We had intended to stay in the Bahamas a bit longer and get down to the Exumas, but life intervened. The wind would just. not. stop. We were holed up in Great Harbour Cay for a week waiting for a break. It’s a great island and I’m glad that we were able to really enjoy it, but it was supposed to be a stopover on the way south. As we eyed the broad weather patterns and read Chris Parker’s long term forecast, it looked like we were at least 10 days away from a decent multi-day weather window. We could have made it to the Exumas, but there was no certainty that we could make it back in time to get the the U.S for some family plans and travel we wanted to do later this month and in April.

So, we eyed the weather and took the only real weather window available to make a straight run to Florida. The weather was not great, but doable. In other words, we didn’t have a safety concern, but it wasn’t going to be comfortable. ESE winds 10-15 knots and 4 foot seas. We normally wouldn’t go out in that – it is supposed to be “pleasure” boating, after all – but we needed to make the run.

We pulled out of our slip on Monday afternoon at 2 PM. We planned to set sail at 2 AM, but the fuel dock closed at 4 PM. Our friendly neighbors helped us get out of the slip cleanly with a gusty port beam wind. We filled up and put down our anchor in the bay with 20 other boats to eat and sleep for a while.

1:15 AM came waaaay too early, but we jumped up (“jumped” may be a bit of hyperbole), made coffee, and pulled up the anchor at 2 am.

The first hour was pretty nice. With the protection from the winds, the seas were relatively smooth. The only issue was that it was very dark. Boating in the dark gets boring very fast. We hugged the top of the Great Bahama Bank for the most favorable winds, but by the time we got north of the Mackie Shoals, we had 3-4 foot port beam seas. It wasn’t pleasant.

After passing Little Isaac, we went due west until we hit the Gulf Stream. That stretch was the worst part with 4 foot port beam seas. We did it so that when we got to the Gulf Stream, we changed course to NW. This not only gave us stern to port stern seas, but allowed us to take maximum advantage of the Gulf Stream’s current. We sailed at 1600-1800 rpm most of the way. Most of the time, that netted about 11-12 mph. As we rode the waves of the Gulf Stream, we peaked at 18 mph. That’s normally planing speed for Our Dash.

We spent the day trading short naps. I watched the first two episodes of Reaper (eh, it’s OK), read a biography of Aaron Burr, and finished an audiobook about the Russian Revolution.

Leaving the Bahamas was a simple process. We pulled up our trip on Click2Clear, the Bahamian vessel customs reporting portal, copied our inboud trip, and registered the date we were leaving. Simple!

Reentering the United States was shockingly and pleasantly easy. We went to the CBP Roam app when we got within cell ranges (about 16 miles from shore). We put in our passport information, vessel detals, and customs declaration. We quickly got a notification saying that it was pending and then approved. The whole process took less than 15 minutes and didn’t involve anyone boarding us or checking anything. I expect that since we are broadcasting our location on AIS and are registered with the Coast Guard, they decided we weren’t a threat or carrying any contraband (true on both counts). Also, since we are arriving on a private vessel and not on a commercial plane or boat, we did not have to do any COVID testing. Thank you CBP for making it convenient and easy for a citizen to return to our own nation!

After a long day, we approached the Lake Worth Inlet at 3 PM. The water was very rough on the way in. The tide was going out and the waves were pushing in from the east. The conflict made for very rough seas. A large yacht (100 feet, maybe?) blasted past us on the starboard side as we approached. We learned that that’s how you do it in these conditions – power through the rough stuff and throttle back when you get to calm water. We got into his wake and followed him in.

We rounded the corner to head north on the ICW. We moved into the anchorage at the north end of Lake Worth, found a spot in a crowded anchorage, and dropped the hook in 10 feet of water. It’s bit breezy, but I expect we’ll sleep fine.

168.4 statute miles. 14 hours and 29 minutes – including the time and distance to leave our slip and anchor in the bay for the night.

We’re back in the United States!