We made it across.   It was not the easiest crossing I have had between Florida and West End Grand Bahama, but we made it.  To the left is my good friend, Todd Rucker, who lives on Gt. Guana in the Abacos with his wife Peggy.   Todd had business in Ft. Lauderdale, so it worked out that he joined us for the crossing.   Always nice to have someone along.  We fired up the engines at 4:15 am on Friday, May 4th, and were heading out of Port Everglades into the dark early morning by 4:45 am.   The forecast was for east winds 10 to 15 and two ft. seas.   It was higher than 15, and waves were more like 4-5.   We were banging right into these steep waves, which made for a pretty uncomfortable next 5 hours.   You just never know what you are going to get until you get out into it.

Most everything came off the walls and we moved everything off the counters.   The fridge became a mess as shelves slipped and slanted.   It was dark.    Really dark.   But my radar worked great and we weaved our way through some big ships outside of Port Everglades, and several headed down to Miami.  Once the sun came up around 6:45 we picked up our speed, and the ride smoothed out a bit.   We hit the Little Bahamas Bank by 11:15, and all things became right with the world and the boat.   The bank is 12 ft. deep and the waters were smooth.   Nice.

We anchored at Gt. Sale Cay that evening by 5:00 pm and cooked out on the grill.   I was relieved.   Rock Chalk is not really a blue water boat made for crossing oceans, but she took good care of us, in spite of getting the shit kicked out of her.  So for the next 6 weeks, we will take good care of her and let her only cruise through beautiful blue protected waters of the Abacos, Eleuthra, and the Exumas.  Promise.   No Hurricanes.

We cleared customs in Green Turtle Cay and pulled up to Todd's pretty house in Great Guana Cay by 5:00pm on Saturday.  Shelley has found the Bahamas Wi-Max internet system and signed us up for a week of good internet connections.   We have no phone, but text messages work.  If you need to contact us, try our email or text me.

Our plan is to not plan too much.   We know we are headed south through the island chains.   We will get as far south as Georgetown in the Exumas, then come back north to the Abacos by mid or late June.   Once again.....Nice.   If you all see a big storm coming off Africa on the Weather Channel, text me.   Hopefully we will see it too,   This is the prettiest time of the year here in the Bahamas.   It is not too hot yet, and the water is a gorgeous 80 degrees...perfect for snorkeling.   When I get another internet connection, I will do another blog to update you all.   Marc