Setting Off

We sailed south along the coast of Florida so the northward push of the Gulf Stream as we crossed it would leave us about the latitude of Bimini, the closest of the Bahamas. The wind was 5 to 10 knots and from the east…not what we’d dreamed off, but it would do. However, we had to motor. We set the genoa which gave us a little bit more speed, but we really couldn’t sail anywhere except back to Florida.

As we passed in front of Miami, a couple of dolphins came to play in our wake, and we saw the tip of a sailfish’s fin. It was overcast and cool, with streaks of sunlight piercing the clouds in the distance. The Gulf Stream crossing was, to me, remarkable only in that the temperature of the water went up a couple of degrees. It was completed with absolutely no fuss or bother.

It seems amazing that two-thirds of our world is covered by this water we are on, and so few others are on it with us. Away from land, a boat or ship sighting is an event.

We continued our eastward progress, accompanied by schools of fish that transformed themselves into flocks of fish. My first experience of flying fish. Shimmering silver darts soaring out of our path. We passed north of Bimini and into the night. It has been years since I have seen so many stars. A few boats several miles from us and the lights of Freeport over the horizon on Grand Bahama provided the only light pollution…essentially none. It was spectacular.

We divided our watches…sort of. Someone was always asleep and someone was always awake. At some point, WW decided that the best course lay straight into the wind. This made things a bit…bouncy…in our forward berths. I tried to make filter coffee for the watch before going to snooze. That was a risky and desperate venture, but concluded with only a minor scald, coffee grounds (dry and wet) distributed liberally around the galley, and a happily caffeinated crew in the cockpit. After an hour or two of this brutal treatment, Whit suggested that bearing off a degree or two might be a nice idea. WW agreed. Our comfort increased markedly. I slept.