Category Archives: Bahamas

Days 5 of Our Passage from Norfolk to Marsh Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas

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Sunday, November 16 – By midnight, the seas had begun to deteriorate. It was still a nice ride, but the storm up north was affecting sea conditions down here. If all went according to plan, we’d be arriving to Abacos before the seas got bad. Since the wind direction had changed a little bit, Eric change our course a little bit for a smoother ride.

As the day went on, the conditions continued to worsen, which surprised us. When Eric checked the weather, he saw we were in the convergence zone of three weather systems, making the seas seriously confused. Swells were 3 – 4 feet at rapid intervals coming from three different directions, and once in a while we’d get a 5- 6 footer that would slam into us hard. There was 2 – 3 feet of wind chop, too.

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Days 3 – 4 of Passage from Norfolk to Marsh Harbor, Abacos, Bahamas

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Friday November 14 — By midnight, we were nearly across the Gulf Stream. Eric was able to put the autopilot back onto auto navigation mode. Our speeds improved, and Eric moved the RPM down to 1600, where we were averaging about 6-knots. The winds had calmed down and were now coming from the aft, so the ride improved. Keith’s seasickness subsided, and he didn’t seem to be catching Christi’s cold. Eric was still fighting the cold. Christi’s cold had turned into a sinus infection. It was a dark night. The moon didn’t rise until 0200, and when it did, it was only a crescent, so it only helped a little with illumination. Here was dawn:

Friday was a much better day at sea than Wednesday and Thursday had been. The seas were calmer — 3 – 4 feet at 5 – 6 seconds with wind chop waves of about 1-foot, all coming from the starboard beam. It was significantly warmer than the Chesapeake had been, and the temperatures were pleasant at 75-degrees. We were averaging high 5s/low 6s at 1600 RPM all day, although at one point, when the current was with us, we sped all the way up to 7-knots for a short while and at another point, when the current was against us, we slowed down to the low 5s for a short time.

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Keith’s Perspective on Our Last Few Days in the Bahamas and West Palm Beach, Florida/Le point de vue de Keith sur nos derniers jours aux Bahamas et à West Palm Beach, en Floride

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This week has been interesting. On Saturday, we went back to the Washing Machine again, this time with the Ukrainian family and the family from Mississippi. After we got back, I went over to one of the boats to watch a movie. It was a Christmas movie, which was a little bit cheesy and out of season. 

The narrow opening from the ocean into the estuary is called the Washing Machine, Shroud Cay, Exuma Islands, Bahamas

Cette semaine était intéressante. Samedi on est retourné au washing Machine avec la famille Ukrainienne et celle du Mississippi. Quand je suis rentré, je suis allé sur un autre bateau pour regarder un film. C’était un film de Noël, qui était ringard et hors saison. 

The Washing Machine is a deeper channel with a fast current, and a sandbar at each side so you can’t get swept away. Eric and Keith playing in the water.
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