Bahamas to North Carolina Passage, Day One

One day into our passage and all is well so far. Jordan’s flight from Miami to Marsh Harbour on Tuesday was cancelled due to thunderstorms, so he flew to Nassau instead and caught a 6:30 a.m. flight to Marsh Harbour yesterday morning. (All this after a red-eye from Boulder the night before. He’s hereby awarded a special medal for travel valor.) We shared lots of hugs, Elsa showed off the layer cake she’d baked in welcome, and then we headed out.

We worked our way west to the end of the Bahama banks throughout the day. It was hot and humid and still, only a faint breeze following us. Around dinner time we stopped at our very last cay, Little Sale, dropped anchor, and went for a quick swim. The water was 86 degrees! Felt terrific.

Kept motoring west after our swim, and around 3 a.m. we officially left the banks. We’re now riding the Gulf Stream, getting a 1.5 knot push as we head northwest. Still very little wind. Standing in the cockpit I can turn a full 360 degrees and see only deep blue ocean lying almost flat, pale blue sky, and cumulus clouds everywhere. Some of them are dropping rain, dark smudges on the horizon. We’ve veered around a few rainstorms so far but none of them seem like proper squalls.

Drew has devised a watch schedule for the three of us: At night we’re each on for two hours and then off for four, and during the day we’re on for three and off for six. The kids are keeping busy with iPads, books, and best of all, some magazines Uncle Jordan brought just for them — Archie, Highlights for Elsa, Mad Magazine for Soren, etc.

So, all is great so far. Can’t ask for much more than a bit of wind!