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June 22, 2005
N24.4 W76.5 Highborne Cay, Bahamas
Albert from “Bonnie” suggested that we were crazy to head north to Freeport, then fight the Gulf Stream across to Florida. Better to cross the shallow banks with your deep draft keel, he said. Then use the current to get to Florida. He was right, and Dave poured over the charts to find a new course. So, we changed our plans. We would cross Norman’s Spit at high tide, with 0.2 metres under the keel. Oh, goody!
The amended plan involved a brief stop at Highborne Cay before crossing the Exuma Bank to Nassau. An uneventful passage, and we dropped anchor, went ashore to get groceries, check internet, fill diesel jerry cans (we can’t get near the fuel dock with our draft), drop garbage (US$5 per bag, 2 bag maximum – we had not dropped garbage in 6 days). We met a local fisherman at the dock, and bought a lovely fresh grouper for dinner. Holy cow, that was good! Red onions, capers, olive oil. Wasabi potatoes and salad.
We stayed an extra night, and started to get news of a tropical wave spinning north out of the Western Caribbean. It was time to go. We planned an early morning departure, wanting to arrive at our destination at high tide.
Posted by dave at June 22, 2005 07:27 AM