BAHAMAS!!!!!!!

Have you ever had a thought, perhaps a vision, of something that seemed so simple and yet nearly unobtainable?  Perhaps, something completely routine and yet daunting?  Familiar and somehow new?

As we sat in Fort Lauderdale the simple vision of floating in crystal clear blue water in the Bahamas was calling, yes it was a ways East by North East, but if you can imagine it, you can do it - right?  To get there all you have to do is point the boat 76 degrees at 11.5 mph and you arrive in 7 hours - something we have done a dozen times, but not across an ocean and the Gulf Stream and not 35 miles from shore in any direction.

And so, with a narrow weather window we screwed up our courage and set out.  The conditions were not perfect, and we had to rock and roll along for a solid 5 hours in 3-5 foot seas, but Reviresco shook it off like any other day and kept our confidence up.  Sue was a real champ, calm and collected the whole time and although nervous about the conditions to start, she quickly grew accustomed and was game to continue on.  For my part, I was hoping for an easier crossing, but everything is a compromise, and while it was not the most comfortable, it was in no way unsafe.

When there is nothing in front of you, and nothing behind, having the CATs running smoothly was a real confidence booster.  I was really pleased that all the maintenance I did before leaving worked perfectly and we had no leaks or issues of any kind.  There is always the risk that when you change something just before you set out that you have made a mistake that will not reveal itself for a few hours.

We finished the last two hours of our run in calm seas with a nice easy 2 foot swell.

The fish were flying in all directions as we moved along.  They are a little tough to capture on film as they are only about 5 inches long and quick!  They shoot along about two inches above the surface and can go about 100 yards in the air before dipping back into the ocean.

As we got closer to the Bahamas the water turned an incredible Electric Blue colour.  Sue described it as "Blueberry with a touch of cream".  For my part, it looked like Blue Gatorade.  How you would describe the colour?

Sun Streaks Going Down 30 Feet

Yes!

Holding on For Dear Life!

Land Fall!

Bahama Poster Kids!

There have been innumerable lessons learned along the way, but 4186KM later we've arrived!

We will stick around Grand Bahama Island for a few days and then head over to the Great Abaco Island to stop in at Green Turtle Cay for a few more days.

Ever Forward!