We Made It!

Well, we made it to the Bahamas, entry port Bimini. Up at 3am after a fitful night to depart at 4am, across the Key Reef and out into the Gulf Stream, 78 miles to Bimini. The first hour off the voyage was rough with rollers coming in, causing a lot of movement. Joe was taking hs Dramamine again, but by 8am was feeling better and the Gulf Stream was tame with one to two foot waves most of the way across. the first 2 hours it was dark and we followed the lead boat through the reef area. Once the sun was up, we were cruising comfortably in the open ocean. I took a photo of our knot meter. Our normal cruising speed is 6 knots and we made 9 knots due to the gulf stream. We also saw the depth meter max out at 520 feet, even though we went to 3000 feet. We have included a few pictures of daybreak, Joy at the wheel, and then some of us celebrating with our fellow boaters after our crossing at a local bar and then conch restaurant- fried conch, conch fritters, etc. Joe was able to get a grilled cheese sandwich.

Our coming into Bimini was the most stressful. We would have gone aground if it hadn't been for a sailboat who had gone aground earlier in the day and was still lying on it's side. The markers were hard to spot and you had to run very close to the beach. We turned around at the last minute and returned to the appropriate channel! That was after hearing on the VHF radio that we were in the wrong spot. Scary! We are at a marina, and you can see the starfish, rays, sea urchins, a fish swimming around the boat. The water is beautifully blue(pics tomorrow), and very clear.