Waiting to launch

Today, Sunday 10 May, Mother's Day in the rest of the world, we left the pretty confines of Spanish Cay and motor sailed up the Grand Cay. The last civilization in the Bahamas before jumping off into large expanses of water leading to the US mainland.

Sail Cay Rocks

With each step our Bahamian experience comes one step closer to ending. It has been an incredible run and even though it has been less than 2 months it seems like it was a lifetime because the weeks flew by so quickly and we have done so many things and seen so many places. Down at Emerald Bay we crossed into the tropics and now we are at the same latitude as Stuart, Florida.  When we dock again we will be in St Augustine almost 7 degrees further north and then 8 more to go until we're back in the Bay.

Our motor sail today was very pleasant. The wind was about 10 kts most of the way but almost dead behind us. I would have liked to sail in it but we needed to make it Grand Cay and get ensconced near a wifi so we could download our final weather charts before leaving tomorrow. That meant we needed to arrive before it was too late. We had our sails up the entire trip getting at least a half-knot of lift from them and were able to average at 7.5 kts so when we made the final turn I poled out the headsail and we went wing-on-wing with the engine off. I even pulled out the staysail for extra lift and that worked until the wind got way behind us. So we were able to sail the final leg.

As we got close to Grand Cay the radio was really quiet. There were no AIS vessels on our screen and we became concerned that things might be closed when we got here so I tried to reach folks here with little success. Finally I found a note in the cruising guide to call "Love train" on VHF 68 and I did and got a response. We got a slip, wifi and dinner reservations. Everything worked out. So we're sitting here tonight after dinner listening to the music from a local lounge with the breeze ripping while we enjoy our last night in the Bahamas.

In the morning we clear out of the marina, wait for low tide to pass and then head out to the deep blue ocean.

Next update from St Augustine. This morning I filed our float plan with the US Customs and Border Protection Small Vessel Reporting System so when we get back all we need to do is call in to clear through customs and immigration and we'll be back legally.