January 20, 2015 crossing

sun rise at 7am

January 20, 2015

Oh my what an experience we are living, not what I'd hoped for … much better

We did our test drive for 2 hours to check out the fuel issue, had the U.S. Coast Guard on board for safety check, etc.  Got our selves and Modaki ready for another crossing to Bahamas.

On Monday we all moved down to the Lake Worth Inlet, maybe 10 - 12 boats, or more.  It was not easy to anchor amongst moored boats and anchored boats with the tide going out and the wind blowing the opposite direction .  We anchored near " MISTRESS", Brad and Maureen, Toronto and then realized it was too close, as we swung with the tide and wind, so we moved further away.  SANDERLING and ALDERAAN, went about 1 mile further south….. we all hauled anchor about the same time the next morning 6 AM, still dark, but lights from buildings on shore.  We all made it out of the inlet and off we went.  Modaki in the lead, about 7am it was getting light and the radar was not needed.  We had to radio a freighter to see if he wanted us to change course, but he said he would … and closer to the Little Bahamas we had to radio another freighter, he also changed direction to avoid a collision.

It was not a comfortable ride across the gulf stream.  The wind was to have gone south east from the east and this did not happen at all.  The seas and wind on the nose, made for 3 - 4 - 6 ft seas.

We had planned on going to WestEnd to check in, but after some advise from Mark on Down Island, we all picked up speed and headed for Memory Rock and the Little Bahama Banks.

Around 4:15 pm Modaki 's motor started to sputter again. It was too late to alter course for WestEnd.  We radioed SANDERLING about our issues and they powered back and stayed along side.  once again we sputtered our way along for another 2 hours, just hoping to get onto the banks and off the main channel for the night.

Joe and I worked for a few hours visually checking everything, but we needed sleep.

The swells on the bank slowly settled down over night.

A 12 1/2 hour crossing and 63 km