The Sailboat 
Sunset at Great Harbour
South of Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas
We crossed from Florida to the Bahamas on January 18, 2010. We had watched the weather and waited and waited for the right time. Sunday, the 17th, was cloudy but not too windy, although winds from the south had a good fetch on Lake Worth and gave us a rolly ride all day. The winds calmed a bit around suppertime, giving us hope that our plan would be good. When we checked the weather, we got worried again, because it predicted the winds would increase. However, we are learning that predictions are best guesses and may or may not materialize. We set the alarm for midnight and went to bed.
When we awoke, the winds were light and variable. We proceeded as planned. Once we had passed the jetties that mark the Lake Worth Inlet, the waves increased, but that is to be expected. A westerly wind wallowed the boat all the way across. So what. It's a boat, after all. We arrived at Port Lucaya in midafternoon. The customs inspector came aboard briefly and we were soon done with check-in.
To celebrate our first venture in international cruising, we had dinner at the Med in the Port Lucaya marketplace. I ordered cracked conch and Bahamian peas and rice. Our server Tasha gave me instructions for preparing both dishes, and I tested her rice and peas recipe the very next night. Yum!
Then it was time to leave the marina and do what we came to do. Cruise. Early on Wednesday morning we headed for the Berry Islands. We anchored in Great Harbour, south of Stirrup Cay. Cruise ships bring their passangers here to play in the water, but they were done for the day by the time we arrived. We had the anchorage to ourselves. The photo at the top of the page is our first sunset at anchor in the Bahamas. You can't beat sunsets here, or at least we have yet to discover better ones.
Check our sunrise photosof our second anchorage, and read the Ship's Log of a crisis that turned into a real blessing.
We are posting this page from Spanish Wells on Eleuthera Island. After the Berries, we considered visiting Nassau, but for now we are bypassing it in favor of a more peaceful destination. Read our Ship's Log for more stories of the things we see and the people we meet.
When we left Port Lucaya we had no idea when we would again have internet access, and we can plainly see that this is the way it will be.We will post new photos and stories when we can. Enjoy!