26-05.962W
080-06.915W
Docked
Cabo Rico Custom Yachts
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
Monday, July 12
The GPS travel log tells a big story: 8,035. nautical miles since we
purchased Pachamama, September 13, 2001.
And we are back to mama, the offices of the company that built this wonderful
floater. She will remain here through September, getting new paint
and a bunch of small fixes. We head home this weekend.
From Green Turtle, we went over the top, over The Little Bahamas Banks, the
shallow area north of Grand Bahamas Island. The shallow water raised
our anxiety level, but we tend to worry more than necessary. On the
last night on the banks, we anchored with about two inches below the keel,
but that became more than two feet next morning when we left the banks at
high tide. Being more than five miles from any land, we had a spectacularly
contented evening, with a nice swim off the back, good food and drink, and
good conversation. Next morning, we stopped briefly at West End
for fuel, then on to the Lucayan Marina Village, where we docked Saturday
prior to the Sunday Fourth of July holiday. The people of The Bahamas
respected our holiday, and paid tribute to us and to our nation, by
having fireworks Sunday night.
The angle between Lucayan and Ft. Lauderdale is not favorable because The
Gulf Stream pushes north. We decided to deal with that problem by sailing
11 hours to Bimini, from which the angle is perfect. Next day (last
Thursday), we crossed The Stream, a beautiful experience with waves hardly
half a foot, and a nice push north over the deep blue known only in The Stream.
That's about it, folks. Our travels are done until October.