Swift Sailing from the Bahamas to the Carolinas

Guess who's back in the USA?! We cleared US Customs and Border Protection at the conclusion of our longest and fastest passage yet - 379 nautical miles from West End, Grand Bahama to Beaufort, South Carolina in 50 hours. Since Traveller’s hullspeed is 7.7 knots, we consider this a boast worthy accomplishment. After arriving in Beaufort, we completed two shorter offshore runs and several miles on the ICW. Strong winds and heavy rain have forced us to hunker down at Mile Hammock Bay in Camp Lejeune for a couple of days, so we had down time to compose this post. Now for an overview of our final days in the Bahamas, westbound Gulf Stream Crossing, and trek up the East Coast...

Running errands in Nassau

On April 29, we sailed 42 nautical miles northwest from Spirit Cay Beach in the northern Exumas to Salt Bay, Nassau. We gybed back-and-forth in 15-20 knot SSE wind, reaching Nassau in seven and a half hours. Sightseeing boats, chartered party boats, and enthusiastic jet skiers zipped around as we anchored. A bit of chaos was expected, since Nassau is the capital of the Bahamas and its most populated city. Situated in a cove on the east side of New Providence Island, Salt Bay was a great place to drop the hook ahead of a westerly blow. Once strong winds had tapered off, we moved Traveller from Salt Bay to Nassau Harbour and ran some errands. Unable to locate a dinghy dock, we heaved ourselves up a concrete wall reaching six feet above the water and squeezed through a broken fence behind a gas station. We filled both of our five gallon diesel jugs and lowered them to the dinghy. Then we left the dinghy tied to the broken fence while we ran across the street to the grocery store.

Mike makes an enemy as we approach Great Harbour Cay

On May 2, we motor-sailed 53 nautical miles northwest from Nassau to Great Harbour Cay in the northern Berry Islands. A big barracuda chomped down on a lure we were trolling, and Mike managed to free it without losing any fingers. We anchored at Sand Dollar Beach on the east side of Great Harbour Cay as weak westerly winds gained strength. The next day, we took the dinghy south of the anchorage to Shark Creek. We passed spotted eagle rays, small sharks, and sea turtles as we moved deeper into the creek. As we pushed on, the water transitioned from clear blue to translucent green, to murky yellow, to sludgy brown. After a whirl around Shark Creek, we snorkeled at a 400 ft barge sunk in 25 ft of water nearby.

Shark Creek, Great Harbour Cay

On May 4, we departed Great Harbour Cay and sailed 68 nautical miles NNW over eleven and a half hours to Freeport, Grand Bahama. Port Lucaya, which is accessible from the south side of Freeport via Bell Channel, is Grand Bahama's tourism hub. Its waterfront is lined with upscale shops, trendy restaurants, and meticulously maintained apartment complexes. Although it seemed too good to be true, we could not find anything on the internet addressing whether it is permissible to anchor in Port Lucaya. We entered through Bell Channel, surveyed the area with binoculars, and hesitantly proceeded upon confirming that no “Do Not Anchor” signs were posted. Just as Mike tapped his foot on the electric windlass to drop the anchor, a booming voice came over the radio. “There’s a steep fine for anchoring here, Captain!” We quickly thanked the mysterious observer and backtracked out of the channel. As the sun set, we struggled to find a suitable spot to anchor off Lucaya Beach. This was challenging because the bottom was mostly rock. Mike slowly motored around as I peered down from the cabin top and strained to locate a sandy patch. Luckily, we found a suitable spot to plant the anchor and it stayed put overnight.

Leaving Port Lucaya in Freeport, Grand Bahama via Bell Channel

On May 5, we headed back to Port Lucaya to purchase diesel at Grand Bahama Yacht Club. We idled around for a half hour, waiting for a mega yacht to clear the fuel dock. When it was finally our turn, the marina attendant informed us that the mega yacht guzzled the last 900 gallons of diesel on hand before peeling off to find more elsewhere. We waited at the dock for another hour until the fuel truck arrived, using the time to rinse Traveller off and fill the water tank. After acquiring a measly 13 gallons of diesel, we left Freeport and sailed 26 nautical miles to West End in 15 knot wind. As the name implies, West End is located on the westernmost point of Grand Bahama Island, a mere 55 nautical miles from Palm Beach, FL. At 5PM, we entered Ginn sur Mer in West End, and anchored in its 15 ft-deep harbor surrounded by stone walls. Ginn sur Mer is an abandoned development project that was meant to be a sprawling luxury housing and shopping center connected by a network of winding gondola routes and featuring two of the world’s finest golf courses. Before construction was halted in 2008, a channel, harbor, and web of narrow passages were carved out of stone and dredged.

Flower Moon as seen in West End, Grand Bahama

We stayed at Ginn sur Mer for a couple of nights while we waited out a blow, studied the weather, and plotted our return to the States. During that time, we befriended our neighbors, the Foster family from Kemah, TX. They hosted us aboard their Catalina 387 (SV Cadence) for a round of Sky Juice (a Bahamian cocktail containing coconut water, condensed milk, and gin) under the glowing full moon. Before we parted ways, the Fosters gave us a bread maker! The new-to-us galley appliance has enhanced our lives and enabled us to begin a much needed tortilla detox. Bo, our friend who sailed solo from Annapolis to the Bahamas on his Hallberg-Rassy Monsun 31 (SV Rambler), arrived to Ginn sur Mer on our final day there. We had a lot of fun swapping sailing stories with Bo over dinner.

Catching up with Bo at Ginn sur Mer

We departed West End at 9AM on May 8. By this time, the blow had passed and the sea state had settled. There were no northerly winds, sustained winds above 20 knots, squalls, or waves higher than 5 ft forecast for the following two days. We opted to make the most of these ideal conditions by staying in the Gulf Stream, which boosted our speed by three knots, until we cleared Georgia. We had to motor the first twelve hours underway due to light and variable winds. Then the wind built and steadied to 15 knots from the east, and we spent 24 hours zooming up the Gulf Stream under sail. At one point, our speed over ground exceeded twelve knots! We exited the Gulf Stream at sunset on May 9, soon before a suicidal flying fish landed in the cockpit. We motored from 1AM to 4AM on May 10, as the wind diminished and clocked to the west. Then the wind kicked up to 20 knots, and we sailed fast into Port Royal Sound. At 11:00AM, 50 hours after we left West End, we anchored in Factory Creek and passed out. 

A flying fish landed in the cockpit soon after we exited the Gulf Stream

We had a blast visiting places along the ICW on our southbound journey last fall. However, it is mentally draining to navigate winding, narrow, and highly trafficked portions of the ICW (a.k.a. "The Ditch"). Additionally, there are a ton of low-clearance draw and swing bridges along the ICW that can really slow us down. Thus, we resolved to run offshore as much as possible on our way back to Maryland. Riding the Gulf Stream to Beaufort was a big step towards achieving this goal. 

View from the observation tower at The Sands Beach in Port Royal

After a recuperation day, we caught up on chores in Beaufort - dropping quarters at the Lady's Island Laundromat, retrieving a substantial Walmart order delivered to a dock, giving Traveller a shower, and jugging water from shore. Then we relocated from Factory Creek to Whitehall Point and took the dinghy downtown. From there, we pedaled to Port Royal on rental bikes. Our first stop in Port Royal was The Sands Beach, where we walked to the end of a long boardwalk, climbed a wooden observation tower, and looked out over miles of Lowcountry. Then we biked to Cypress Wetlands and Rookery, a small nature preserve tucked behind an ice cream shop that is inhabited by an impressive number of birds, turtles, and alligators.

Cypress Wetlands and Rookery in Port Royal

No rest for the weary! At 7AM on May 13, we headed offshore from Beaufort and ran overnight to Georgetown. The wind was shifty and lighter than predicted, so we had to run the engine for most of our 22 hours underway. We covered 123 nautical miles before dropping the anchor at Frazier Point, Georgetown at 5AM the following morning. After a few hours of sleep, we decided to beat ourselves up a bit more. We turned northbound on the ICW around 1:30PM and proceeded 19 nautical miles to Wacca Wache Marina. We filled the diesel and water tank, as well as the gas jugs and back-up diesel and water jugs. Incredibly, this was our first fuel stop since Freeport. Mike shuffled through old fuel receipts and confirmed that we paid half as much for diesel here as we did in Staniel Cay, proving that being back in the States isn't all bad. Soon after 5PM, we pulled out of Wacca Wache Marina and anchored across the channel in Cow Horse Creek.

Putting away dock lines as we depart Barefoot Landing, Myrtle Beach

On May 15, we covered 40 nautical miles on the ICW. We made a pit stop at Barefoot Landing in Myrtle Beach, where we tied Traveller up to a free dock and walked around for a couple of hours, before continuing on to Bird Island by the Little River Inlet. At noon on May 16, we headed offshore through the Little River Inlet on an easterly heading. We sailed 30 nautical miles on a close reach to the Cape Fear Inlet, averaging 6.1 knots in 10-15 knot winds. We let the sails out as we turned north and entered the Cape Fear Inlet at max flood, immediately noticing a 2.5 knot boost in speed from the current. Then we proceeded another 14 nautical miles to Carolina Beach and anchored in Town Harbor at 7PM. We returned to The Ditch the next morning, and motored 44 nautical miles to Mile Hammock Bay in Camp Lejeune. We've been waiting out some nasty weather at Camp Lejeune for more than 48 hours now. We're starting to tire of howling wind, pouring rain, and blasting bombs. Thankfully, the forecast for tomorrow looks great and we will set out for Oriental, NC soon after sunrise. Although the exact route is yet to be determined, we expect to be in Maryland in less than two weeks. We look forward to spending a few days with family and friends in the Old Line State before setting out on our next sailing adventure 😃