Bahamas courtesy flag We finally leave Nettles Island Marina for the last time. Early in the morning of 30 December 2019 we untied our 42’ catamaran, pulled up the fenders, and lines for one last time in the continental United States. It was a great feeling to finally be pulling away and getting our plans put into action. Our plans that were over 10 years in the making, by this point. We wouldn’t be departing the USA straight from Stuart, FL though. We had one quick stop in West Palm Beach, FL to pick up some good friends, Dana and Greg. They had some time off work and were able to be with us on our maiden voyage around the world. We motored down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to the West Palm Beach Public docks. We anchored Unwritten Timeline just off the dock and lowered our tender into the water. Since it was a short trip we didn’t mount the outboard and instead used oar power to get to and from the dock. Once our new crew was aboard we raised anchor, and motored out the Palm Beach Inlet. It was exciting leaving the Florida coast. This would be our last look at the US for a long time.
The passage was a little rough, and we noticed this as soon as we turned out of the Palm Beach inlet. The waves were building and the wind wasn’t cooperating at all. We realized we were going to be motoring all the way to Freeport. Lisa and I had expected this since we were watching the weather. Had we not had a schedule we may have waited for better winds to sail across. But we did have some guests with limited vacation time aboard and wanted to make the best of it. It wasn’t a terrible crossing, just a bit more bumpy than it would have been in couple days. Dana and Greg were enjoying the time aboard…until they weren’t. Due to the bumpy ride they were both just a wee bit seasick. The offer to help pull an overnight watch was kindly rejected in lieu of them lying in bed, staring at the clock and praying to see the Bahamas out their window every time they looked up. Luckily, since it is only about 70 NM away, that didn’t take too long. Lisa and I took shifts motoring through the night and we safely, although some of us warily, arrived in Freeport. The trip wasn’t all perfect on our end either. It had been awhile since Lisa and I had the boat really out for anything more than a day sail, and it showed. We left the deck level hatches open. During the waves across the Gulf Stream water was splashing into the port forward berth. Luckily nobody was trying to sleep in there, but we didn’t realize our error until the next morning upon arrival when the entire berth and all of the stuff stored in there was wet with salt water. Doh!!
We cleared customs at Port Lucaya Grand Bahama Yacht Club. It was pleasantly easy. We notified the harbor master when we entered Bell Channel and the Customs and Immigration agents met us right at the dock. Hopefully this will be an example of all of our customs procedures…but I doubt it. We didn’t really have any hard plans on what to do so we decided to spend a week at the marina. It would be easier to arrange for transportation to the airport for our guests to get back home when their time was up. Besides, there were a lot of things to do around Port Lucaya. We’ll cover that on our next installment.
The passage was a little rough, and we noticed this as soon as we turned out of the Palm Beach inlet. The waves were building and the wind wasn’t cooperating at all. We realized we were going to be motoring all the way to Freeport. Lisa and I had expected this since we were watching the weather. Had we not had a schedule we may have waited for better winds to sail across. But we did have some guests with limited vacation time aboard and wanted to make the best of it. It wasn’t a terrible crossing, just a bit more bumpy than it would have been in couple days. Dana and Greg were enjoying the time aboard…until they weren’t. Due to the bumpy ride they were both just a wee bit seasick. The offer to help pull an overnight watch was kindly rejected in lieu of them lying in bed, staring at the clock and praying to see the Bahamas out their window every time they looked up. Luckily, since it is only about 70 NM away, that didn’t take too long. Lisa and I took shifts motoring through the night and we safely, although some of us warily, arrived in Freeport. The trip wasn’t all perfect on our end either. It had been awhile since Lisa and I had the boat really out for anything more than a day sail, and it showed. We left the deck level hatches open. During the waves across the Gulf Stream water was splashing into the port forward berth. Luckily nobody was trying to sleep in there, but we didn’t realize our error until the next morning upon arrival when the entire berth and all of the stuff stored in there was wet with salt water. Doh!!
We cleared customs at Port Lucaya Grand Bahama Yacht Club. It was pleasantly easy. We notified the harbor master when we entered Bell Channel and the Customs and Immigration agents met us right at the dock. Hopefully this will be an example of all of our customs procedures…but I doubt it. We didn’t really have any hard plans on what to do so we decided to spend a week at the marina. It would be easier to arrange for transportation to the airport for our guests to get back home when their time was up. Besides, there were a lot of things to do around Port Lucaya. We’ll cover that on our next installment.
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