Bahamas - Part Two!

The following morning we went into the marina to part with our 300 dollars and clear into customs. Is it just us or does anyone else find that near enough every country they have visited the customs and immigration are the moodiest and rudest people known to mankind??

Anyhow the day got way better as within a hour of looking on the internet we had found a second hand sail (advertised as “like new” ) the right size for the boat and the location was Fort Launderdale. There is a company called GB express that fly everyday from Fort Launderdale to the Grand Bahama, and so it was all paid for and organized to be in Free Port( 30 miles away from where we were anchored) by the following evening...what are the chances of that?? We were so chuffed as we thought it was going to be a complete nightmare but it worked out way better than expected. ( The GB express only cost us 50 dollars for the delivery of the sail...and that was next day service...how good is that!! – Highly recommended!!!

With all that sorted we decided to go for a snorkel , a swim and a walk on the beach!



We planned to sail an extra 15 miles round to the south of the island the next morning as it was closer to Free Port where we were picking up our new sail and we were not that keen on leaving Gypsy Moth unattended for half the day...take a look at this picture of our anchor and you can see why!!



Again the cruising guide only mentioned the waterway entrance from the north and so we kept our fingers crossed it was dredged deep enough at the south entrance. Luck was with us and we followed the buoyed channel in and the depth never went lower than 10 feet under the keel. It was quite a tight hairy entrance and we would not of attempted it in higher winds - but when we got into the waterway it was so dreamy. It was calm and well protected, perfect for spending a few days to sort out the sail and other repairs.

Sym up the mast taping around the edges of the spreaders with lots of masking tape to avoid any other rips and cuts in our new sail!!!

The Bahamas - Part One

As we had no luck extending our visa waiver in the US we were forced to leave on tuesday the 6th April, even thought the forecast was not the best. We got up at first light and left the anchorage of West Palm Beach , heading for the Island of Grand Bahama.It was 60 odd miles and with sailing across the gulf stream we were not sure how slow we would be going so we had 14 hours to make it before the sun went down. This was our first actual sail on Gyspy Moth out at sea. The wind forecast was on the nose so we thought it was going to be a bumpy ride.
Ahead of us by a few miles were four other boats and after getting out there is was choppy but nothing major or worth worrying about.We hoisted the main sail ( for the first time )...so much smaller than Quartermoons rig..i think Gypsy moth under full sail is more or less Quartermoon second reef!!! and sailed as close to the wind as we could with the engine on to keep us at a good speed to get us to to anchorage before the dark.
After 5 minutes we saw the three catamarans in front turn around and head back for west palm beach...shortly after we were called on the radio by this couple we briefly met the day before asking if we were carrying on with the trip. Sym informed them we were carrying on and told them it was flat as a pancake and he said that in America they prefer their pancakes a bit flatter!! HAHA!! as it was too much for them and they were turning around too!! I was absolutley god smacked!! Dont get me wrong i hate bad weather and will do anything to avoid it, im a right pansy, but this was nothing!! the seas were four foot at most( it was choppy dont get me wrong ) but all the bloody boats turned back - crazy Americans!! No offence!!
Anyhow we were loving being back out on the water, both of us grinning when the head sail back winded and got caught on the spreader..we looked up to see a tear about a foot long ... a second later i looked up and the whole lenth of the sail was shreaded to pieces!!! What a sickening sight, we were horrified!! Especially as we had left the states so we would have to first look for a new one then get it shipped to the bahamas... this puppy was beyond repair - god knows how long this would take...and we had just spent 500 dollars on getting a lovely navy blue sacrifical strip to go on her to match the rest of the canvas work...arrrggg!!!

Sym taking down our ruined sail!!!!



Anyhow we finally made it to the anchorage of West End and dropped the hook a couple of hours before nightfall. To top it off what a crappy anchorage.. it was really rolly and exposed and we only had a couple of foot under our keel. the floor was rocky with few sand patches so whenever we swung around when the current changed we were pooping it th anchor were not going to re bite. Check out these pics!!( at some point the following day we were inches above rocks)







Although the anchorage was awful, it was amazing to be in clear water again...we had been so long in the inland water ways, it felt soo good to dive in and swim around the boat...it was the first time since we bought her we actually saw what she looked like underneath, lol



Me and Hallie enjoying our swim...there were loads of Rays around





Oh and before i forget those who are looking for a cruising guide to the Bahamas...dont get the one we have as its completly shit! Its called " A yachtsman guide to the Bahamas".We bought it off Amazon and so did not get much info on it before buying, but it is written by a power boater and therefore 99.9 % of the anchorages listed are for really shallow drafts less than 4 foot! After spending hours reading through and searching the book there were only a handful of anchorges mentioned for boats of a draft of 6 foot or more. The only two places that we actully anchored on Grand Bahama were not even mentioned in the sodding book.

Daytona Beach - West Palm Beach

Words cannot describe how glad i felt to see Sym and be back home. The following day we celebrated my 27th Birthday by having lunch out in the marina overlooking all the boats...it felt good to be in the sun again!!
Sym had got loads of work done on the boat when i had been gone and completly built two tables( one for the saloon and a fold up one for the cockpit) and re varnished all the exterior wood work. It looks brillant and has gone from looking quite tatty to brand new!

Sym studying our charts on our new cockpit table



We did not have much time to chill out when i got back as Sym visa run out on the 6th April and we went to go and see customs ans immigration at the airport and there was no way we could extend his visa...so that left us with 5 days before we had to leave the states. It was a bit if a bummer really cos we really wanted to see Miami and hop down the Florida Keys, instead our only option was to sail to the Bahamas. We were not planning to stop at the Bahamas, just because it was out of the way and we had alot of miles to cover (heading south to Panama) in a short time , before we fly back to the UK to have our little girl.Secondaly, it costs 300 dollars to get a cruising permit.....how mad is that?? Out of all the countires we have visited the most expensive by far was 70 UD dollars to clear into Columbia. We would not have minded so much if we had a few months to chill and hop around loads of the islands but we only have time for a couple and need to start making a move to Cuba as soon as possible.

Anyway, we had 5 day to sail from Daytona to West Palm beach before having to leave and it was about 180 miles so it would give us all of a day or two to pray for a good weather forecast to cross the Gulf Stream to Grand Bahama Island.

Me chilling on deck catching some rays



The waterways were much busier as we headed south and to be perfectly honest got a bit boring after a while...its alright for the first week or so, but then it gets quite monotomous...especially with having a six foot draft and at low water, we were bearly floating in lots of places( the depth alarm beeping like crazy).

However it was very different in West Palm Beach compared to the rest of the trip...the money there is out of this world!! I have never seen so many expesive boats racing around with teenagers all drinking and partying in boats with engines more expensive than our whole boat out together...CRAZY!!

Me and my fat belly admiring the houses in West Palm Beach




This was one of the small ones:



Only joking!!
The houses on the waterways were amazing( must have been worth millions), each with their own pontoon with their sailing yacht, motor yacht and jet skies all moored outside. We arrived in west palm beach on the bank holiday weekend of spring break so you can imagine how hectic it was. Imagine Cowes week in the Solent , with boats being skippered by everyone under the age of 18 and it was way worse!!!
It would of been an amazing party town..if i was not pregnant and able to drink..lol..arrrggg!!!!

Im gutted i did not get to take any pictures of all the madness as at the time we were pretty stressed out trying to avoid crashing with everyone!!