Crossing the Great Bahamas Bank

After Bimini the next group of islands is 75 miles to the East. The majority of the distance is spent crossing an area of water called The Great Bahamas Bank. Depths average 20 feet and you can see the bottom the whole way. Because the area is so large we had to choose whether to sail through the night or anchor on the bank and continue in the morning.

Both options have draw backs. Sailing through the night means navigating through a small cut in the reef at the end of the Bank and more obviously, little sleep. On the other hand, anchoring on the banks at night can be uncomfortable. There is no protection from the wind and waves and more importantly you risk being run down by an freighter.

We chose to anchor on the Bank just before dark since neither of us really enjoy sailing at night, and we hadn't seen a freighter all day. I strung several lights from the rigging and tried not to think about the sound a freighter would make when it hit our boat. The motion of the boat coupled with the rumble from the engines of passing boats made for a restless night.

The following day we made it to Chub Key- a private island with an overpriced Marina and resort. Unfortunately, the weather has kept us pinned down here and we were forced to take refuge at a dock. We are happy to have the long distance hops in the past for a while. It should be a leisurely trip towards Georgetown where we will pick up some friends in 3 weeks. Tomorrow we leave for Nassau.

P.S.

We finally had fishing success two large Barracuda.