Across the Bank to the Berries

1633 NM   N25 44.809  W077 51.500

Once again, we tinkered with the plan.

In order to get from Bimini to Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands, you have to cross the Great Bahama Bank. Originally, we intended to cross it in two legs, with an overnight anchor at Mackie Shoals, as we did two years ago.  But, this needs a two day weather window, and we would end up staying at Bimini almost a week to get it.

But a one day window was available after day 3.  Of course, this meant another overnight passage, with watches in shifts, to make the 18 hour passage.  But 3 days was more than enough to spend in Bimini, and we still had 3 people, so we went for it.

In order to time our arrival at Great Harbour Cay at mid morning, we held off departing Bimini until 4 in the afternoon.  This gave me some time to hike up to the Batelco office and straighten out a billing problem I had with the BTC cell phone we had gotten, and still left enough time to revisit the Dolphin House.  This crazy-quilt 3-story structure is built completely out of found materials, largely by the efforts of one man, Ashley Saunders, over a 12 year period.  It is still very much a work in progress.

Ashley Saunders

Ornate Stonework

Extensive Collages

Still Growing

So, we departed Bimini at 4:00 pm.  Once out of the harbour, we turned northward, headed for a place called North Rock, the point where we could turn East onto the shallow Bahama Banks.  The wind was favorable, so we set sails and shut off the engine.  Blessed silence!

We sailed on this way past sunset, and into the night, cycling a person on and off of watch every 3 hours.

Sunset Behind Us

Around 3:30 am, the wind died.  We furled the jib so it wouldn't flog, and motored with the main up, so no one had to go up on the foredeck in the dark.

Dawn came, and we continued onward.  At last, Great Harbour Cay came into view. We dropped the main, and soon we were entering the narrow, rocky, and hard-to-see entrance channel into Bullock's Harbour.

I Know that Entrance is Around Here Somewhere...

There It Is!

By 10:00 am, we were tied up in our slip, and sipping our end-of-voyage drinks.

Life is good!