On the way to Nassau

1/21/12  5am

Had a beautiful sail yesterday – probably the best we’ve had so far on Wayward Wind.  We covered close to 60 miles in 8 hours so averaged around 7.5 knots.  On one wave, we slid down for a few seconds at 10 knots!  We only motored in and out of the harbors; the rest we sailed.  The weather was sunny with small puffs of clouds.  The wind was 10 – 15 knots mostly on the beam.  The seas had a 5 foot swell every 8 to 10 seconds, with a light chop on top between our stern and beam so not bad at all.  Dave put out the fishing line but there was so much sargasso grass that the lure got fouled.  It was sweater weather in the cockpit, but warm behind the shelter of the dodger in the sun.  Lovely, lovely day.  I remarked to Dave that I finally felt on this day that we were doing what we'd set out to do - sail in far off places. 

Happy, happy Captain Dave

We left the anchorage just north of Little Harbour at 6:30 am with just enough light to see the entrance into the Atlantic.  The day before was quite blustery with a lot of chop, so we wanted to make sure the entrance would be settled before we passed.  It’s a little unnerving to see breakers on either side but the entrance itself was smooth with just a gentle swell.  We arrived at the small protected harbor of Royal Island to find a half dozen sailboats and motorboats anchored, several that we recognized from Hope Town.  This morning we’ll leave at 6:45 for Nassau.



Back in Marsh Harbour, the Abaco Cruisers Net comes on the VHF radio every morning at 8:15.  Anyone can tune in and add something at the appropriate time.  It begins with the moderator asking for any emergency calls, then weather, community information, “invitations” from local restaurants and businesses, new arrivals, departures, and anything else, and ends with a weather recap.  It lasts about 40 minutes and is a great way to find out about the area or ask a question.  We introduced ourselves and said that we were headed to Nassau and asked if anyone had information to share to please call or stop by the boat.  Afterwards we got a call from Epiphany who said they were going in a few days.


Epiphany is a lovely 47-foot Vagabond that looks a bit like a pirate ship.  Phil and Susan and their two daughters, Samantha, 9, and Grace, 6, sailed from Maine to and around the Bahamas for the past month.  Phil owns his own cleaning service which allows him to take the time off.  What a nice family.  We visited them on their boat (actually it’s their friend’s boat – their own boat is in Maine) to plan the trip.   On Thursday we met up at the anchorage in Little Harbour where they dinghied over to WW to hone our plans.  We decided to break up the trip into two days because it would be a push to make it to Nassau before dark in one day.  And after yesterday’s sail, we’re so glad we did.  After we anchored and settled in yesterday afternoon, the Epiphany crew, (I realize we don’t even know their last name, but it doesn’t matter) dinghied over to WW to recap the day.  Dave and I enjoy their company.  They are such pleasant folks, and it’s fun being around their girls who are sweeties.  We sat around and basked in the joy of the day’s wonderful sail.  We were all so happy and decided that if we even have half as good a day today, it would be fine. 

Our buddy boat, Epiphany, sailing to Nassau