Hittin' the waves...

On Friday morning, we left the dock in Bimini for Gun Cay. It was high time to get going with the onslaught of crazy, loud and obnoxious boaters from Miami. I have never heard the "F" word used as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb and preposition, all in the same sentence!!! One "lovely" boater kept whistling for his deck candy to come get him a drink!!! I could have found a couple of things to put in a cup for him, but alas.... young girls in need of a ride home??? They piled bean bags all over the dock, blasted their music, threw their trash all around and proceeded to get quite wasted and more obnoxious than I thought possible. Money cannot buy class, but apparently it can buy a slip at a marina!! With great speed... 4 knots... we pointed our bow toward Gun Cay and away from the Miami sound machine!!

When we arrived at Gun Cay, we decided to stay put on the boat and eat a simple supper of appetizers. We were planning a very early start and needed to try and get some rest.  Nice music on the stereo, a book or two and some cheese, crackers and olives made for a lovely evening. Soon the bunk was calling and off we went. Morning dawned a new day...... well actually it was Ray's flashlight shining in my face at 3:30!!! Very few things attract a murderous thought into my mind, however, being awakened at 3:30 is among the top three!! Being awakened without coffee is in the top one!!! There was no coffee!!! How Ray is still alive is a testament to my self-control... or the fact that I cannot sail the boat and I needed him to get me to Nassau!! After that, all bets are off!!! But back to the story, we pulled the anchor and set off into the east.

Traversing the Bahama Banks is a lesson in patience to say the least! On a motor vessel, it can be done in as little as three hours but on a sailboat, it ain’t happening quick!! Some people actually stop half way and anchor for the night…… some people would be called Ray and Kim back in 2013, but we will NEVER be called those people again!! When the winds are up and out of the east, the chop is quite substantial and very uncomfortable!!  Also, there are island freighters who cross the banks at night and they are not on the lookout for a 41 foot sailboat anchored up and bouncing around like bobble heads on a car dashboard. This is why at 3:30 am, Ray took his life in his hands and woke me up!! We actually had a pretty uneventful start to our day… night… day??? The winds were down to 6 knots and the seas were choppy but tolerable. I came up topside with my blanket and snoozed as Ray guided NuTrix toward some unforeseen mark on a chart. About two hours into our crossing, it became EVENTFUL!!! The wind increased to 15 knots and the seas kicked up to 3 feet. NuTrix punched through like a champ, but the water spray found its way all the way to the stern and us. We were able to keep up 5.5 to 6 knots because we had an outgoing tide which helped greatly!!  We went an additional 10 hours pounding through waves. It was impossible…. well not impossible, but really improbable for me to try and cook anything or even make coffee..... I know….. the horror of it all!!! We ate Bimini bread with butter, goldfish crackers, an occasional slice of cheese and out of shear desperation, a chocolate cookie!!! Crazy times call for chocolate, people!!!! Finally, we got a small reprieve when the wind lay down and the waves sprayed only around the edges of the boat! We were still making great time and came up to the Northwest Channel Light at four oclock which was 12 hours after we left…. I should amend that to read, we came upon the SITE of the NW Channel Light. The light was taken out by some big boat and has not been repaired. The metal stake is still lurking somewhere under the water, so it is best to stay clear of the GPS marking!! The water turned from a turquoise blue to a deep sapphire in a matter of minutes. Our depth readings went from 20 feet to 600 and then it wouldn’t read anymore. The Tongue of the Ocean is an enormous body of water that plunges from the Bahama Bank  into depths of 7000 feet!!! We were hoping to troll for tuna, but the rolls became quite crazy and it was too hard for Ray to work a line and hold the helm. I have become WAY more comfortable with crossing, but not enough to take the helm and kill us all….. but that’s just me!! From the light to the entrance to Chub Cay took three hours but the water was so pretty that my mind was on that instead of the length of time. I actually saw an enormous sea turtle but he dipped under the waves before I could capture a picture. I have the image put forever in my memory though. Soon, we came upon an massive rock lying directly off of Chub Cay.

It is called Momma Rhoda Rock and looks like a giant sea monster slithering along the turquoise waters, waiting for the unsuspecting sailor to cross its path.
NuTrix seemed to sigh as she glided into the anchorage off of the beach. The area is beautiful with the long sandy beach stretching up to the rocky coast. The water is so amazingly clear that the bottom looks inches below our keel but is in fact six to eight feet. Ray, as always, jumped over to set the anchor while I went to the shower and tried to wash away 15 hours of salt!! Later that night, we were so surprised and very delighted to see fireworks booming over the beach in celebration of the 4th of July!!  Here we were, in a foreign country and watching an amazing display of fireworks heralding the Independence of our country!! Probably because in the 70s, the Bahamas also won their independence from British rule so they know the pride of calling a country their own!! Regardless of the reason, it was an impressive sight with lots of ooohhhsss and ahhhhssss!!!! Ray and I had pasta with meatballs for a quick dinner and fell into a deep sleep after a long grueling day at sea…

We awoke at 9:30!!! The anchorage is quiet and not too rolly. We pulled anchor and set our sights for Fraziers Hog Cay, a mere two miles away. The waters were not too bad and I, again, stood and gazed into the beautiful sea. The coral and rocks looked like I could reach and grab ahold of them, but they lay out of reach. Ray used to sail into Fraziers Hog Cay aboard his sailboat, Breezin back in his 20s. He remarked about how little it had changed in all of the years since he sailed through the small channel. He used to visit an older gentleman by the name of Charlie Albury. Today, when we went to shore, an older man came into the small marina office and introduced himself as Don Mclearny. He knew Charlie very well and Ray was amazed that the man from his youth was still here. The two of them chatted while I tried to get pictures uploaded. 

 
The internet in the Bahamas is very slow!! I was laughing with the young lady who was manning the desk, about the time it takes to upload. I told her that in America we have come to expect everything to happen yesterday. She just smiled and I couldn’t help but think that I really needed to leave my country and find the reality of life…… not quick and over… but spending time talking with new people, looking out over the beautiful waters, fishing, sailing and making memories. Our lives have an expiration date and no matter how much money we have, what we do or where we go……. at some point in time, it is going to end. We often  put this thought away as a morbid conversation not meant to be brought up, but it is not morbid to discuss the truth. Life comes and life ends for every person and the realization of this, in my opinion, keeps us from merely existing and makes sure that we truly live!!!

This trip has been so amazing for Ray and me. I have learned to take the helm in heavy seas; I have learned to trust that just because I do not know something, Ray does. I have learned to take a breath and enjoy the moment. I sit here on my boat tonight with the breeze kicking up our American flag off of the stern and I think of what it represents….. Liberty…. which is what I am finding this summer!!! Liberty from the status quo, liberty from my fears, liberty from all that would hold me back from finding my place in this beautiful world….. I have seen so little of the Earth that I call home, but the places that I have seen are simply amazing. Everywhere I go, there are people who also call this world home and that gives us all a connection.  I take in the culture, the rhythm of the language that is English, but isn’t at the same time. There is so much to see and so much to do and I find that my time here is getting shorter and shorter. Tomorrow I will see my 47^th year come to an end….. it seems like I am still 18 with the world laid out at my feet, but here I am with so much more behind me than ahead. I have had such a charmed life and though I do not know why I have been so blessed, I will take it!!!

Tomorrow our adventure continues to Nassau. We have a seven hour crossing through the Tongue of the Ocean and though I will be nervous, I refuse to be scared!!! Ray and I press on towards more excitement. It can only get better and besides, if something is going to happen, it is going to happen out there!!!!