Post #55: We Be in Da Islands, Mon

 Friday, January 22, 2021

There have been times on this trip that I have doubted my own abilities and level of experience but each time I’ve placated my fears by telling myself, “Well, David will know what to do.” I liken it to an endless Trust Walk. When we left the Miami area at 5 a.m. on Friday morning (two hours before sunrise), I really had to breathe deeply and remind myself that he has years of experience as a pilot, flight instructor, off-shore sailor, and is comfortable sailing and flying by instruments. Me?  OMG, I felt like I was jumping off into the abyss!!!

Seriously, that’s what it was like when we left.  I was on the foredeck with a spotlight trying to figure out whether the light I saw in the distance was on top of a mast, on a fishing boat, a commercial vessel, an airplane, an angel—who knew?? Your sense of perspective goes wonky and your imagination goes wild. I thought of our trip to Machu Picchu some 35 years ago where the ancient Incan high priests held solstice ceremonies when the sun rose directly over the Intihuatana Stone or “hitching post of the sun” carved into the Andean granite of that remote outpost.  Had I lived in a different era, I, too, surely would have worshipped the sun and it’s life-giving (and vision-giving) light!

The Bimini islands are only about 50 miles away from Miami.  To put this in perspective, it’s about 45 miles across Massachusetts Bay from Boston to Provincetown.  The big difference: The Gulf Stream.  This massive, fast-moving, unseen river of warm water has taken on almost mythical proportions during our planning for it is one of the most powerful natural forces on the planet and must be reckoned with respect and awe.

It flows from the Caribbean basin, up the east coast of Florida to Cape Hatteras, all the way to Newfoundland and onto Europe.  While Ponce de Leon first documented the strong current, it was actually Benjamin Franklin who first charted the Gulf Stream. Having an accurate chart of the current shaved days off the voyage times of ships back in the era of the slave/rum/molasses trade triangle as well as for commercial traffic today.

In the Straits of Florida between Fort Lauderdale and the Bahamas, the current is strongest and can reach speeds up to 5 knots.  It is predictable in that it will be there, but the precise location and speed of the Gulf Stream changes daily. That’s why we poured over charts, graphs, weather and crossing reports, asked advice from other boaters, and set our course about 30 degrees south of where we wanted to end up because we would be pushed northward by the Gulf Stream as we traveled east.

The careful planning brought us safely to Blue Waters Marina in Alice Town, North Bimini, by about 2 p.m. As soon as we saw the clear aqua water, we knew we had made the right choice to leave Miami.

We were also reassured to know that everyone else we met from the states had tested negative for Covid and that the residents of the island took the pandemic seriously for they were all (as in ALL) wearing masks.  Medical facilities are very limited in the Bahamas so the government requires all visitors to pay $60 for the Health Travel Visa which includes a health insurance policy that covers anyone who contracts Covid and an evacuation procedure for serious cases. We also need to take a second test in 5 days to confirm that we are still negative.  And we have to fill out an online health survey every day for 14 days so that the authorities can track any symptoms or exposure we may have experienced. It all seems very reasonable and scientifically based to us.

Even in non-Covid times, a visiting vessel must fly the yellow “Q” or quarantine flag until the master of the ship has checked in through immigration and customs of the welcoming country.  We have done this many times when we’ve chartered in the Caribbean.  As captain, David is the only one who can leave the boat until we are “cleared in.” He takes everyone’s passports, visas, fees, etc., and usually spends a couple of hours filling out forms by hand in triplicate and then watches an administrator key the data in.  I often wonder whatever happens to all that paper....When he returned to Onward, he raised the Bahamian courtesy flag.  It’s the first time we have gone to a foreign country on our own boat.  A moment to celebrate!

By late afternoon I was ready to finally break out the inflatable stand-up paddle board and get a little exercise.  But then I saw this 9-foot bull shark coming by to visit the local fishermen as they cleaned their catch.  I think I’ll avoid paddling around the marina!  Tomorrow we’ll explore the island. On foot.