Kent and I enjoyed our respite at the resort at Old Bahama Marina at the west end of Grand Bahama Island. Our boat was provisioned and topped off with water and fuel. Just as importantly, we felt refreshed and ready to cross from the Bahamas to Fort Pierce, Florida.
We were up at 6 a.m. to get an early start. Sails were up by 7:30 a.m. in rough, confused seas. We'd expected a slow sail in 5 to 10 knot winds and calm seas based on weather forecasts. Instead, we started out with 10 to 15 knot winds an choppy seas. Luckily, the seas smoothed out and the winds lessened by mid-morning for a more comfortable sail. We motor-sailed for a good part of the day to increase our speed.
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| Leaving Old Bahama Marina in the morning to cross to Florida |
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| Winds lessened and seas calmed |
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| Lovely sail all morning and into the afternoon |
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| Kent and Trooper at the helm |
About 1:00 p.m., the Gulf Stream current started helping our speed, pushing us along from behind. We had less slippage to the west than we expected, which was good, and we moved along very quickly! Bangarang averaged 10.3 knots in the afternoon. The more we pointed up to Fort Pierce, the faster we sped along. We had a good, uneventful sail--until about 20 miles from Fort Pierce, FL.
The Bad
Fifteen miles from Florida's shore, we spotted some ominous-looking storm clouds swirling north of us. The skies grew darker quickly and the clouds began to move in a circular pattern, full of rain and wind. This was not good. We immediately dropped our sails and revved our engines away from the storm, heading towards the closest Florida shore. The storm overtook us and we were whacked by 30 to 35 knot winds and very rough seas. We'd strapped on our life jackets and I went inside the salon, holding on to Trooper. He was shaking like crazy from the sound of the waves crashing underneath our boat. Kent did a fabulous job at the helm during the storm while I tried to avoid being thrown around the salon (banged around in Bangarang?). This was not a pleasant experience. I was able to get pictures as the storm formed around us. I don't have pictures during the storm itself, for obvious reasons.
We made it as quickly as our engines could take us and about half an hour later, motored through the Port St Lucie Inlet into the Inter-Coastal Waterway. We anchored off in the calm shallows, shaken but safe. It was 5:30 p.m. We were exhausted. We drank our supper and watched the sunset, thankful to be in Florida.
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| Leaving the Atlantic Ocean and entering Port St Lucie Inlet |
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| Anchored in time to watch the sunset |
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| Pink skies |
The Ugly
The rough crossing in the afternoon had compromised our dinghy, which Kent had patched earlier. The dinghy was partially deflated and we were unable to take Trooper to land to go to the bathroom! Oh well! Amazingly, after trying everything we could think of (walking him to the bow on his leash, a stern potty talk, even peeing on a small rag ourselves to attract him!), he still refused to go. Trooper lasted 24 hours, and the next morning, he finally gave in and went (all over the outer salon) on the boat. Woohoo!
The next day, we sailed north to Harbortown Marina in Fort Pierce, FL.
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