In Nassau since yesterday!

We got into Nassau yesterday sailing from West Bay. Great breezy sail!
Shaft stuffing box leaking like the faucet was left on. Had a mechanic tighten it up.
We're on shore now and doing laundry and picking up a few parts. Later we'll get to the market. Everything is good. The weather will be from the north/northwest and good to get going toward the Exumas. Then there'll be more gaps in communication. I transcribed and copied what I wrote up days ago. Sorry for the syntax, context and other literary omissions. But we're here and doing well. Lots of money around here and it's reflected in the price of things. More later. Love to you all, Michael

Posting January 14, 2009

Left Channel Five just outside of Hwy 1 bridge at 2pm headed to the Gulf Stream. First we had to negotiate hundreds of crab pot buoys before even getting to the drop off of the banks into the deep blue water. When we reached the drop off we raised our sails and sailed on a great SE wind. We were near to our maximum speed. The sun was getting low in the west and the clouds were beautiful. The waves were manageable and quite tame. Big rolling waves. Soon the sun set and the moon came up. We were cruising in the dark but you could still see around you – the waves and the immediate area. The moon rose and stayed with us most of the night till it set in the west too. Along the way we were warned to keep an eye open for ships which might be coming and going into and out of the Miami area as well as other destinations. Sure enough, there was a small light in the distance, which got progressively closer and turned into separate lights. From the pattern they told us that she was going to our stern. We could tell by the green bow light. If one of the ships spotted didn’t move from your observation position on the boat you knew it was heading right at you. That made for some intent looking into the night. Another one appeared from the opposite side and got closer, but we could finally make out a red light meaning it was also going to pass on our stern. Actually both those ships (freighters) passed port to port. “Ships passing in the night”. Next came what appeared to be masses of light off our port bow a ways away. It turned out to be either a casino or cruise ship going very slow from left to right. We gave her lots of lea way to her stern and kept sailing. Finally there came another one from our port bow. It was very small in the beginning and then larger as she got closer. By the pattern of lights we could tell that she was heading right at us. Then maybe a mile off she started to turn off and go past our stern. The pilot or captain probably picked us up on his radar. As it got closer we could make out its bow wave and dark hull. It was a tanker with a long flat deck between the stern superstructure and the bow, moving at a pretty good pace. All these ships were pretty much in the Gulf Stream, which gives more speed if you’re going with the current.

The wind was still coming from the southeast at 10-15 knots and started to get faster. We furled in out jib sail about half way and “dumped” the main sail by letting it out so it couldn’t catch much wind. This was all done to keep us more upright instead of healing at such a high degree. John was so low that he could put his hand out and touch the water as it went rushing by. In the midst of getting the sails trimmed, his pillow went overboard. Oh well. Consulting the chartplotter and our position and speed, we determined we were going too fast – sometimes over 8 knots! – and we had to really slow down. So in came the jib till just a tab flew which decreased our speed, but less than a knot. We sailed into the darkness as the moon had just set.

Finally, the dawn started coming. We were about 8 miles off the banks and our destination: Gun Cay (Key) – Cat Cay (Key) channel. We had to turn in that general direction and fight 6-foot waves that were coming from our starboard and stern. John was at the wheel steering us into the path of the following wave so that it wouldn’t hit us from the rear quarters, thus rolling us into a contorted gyrating mass of fiberglass and metal. In front of us we could see land (Gun Cay) and we dropped sails and motored toward the east. As we approached it got lighter and lighter. Then we could make out the lighthouse on the little island. The wind was blowing from our starboard stern quarter and the waves were behind and ahead of us, six feet high (and low) and the sun started to rise – right in our eyes. We revved up the diesel engine for steerage and proceeded toward the limestone rocks and shore. The “channel” on the chartplotter and cruise guide showed a straight path east, right up to Gun Cay and then an immediate hard turn to starboard missing the key and then just past the point another hard turn to the port. All along we were being bumped around up and down and sideways. I was looking at the chartplotter and telling John which way and when to turn. It was pretty treacherous and right on the edge. My stomach had butterflies going into the approach. Finally around the point and veering off to the port, there appeared the anchorage with one sailboat. It was time to drop the anchor in about 13 feet and head down below to clear out a space to make our beds. Everything else could wait and it did. We napped through the day and tidied up. That evening we had a very good sleep. The next morning after coffee and tea we headed off for the NW Channel and then Morgan’s Bluff on Andros Island to clear in with customs and immigration.