Providence Channel (Hole in the Wall) to Eleuthera. This is blue-water passage (maximum water depth around 15,000 feet) across a very busy shipping channel.
We saw a number of large freighters with which we had comfortable crossings. One freighter crossing, however, was WAY TOO CLOSE. From bearings and AIS information I figured that he would pass astern of us but very close. This put me in an 'awkward' position. To cut back and try to cross across his stern would require a very aggressive move and might conflict with his plan. Speeding up might have helped, but might also cause confusion. I was about to try to contact him by radio when he turned to the left, increasing the distance he would pass behind us to about 0.8 nautical miles. This may seem like a lot, but when the ship is about a 1/4 mile long, believe me it doesn't seem like too much.
The weather was very mild. There was little wind and a modest sea swell. No sailing, but our faithful Yanmar engine kept us moving along. About 10 hours after our 0630 departure from Little Harbour, we anchored at Royal Island.
We originally planned to keep moving and head down to Rock Sound, but an increase in wind and seas have delayed us; we may now spend a few days in Spanish Wells.
Tom
Anchored Royal Island
Near Eleuthera
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