We had a great sail from the Exumas to the North End of Eleuthera. After an overnight at anchor there, we had an easy motor sail (engines on but sails up to give us a bit of a boost) back to the Abacos.
We’ve spent a lot time in the Abacos over these two seasons, so spending a few days here is easy and relaxing. We swam, snorkeled, spent time on anchor, did some boat bottom cleaning and maintenance (the water is clear and anchorages quite calm), hit some of our usual shore spots and basically enjoyed the last few days here, just the two of us, for the season.
We made our way to Marsh Harbor to pick up our two crew for the travel back to North Carolina. This time, instead of our friend and great crew mate Brian, we get the chance to make the passage with our good friend Bobby and his son Zach. We met Bobby and his wife Katie during our first sailing class in Traverse City in 2019. We got to know each other quite well because we stayed on a 30’ sailboat together (two cabins, one head, a small galley and salon) and have sailed a lot together ever since.
Now we start our passage planning:
- Meal planning and provisioning for 7-10 days
- Welcome our crew aboard and orient them to the workings of the boat
- Review weather data every day to plan our route.
The weather (wind speed and direction; wave & swell size, frequency and direction; and likelihood of storms with lightening) rules in route planning. And of course, with the Gulf Stream between us and the States, we need to avoid winds running in the opposite of direction of the current. With up to 3-4kn of current, wind opposing current can create large, frequent, choppy waves that can be at least uncomfortable and at most dangerous. We subscribe to a program that provides weather updates every 6 hours and runs models of what recommended routes are. We optimize comfort and safety over speed.
The models tell us recommended route, predicted speed and total time, and wave and wind direction with respective heights and speed. When running the models, we pay special attention to the following in considering comfort and safety:
- Vertical acceleration: it creates slamming, when the boat rises high on an oncoming wave and then slams down abruptly. It is highly uncomfortable and can be hard on the boat.
- Roll: the boat rolls around on swell and can be quite seasick-inducing and downright unpleasant.
Our models tell us what percent of the time and where we are expected to encounter vertical slamming and/or rolling so we can decide what, if any of that, we are willing to tolerate.
We check the weather daily, and then twice daily, as our date of departure nears. There are a couple of weather systems moving up the East Coast, so things are changing day to day.
For now, it looks like we may leave the Bahamas on the 21st. Not set yet on a destination, as the best route is still weather dependent. It’s why the saying goes, sailors’ plans are written in sand at low tide. We must plan, and we must be willing to modify the plan. Time will tell!