6/12/2015 –Sailing from Ship Channel Cay was an easy sail downwind with the pole set. It is very nice not to hear the motor running.
6/13/2015 – We took a jitney (mini bus) to downtown Nassau. The jitney did not seem to have a direct or specific route and took us all over the city as it dropped off and picked up passengers at random stops. It was a very long and interesting ride. We saw places we would otherwise not see. We spent the day walking from one historic site to the other. We were determined to see the best Nassau had to offer. The lower part of downtown is geared to the cruise boat and is highly commercialized with duty free shops.
6/15/2015 – We sailed from Chub Cay headed towards Cat Cay which is below Bimini. The wind is from the east at 5 to 8 knots. With the pole set we are able to stay over 4 knots for a nice slow sail. It is like 78 miles across so we are planning to move off the beaten path and anchor out. The seas are 1 to 2 feet and by the time we anchor it heavy chop. Once I dropped anchor the wnd and waves kept us moving and the anchor set behind the boat and we spun rapidly around. We were in for a roller coaster ride. The bow would come way up and then down with the anchor pulpit going almost under water.
6/16/2015 – We rocked and tossed all night literally leaving the berth at least an inch as it bounced. It is still bouncing but with less severity as I write this. Everything on the boat squeaks and moans. It is 6:30AM and Lynne is still a sleep. The coffee is almost made so it is time to wake her so we can continue to Cat Cay.
6/17/15 – We leave Cat Cay at 3:30 AM and this will be our last sunrise for the Bahamas as we are heading back across the gulf stream. The wind is easterly so we again set the pole. The waves are 1 to 2 feet and sailing is smooth most of the way. About half way across the winds started to switch to a ENE and would fluctuate back and forth until finally they were NE and the going got a little rougher. The pole of course had to be removed. Our heading was almost due east to Fowley Rocks but the stream current kept moving us north at about 2 miles/hour no matter which way the boat was pointed. We finally came to the mainland at about 8 miles north of Miami where the winds had changed to the southwest and we had to motor south against the current and wind. It was quite rough as the waves were almost hitting us abeam. We finally made it to Biscayne Bay about 5:30 PM where we anchored outside No Name Harbor. After the fast boats go home for the night we have a very calm and peaceful night’s sleep.
6/18/15 – Still have not called and checked in with customs because we are afraid they might want us to come to the closest customs office which is Miami and we do not want to go there. We will wait until we are further south. We sailed on the inside through Biscayne Bay all the way to Crocodile Lake National Refuge near the US 1 Bridge. We sailed through the narrow channels and under the bridge at the refuge. It was a great day for sailing and was not rough like it would have been on the Atlantic side. We made a mistake and anchored a little too close to the island and had to move further out due to biting flies. Not as big as those on Cape Sable but just as mean. We still had a few of them even though we moved.
5/19/15 – This morning I called customs on the 800 number and reported that we had returned. We thought we had all our bases covered but we were wrong and the phone call became costly very quickly. It was all because we had renewed our passports in February and they had our old passport numbers listed. We gave them our new passport numbers over the phone but that was not good enough for them. We were told we had to report to one of their offices in within 24 hours or we would be picked up by the border patrol. The options were Miami or Key West. I asked if a copy via email would suffice but they were sticking to the rules and were inflexible as well as unreasonable. By 10:00AM I had arranged for a slip at Anchorage Yacht and Marina which was about 10 miles away and reserved a rental car from Enterprise. They pick you up.On the way to the marina we entered Jewfish Creek and was approaching the US HWY 1 bridge and Lynne was having trouble preparing the midship line so I put her at the helm to take care of it, Although it was on autopilot, I am not sure she knew she was going under the bridge at the time. Usually she panics at bridges. We drove to Tamiami Airport south of Miami and presented our passports. It seems they have an older system and were not able to match our passport numbers with the boaters card numbers and tried to send us to the Port of Miami. A woman officer interceded saying we could do that any time in the future; what a relief. Never once were we asked if we were bringing anything into the country. Can you imagine our own government treating you worse than the Bahamian government? Well since we had the car we went to the grocery store and stoppend at Cracker Barrel for supper. One more insult, the marina has free parking only for resort customers and they charged me $10.00 for parking the rental car. Will take it back tomorrow. Also we have the A/C going so tonight will be a cool sleep. Anyway we are now legal returnees.