We finally found a weather window (of sorts) and left Spanish Wells Thursday morning. We could hear on the radio that 10-15 other boats (all sail) were also departing from the west end of Eleuthera. The pilot (A1 Broadshad) we had hired showed up thirty minutes late and we (Compass Rose & La Garza Verde) were about to leave without him. [Footnote: met his niece who is a waitress at the local restaurant; she revealed his real name- Hextant Pinder]. He finally led us out through the reefs at Ridley Point and we entered the ocean northbound. The photo of La Garza Verde’s chart plotter clearly shows the reefs. 
We felt much more comfortable with A1 leading us through. The winds were still SE at around 20 kts with seas in the 5-6 ft range off our starboard beam to slightly aft of the beam. While this was much better than the northerly conditions of the past week, it still made for a rock and roll ride. We put up our steadying sail but not sure if is helped much. As you can see from the photo of the saloon, things tended to slide around even though they we bungied.
After seven hours of open waters, we finally reached the cut through Little Harbour and entered a much smoother Sea of Abaco. We went from rolling seas and 15,000 ft of water to smooth, crystal clear water only eight feet deep. What a welcome relief it was to once again be in these conditions. Another two hours up the Sea of Abaco and we arrived at Abaco Resort and Boat Harbour. We pulled into slip #713 and we had arrived! Since leaving Marathon on February 21st, we have now covered exactly 500 nm. Since leaving Annapolis last October, we have now covered 1,901 nm.
We felt much more comfortable with A1 leading us through. The winds were still SE at around 20 kts with seas in the 5-6 ft range off our starboard beam to slightly aft of the beam. While this was much better than the northerly conditions of the past week, it still made for a rock and roll ride. We put up our steadying sail but not sure if is helped much. As you can see from the photo of the saloon, things tended to slide around even though they we bungied.
After seven hours of open waters, we finally reached the cut through Little Harbour and entered a much smoother Sea of Abaco. We went from rolling seas and 15,000 ft of water to smooth, crystal clear water only eight feet deep. What a welcome relief it was to once again be in these conditions. Another two hours up the Sea of Abaco and we arrived at Abaco Resort and Boat Harbour. We pulled into slip #713 and we had arrived! Since leaving Marathon on February 21st, we have now covered exactly 500 nm. Since leaving Annapolis last October, we have now covered 1,901 nm.
Photo: Entering Boat Harbour Marina in Marsh Harbour
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