Off to the Bahamas, maybe?

Hi there F&F,
We decided to get up at the crack of dawn to try to go, but at 5.30 am when Graeme checked the marine forecast the weather had changed and was not so good.Most boaters say don't try to cross with a Northerly wind as you are up a against a current and the sea can get bad.It now was a North/ North West wind of 5 to 10 knots.And a swell of 3 to 5 ft.We decided to just go back to sleep. At 8 am we got up and Graeme noticed lots of boats heading in the direction of the the Lake Worth Inlet so he said what do you think? I said let's go for it.If its nasty we will just come back in.You always have that option. So we left around 9 15 am and got out into the swell of 3 to 5 ft with 9 seconds apart.Just like being on a slow roller coaster! We went up and down in the troughs , quite a fun experience on reflection ,although it was still a bit of a challenge mentally! We only passed two sailboats along the way, both of them going slowly .One had a foresail up the other no sails .We checked in with one who said he was ok but not very comfortable. Fortunately, the winds didnt seem too bad as we crossed over the Gulf Stream infact we didnt notice much change.The Gulf Stream we were told is only about 4 miles wide at the most.
Going a steady 20 knots we arrived in at the West End of the Grand Bahama Island, after 3 hours.
As it turns out timing and the Lord's guidance is everything.We met a couple who arrived after us at WestEnd who had aborted their first attempt to cross at the same Inlet ,that same morning at 7 am.The swell was 8 to 10 ft then , they said. I defiantly would not have gone with that.In fact their dingy was coming loose from all the water movement so they went back , took the dingy off and came out again around 10am . Seems rightly so ,most boaters are very respectful of the water conditions especially the sailing fraternity. We had to fly a yellow quarantine flag coming into the marina , and after we had gone through customs, and paid the $300 privilege of sailing in the Bahamian waters, we were able to take it down and exchange it for the bright red, yellow blue , white and black Bahama flag. The clear blue waters beckoned, so we walked around to the beach .Water here is amazing.We saw two stingrays right up near the shore , and on land everywhere we saw curly tailed lizards . Had a restful afternoon and dinner on board.With all the food bought over the past two weeks for the trip , it was time to use some of it before it expired.
Saving ourselves for all the fresh seafood once we get to Abacos Islands.
Over and Out
E n G.