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Bahamas Crossing - All in a Days Work....
I took advantage of some great weather (and a great forecast) and decided to take our 19' Key West Skiff over to join Low Profile in the Bahamas. I left Key Largo at 4am, and trailered the boat up to Palm Beach, where I dumped it in the water, loaded all our supplies for the winter, and parked the car. Jumped in the boat and wouldn't you know it...damb thing wouldn't start. Pulled the cover off and discovered a cracked fuel filter...ugh....so what to do. I figured i had a half hour to leave or I was just gonna miss my window. I pulled the hoses off and bypassed the filter, and off I went...
I got going about 8:00am, and ran out Lake Worth Inlet to find a bit more chop than I had hoped. Oh well, I decided to go a bit further and sure enough, as I got into the current,with the winds out of the south, the chop laid down enough for me to make about 22-23mph. I had 60 miles to go to West End, where I was going to clear customs, then another 100 or so, around the north side of Grand Bahama and the Abacos to Guana Cay. The first half of the stream crossing, was pretty decent, a bit wet, but ok. The second half the wind started to grow and white caps appeared (not a good thing when you're in a 19 open boat). The last 10 miles was brutal, and by the time I pulled into West End to clear, I must have looked like a drown rat. The folks there looked at me like I'd lost my mind (i probably have).
I cleared, fueled and was back on my way about 1:00pm. I figured i was gonna be cutting it close on making it before dark, but I had little choice, and plunged on.
The second part of the trip was all fairly shallow water, ranging from 20 feet to as little as 2 feet. The first 50 miles of this part of the trip took my up near Mangrove Cay, then on toward Little Abaco Island. Once north of Little Abaco and in its lee, the seas laid out very nicely and I was able to really pick up the speed. As I rounded the corner with Spanish Cay was in sight, I was now running really nicely, but time was not on my side. It was about 5 o'clock and it became pretty obvious that I wouldn't make it before dark. With only a little hand held GPS, with no plotter, I wasn't too excited about navigating the remainder of the trip in the dark.
For those who don't know, there are rocks and little Islands all over the place, in these parts, and this was my first trip through this part of the Bahamas. I made it almost to Green Turtle Cay, before the sunlight faded into darkness. I quickly studied the chart, made some mental notes, and plotted a course that would keep me clear of the hazards. With a little luck and determination, I pulled into Orchid Bay Marina, on Guana Cay about 6:30 and found Thomas and Joe and the LOW PROFILE. I was pretty well beat, and still soaking wet, and ready to call it a day.
Mission accomplished!
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JIG STRONG
but nice story for us stuck in the cold miserable ne
Originally Posted by Over Under
. That was crazy enough. And yes you are getting to old plus we didnt have those other responsibilities called KIDS!!!!! 
