The Crossing

12/17 – We made it – to Alice Town, Bimini, Bahamas!!!

We were up early and on time for our prearranged 5:30 a.m. departure with our buddy boats. We headed out Government Cut, but had to slow down as a cruise ship was coming in. Once it passed we were again on our way. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise with a warm breeze blowing in our faces. The wind was out of the southeast at between 5-10 knots with waves around 1-2 feet. We kept waiting to hit the Gulf Stream. Conversations with folks that had made the trip before, along with several of the guidebooks, indicated you could tell when you reached the stream because of the change in water color (it became an aquamarine deep blue) and the push you got to the north. We didn’t notice either right off. The angle of the sun was such that we couldn’t see a change in the water color and the Gulf Stream was only flowing north at about 1.5 knots instead of the usual 2.5. Eventually, we did notice a drift to the north and adjusted our course accordingly.

All in all, we had a great crossing. There was only an hour or so in the middle where the ride got a little uncomfortable. The last 2 or 3 hours of the trip was on an almost flat sea. Approaching Bimini was breathtaking. The water was gorgeous. With the sun behind us it was easy to read the colors of the waters. There is an old sailing ditty that goes: “Water that’s blue is deep and true; As it shades to green, the water gets lean; White or yellow will ground a fellow; If the water is brown, you’ll run aground; If the water is black, you’d better turn back.

Gerry was trying to avoid a black area as he thought it was a coral head – then it started moving – it was several rays moving across the bottom.

We made it safely into our marina, Sea Crest, and Gerry (as the master and only one allowed ashore) took all of our paperwork and cleared customs. It seemed surreal that we had finally made it to the Bahamas.

After settling in we took a stroll along the King’s Highway in Alice Town. It was a very picturesque and quaint town. We ended up at a little place on the beach where we had drinks and appetizers and watched a gorgeous sunset over the ocean. A perfect ending to our first day in the Bahamas.