Back in the USA

Ft Lauderdale, Florida

As we left Nassua Harbor, the weather was good so we changed our plans (again). Instead of a one-hour sail to the west end of New Providence, we headed off to Chub Cay. About half-way there we landed a 48″ Mahi Mahi, the fishing has been good since we left the Caribbean and real good in the deep water off the Bahamas.

We arrived at Chub just before sunset and anchored offshore so we could exit easily at first light. The town looked nice from the boat, but the dinghy was on the deck and we didn’t have much time so we skipped going in.

The next morning we left early so we could cross the Great Bahama Bank mid day. The wind was from the west so we started out motor sailing, but by noon it was up to 15 – 18kts so we sailed at 8 – 9 knots across the bank in less than 12 feet of water. This made for an exciting trip and we reefed the sails to slow down but the boat wanted to go 8 knots, so we did. We ducked behind North Bimini for the night, as the seas were getting rough and we did not want to cross the Gulf Stream in big seas at night. This wasn’t an anchorage, but the island provided some cover from the waves and wind.

Our final sunset in the Bahamas

The next morning we woke to a large thunderstorm above us. Once it cleared we headed out for Ft. Lauderdale only to head into another larger thunderstorm. Visibility dropped to almost nothing, as the rain came sideways into Berkeley East. After an hour or so we cleared this thunderstorm and the ones on the horizon looked like they would go behind us so we started sailing. It was clear that Berkeley East knew she was headed home and as the wind filled in, the boat speed picked up making for a nice sail. As we crossed the Gulf Stream we were greeted by a large pod of dolphins who spent about 30 minutes escorting us to Ft. Lauderdale.

We arrived at Port Everglades (where we left from almost 18 months ago) and pulled into the Las Olas Marina. The team that commissioned the boat, Storm Rigging, Lamplighter Electronics, Doyle Sails and Andy’s Canvas, came by later to assist us with some upgrades and minor repairs. We completely lost track of time and arrived just before Memorial Day weekend, making scheduling the work a little tricky.

Over the weekend, we went to South Beach to walk along the beach, but were surprised by “Urban Beach Weekend”, the largest festival in the world catering to the Hip Hop generation, with around 350,000 participants and over 800 arrests last year. This was real culture shock!

We plan to set out for Charlestown next week and should be home in Charlotte by June 1st.