Stuart to West End, Bahamas

We left Stuart and traveled to Lake Worth in West Palm Beach where we met up with our buddy boat for the Bahama crossing. Mike and Judy on Blue Yonder III came over that afternoon to meet up and plan our strategy for the morning.  We “met” over the email forum we both belong to when they were looking for buddy boats to cross with that travel about the same speed they do.  It was a bonus to discover they are from Vancouver, Canada – not more than an hour from where we lived in Bellingham!  We decided to leave at 4:30 AM so as to arrive in West End, Bahamas mid afternoon since we knew we would need to check in with customs when we arrived.  None of us were looking forward to the early morning, c’est la vie!
The morning came too early of course, but we soon found out that we were not the only ones who chose the early morning departure.  It had been over a week since the last decent crossing and the window was only going to last a few days so there was quite a parade of us going across. The hardest part was our departure in the dark.  We really relied on our radar – so many boats around us.  Blessedly the inlet to the ocean was not too rough and we were able get around the slower sailboats after we were out of the inlet. We learned a lot about the Gulf Stream.  The current in the stream is so strong that it pushes you off your course unless you have a powerful engine (we do not).  There are several tactics to choose from, but we decided to let the stream carry us north then adjusted our course accordingly when we made it across the stream.  The water was fairly calm as predicted.  We had 3 foot swells with a good interval between them.  It’s a little rolly but not bad at all.  As we got closer to the Bahamas and the water gets shallow (from more than 2,800 feet to 20 feet!), we had some choppy waves but nothing to complain about.  Bob saw several wonderful sights but it was never long enough for me to get a picture.  He saw a whale surface and blow, and lots of flying fish. We both saw a cool little fish dance across the surface of the water on his tail. The only description I found that is similar is the flying fish – escaping its predator.  We actually made the journey a little faster than anticipated and arrived at West End (Old Bahama Bay Marina) at 2:00.  It took about 45 minutes to check in and we were free to relax.  The marina was nearly empty when we arrived but nearly full by dinner time.  Many, many fishing boats!  A sailboat pulled in next to us shortly after we did and we were pleased to make their acquaintance – especially when they offered a nice large piece of Wahoo (fish) they caught on the way over.  Judy and Mike came over for dinner and cooked the fish for us since I had no clue how to prepare it.  They said it is even better just seared but Bob prefers his meat cooked all the way so they humored us.  It was still very delicious – more like steak than fish! 
We are off to Great Sale anchorage in the morning so enjoy the pictorial journey below!

As we departed Stuart we had a constant parade of dolphins that followed us for quite a while.  At one time we had 6 around us but I wasn’t fast enough with the camera.  I did catch 4 of them together.

I also caught these two on video.  They kept a good eye on me to make sure I appreciated their antics!  Watch as they twist their bodies to look up at me.

The houses got bigger

and bigger

and some had their own peninsula

or island…

and many had their own boat…

Or even their own floating palace!

This house caught my eye while I was on the phone to my granddaughter, Lila Belle.  I had to put her on hold to take the picture.  Isn’t it a pretty one, Lila?

While there were small boats around…

and a variety of larger boats

there were lots, and lots, and lots of BIG boats!

and quite a few bigger boats!

Even the trees grow big!

We passed under Juniper Bridge – we could have gone under without it being raised, but the sailboats ahead of us couldn’t.  The current is swift here and we were glad no one had to wait long to get through.  Our friends on Angel Louise nearly lost their mast several years ago here when the bridge failed to open as promised.  Thankfully they squeaked through just as it started to open.

The trip wasn’t all houses and boats.  We traveled for a short while through a canal…

out into some open water…

Saw some fun pelicans…

a neat lighthouse

a popular anchorage

and finally made to to Lake Worth to meet up with our buddy boat Blue Yonder III to plan for our crossing in the morning!

Did you notice the ship on the right? Nothing like making us feel tiny!

We were well on our way when the sun rose, and what a beautiful sight it was!

I even got a video of it coming up.

We saw depths we’ve never seen before.  Bob said the deepest he saw was over 2,800 feet.

Ever wonder what the ocean looks like?

Blue Yonder bouncing around behind us.

And we have arrived!

The buildings are so colorful!


Tomorrow our Bahama adventure begins!

Anchored at Lake Worth, FL – 2/14/18 with Blue Yonder
Docked at Old Bahama Bay Marina, West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas – 2/15/18 with Blue Yonder and Ensenel