Publish Date: Saturday, December 6, 2008
Location: Alice Town, Bimini, Bahamas
Coordinates: 25° 43.335′ N 79° 17.926′ W
Last night we crossed from Port Everglades, Florida to Bimini, Bahamas. While this crossing is only about 45 miles, it was significant for a number of reasons:
- This was our first landfall in a foreign country. Before setting out we had to make sure all of our paperwork was in order, and generally adjust our mindset about self-sufficiency (and prepare accordingly). The most onerous set of paperwork was for our cat, Piccadilly: The Bahamas are very strict about bringing animals into their country, so we had to be buttoned up about this. Our good friend Tim Benoit is a veteranarian in Fort Lauderdale, so he helped us significantly with the preparation. In the end, customs and immigration was a breeze: We raised our yellow “Q” flag when we entered the harbour, and less than an hour later we lowered our “Q” flag and raised our Bahamas courtesy flag to indicate that we had “cleared in”.
- To align our departure and arrival tides and times, we departed shortly after midnight, crossing the Straights of Florida overnight, in the dark, dodging cruise ships and tankers. A few months ago this would have terrified us, but last night we handled the psychology (and the piloting) pretty well. The scariest part was getting out of the Port Everglades inlet with freighters and tug boats all around us, coming and going. But as we were picking our way through the sand bars to get into Alice Town Harbour on North Bimini this morning, we were thankful we arrived on a rising, near-high tide, and that we had the sun overhead to help us see the color of the water (to read the depth).
- Crossing the Gulf Stream can be a very bumpy and treacherous, so it’s important to wait for the right weather window: no “N” in the wind direction, and generally light winds from whatever direction. We were in Fort Lauderdale for a little over a week before the weather (wind and waves) became favorable, and we had a very smooth ride (1-2 foot waves, 5-10mph ESE wind). Staying in Fort Lauderdale for that long would normally have wreaked havoc on our cruising budget: $3-4 per foot, per night to moor at a standard marina, and there are no good anchorages! Fortunately, we had two local angels offer their private dock to us to moor for the duration of our stay. What a gift; We were humbled and thankful for this enormous gesture of generosity.
Now that we’re here, we can’t wait to explore and play. The water color is as beautiful as we hoped it would be, and the Bahamian people have been very friendly. I am drinking a Kalik (the local Bahamian beer) as I write this, and all is well aboard Three@Sea.