Thompson Bay, Long Island, BS — 04•18•24
0715 Anchor coming up, heading to Georgetown. The season is ending, and I’ll need to reprovision in Georgetown and get diesel for the trip back to the United States.
Another screecher run made for a quick passage to Georgetown. I had the anchor down at Sand Dollar Beach by 1400 (2:00 p.m.). Even though the season was winding down, there were still many boats in Georgetown. The next few days were spent preparing Trouble to leave the Bahamas.
Georgetown, Great Exuma, BS — 04•22•24
0730 Time to get out of Georgetown. Anchor up and off to the Marina at Emerald Bay for some diesel, approximately 11 nm. I am now always leery of the marina entrance and came in on a calm day (unlike a previous rough day with Trouble). The marina was busy, and I had to wait for a few other boats to fill up ahead of me. I just grabbed an empty slip on the J Dock and waited to be called on the VHF over to the fuel dock. After I topped up the tanks with 81 gallons @ $5.69, I headed north through a small rain squall to Williams Bay on Lee Stocking Island to wait for favorable winds to continue north.
Williams Bay, Lee Stocking Island, BS — 04•24•24
0700 Engines on, anchor coming up. I’m heading to Black Point through the Brigantine Cay backdoor. I’ve never taken this route, and few do, as it can be very shallow. I’m navigating it one hour before high tide (Nassau +2.3′).
I arrived in Black Point with no issues through the “Backdoor” and had the anchor down by 1300.
Black Point, BS — 04•25•24
0700 Anchor coming up, pointing Trouble’s bow north to Highbourne Cay, about 47 nm. It’s a light-wind sail with the screecher up.
Sailing up the Exuma chain, home to some of the most spectacular anchorages, I’m passing them all on this trip north.
It was a pleasant, easy sailing day—not fast, but not slow, and very comfortable with minimal waves. This is known as “champagne sailing.”
I arrived at Highbourne Cay and had my anchor down by 1400. I’d stay here a few days until favorable winds allowed me to continue north. It’s a very active anchorage, being one of the closest Exuma Cays to Nassau, New Providence. Between mega-yachts, charter boats, and aircraft, it was far from the quiet, slow-paced Ragged Islands I’d visited a week earlier.
Highbourne Cay, BS — 04•29•24
Departing for Rose Island today. Rose Island lies east of Nassau and has good anchorages on its north and south sides, offering decent protection from most winds. I’ve only anchored on the south side, but with easterly winds, I thought the north side might be better. While the sail there was swift, it was bumpy, and I looked forward to a calm anchorage. Unfortunately, neither side was ideal. I dropped anchor on the north side, but swell and fetch made the anchorage uncomfortable. The night was lumpy, and I was eager to leave early the next morning.
Rose Island, BS — 04•30•24
0630 Anchor up, and I’m glad to leave this anchorage. Today, I’m off to Great Harbour Cay. I’m unsure which side of GHC I’ll anchor on, but I’ll decide as I approach and check the wind direction. It was a long day of downwind sailing, and I chose to anchor on the south side of GHC, outside near the government dock.
I had the anchor down by 1700, made dinner, and went to bed.
Great Harbour Cay, Berry Islands, BS — 05•01•24
0710 Anchor up. I had 327 NM to St. Augustine, marking my return to the United States. This would require two overnights, but the weather window looked calm for heading north. I’d need to motor at times, but no thunderstorms were expected. With just a whisper of wind, I set the spinnaker until the wind died completely.
Before sunset, I weaved through a field of anchored ships off Freeport. By then, the wind was light and variable. I aimed to get Trouble into the Gulf Stream for an extra 2–3 knots of speed north..
As Trouble’s last sunset in the Bahamas for the season approached, I prepared Trouble for solo night sailing. My nightly routine is to sleep for 20 minutes, then wake to scan the horizon and check the instruments. Trouble is well-equipped for this, and she always takes care of me. I adapt to the intermittent sleep pattern easily, especially on a smooth trip like this one.
Gulf Stream, North Atlantic — 05•02•24
The night was uneventful. I had entered the Gulf Stream and was making good time motorsailing north. I stayed in the Gulf Stream all day until nightfall, then settled into another solo night sail. Tomorrow, I’d be back in the USA.
Off The North Florida Coast— 05•03•24
0900 Sails down, engines on, and arrived at the St. Augustine deep-water buoy, STA. I checked into the USA via the CBP ROAM app and took down my Bahamas courtesy flag.
I pulled into the St. Augustine Municipal Marina fuel dock and took on 45.6 gallons at $4.99 per gallon. They assigned me mooring ball #6 in the south field. After securing Trouble, I headed to O.C. White’s for my passage-making cheeseburger.
It feels good to be back in the USA. I still need to sail to the Chesapeake, but that will be the next blog.