Crossing the Gulfstream

We left about 5 am yesterday (March 13) from a crowded anchorage behind Rodriguez Key.  A bit nerve wracking as not all boats are smart enough or equipped enough to have anchor lights.  Too many folks these days are relying on blow-up solar lights.  These are great as accent lights but not good for navigation or safety lights.  They simply aren't bright enough and don't last all night.  If we hadn't had radar on I might have hit a large sailboat outside the area where other boats were anchored.  Once we were close enough to see him, I saw 2 barely visible solar lights hanging from his boom.  After that bit of drama we carefully continued motoring through the Molasses Reef until we hit clear water and turned our bow to Bimini.  The ride was great.  The seas were low, only 1-2 feet and the wind was steady.  It did shift as the day wore on but still sailable.  The approach to Bimini is always a concern as it is very close to shore and easy to goof up.  While I didn't run us aground, I did have trouble getting us into a slip. The wind and current were not helping us get in our assigned spot.  The young guy assigning spots had been dealing with power boats since he started 3 weeks ago and must have thought all boats had 2 engines and thrusters.   I gave up quickly and let David have a go.  He got us in but it took the help of some friendly spring break kids with a dingy.  Not the grand entrance any boater wants!  Still we're are now in The Bahamas!

Look at the color of that water.  A deep, shiny blue.

Sailing along on a reach.  

You can see the waves were easy to deal with.  

After lots of fishing, we finally did some catching.  No a huge
Mahi but enough to make David happy.

These boats are all over.  They provide the mail service and bring in fresh supplies
to all the islands.  I've read you can even hop one for trips to other islands.

Our approach to Bimini.  There is a narrow channel running between North Bimini
and South Bimini with a swift running current.