Ship’s Log: West End, Grand Bahama

May 27, 2019: Gulf Stream Crossing

We had a good sail down the coast throughout the night, only turning on the motor for a couple of hours. Trying to stay towards the coast, but also away from all the recreational boaters, we quickly found ourselves fighting the Stream’s current. I had heard a lot of horror stories and concerns about crossing the Gulf Stream. The main concern is a wind shift from anything with a northerly component. The stream’s current runs strong in the north direction. If wind is coming from the north, this creates some interference resulting in some nasty waves. Luckily the weather was in our favor so once we realized we were in it, we decided to go ahead and set sail for the Bahamas.

Around noon we turned the motor off, put up sails, and headed northeast towards West End on the Grand Bahama Island. Throughout the night we averaged 5 knots and didn’t have to do anything but let the autohelm take the helm. We arrived in West End around 5 am the next morning. We headed towards the anchorage just south of the marina. We saw the anchor lights of the other boats and dropped anchor in an empty spot. It had been a long night and we were ready for some sleep.

Highlight:

Despite being so far offshore, we could still see the ambient light from the east coast. With cruise ships passing us all night, I didn’t feel like we were as alone as I thought I’d feel.

May 28, 2019: West End

Waking up mid morning, we were eager to clear customs and immigration and start exploring. We pulled in to the dock and Josh hopped off with our passports and paperwork. In about 10 minutes he came back for me to sign the forms and that was it. Easy peasy. We grabbed fuel and headed back out towards a calmer anchorage just west of the marina. The water was just how we pictured it would be. What we didn’t realize was the strong current. Josh hopped in and quickly shouted at me to grab the snorkel and fins. We reset the anchor and took a beak with beer in hand. We unfolded the dinghy, geared it up and decided to grab dinner at Dockside Bar. There we met Natalie and Steve of SV Alabama and my legs got eaten by some sort of bug.

May 29, 2019: Vacation Begins

We FINALLY slept in. After weeks of waking up early we were able to have a relaxing morning and not worry about getting up to catch a bridge opening, finish a project or to keep moving. Vacation had finally begun.

We called Natalie and Steve on the VHF and they came by to take us to Wood Cay in their dinghy. We explored the island and soaked ourselves in the water. Then Josh and I went into town to explore and do some grocery shopping. Natalie and Steve had told us to park near the gas station and the church. We pulled up and asked the fellows on the dock about tying up. Everyone was super nice and told us we could tie anywhere. we walked the main street to the convenience store where we bought soda and some ginger snaps. We had heard about another more comprehensive grocery store and asked where it was. On our way we stopped at a liquor store where we spent $4 on three beers! We had heard the Bahamas was pricey but so far everything seemed cheap to us. We headed to the other grocery store where we bought more provisions and heard music from next door. Seemed like the bar was having a party mid afternoon. A few hours later Steve and Natalie gifted us with bacon. Very timely since we had just run out that morning. After some talk and debate, we decided that we would leave the next day to try to get to the Berry Islands. The wind wasn’t exactly in our favor, but we had all the time in the world and were ready for an adventure. In hindsight we should have stayed longer in West End and tried to go to Freeport by land. C’est la vie. Next time!