Safety First

I am humbled. 

The ocean is vast. She is great.  She doesn't care when her depths are shallow, or when they are fathomless.  She just undulates and breathes her breath. You are not a factor. You are lucky if you can move about her surface without mishap, without fail. You honor and respect her majesty. You bow to her power. 

There are times when you and your vessel return to a safe port and respect her wishes. 

You listen and learn from her. 

I wonder sometimes how often we would pause if it was just Hubs and me. If we didn't have Coco.  

I think we would we be a lot more reckless. We would charge head first, holding hands, and press our way through... Anything. 

But, it's not just the 2 of us. We have extra special gargo. 

There is Coco. 

So, we are more cautious. Our anxiety and fear is exponential.   

That is why today we turned back. 

We could have forged ahead and consequences be damned. 

But... Coco... Sanity and self preservation. 

Our Coco.  She was just happy with the pool on the other end of our meltdown.  

*We were well on our way to crossing the Bahamas Banks. We turned around and headed back to Bimini. This, we are learning, is part of cruising. The weather window that was predicted was inaccurate. We were in a position to turn around.  So we did. Safety first. 

Yes, we are completely deflated. We had hoped to be on our way across the Banks. But also, YES, we are content to be at a safe marina... As it was our only other other option. 

Taking stock. Licking our wounds. Feeling grateful for honest, human responses.  

To being free and being real!*

Crossing the Gulf Stream

Rolling mountains of water. In the dark. The longest 45 minutes ever, waiting on the moon rise. Followed by the longest 10 hours pushing our way through from peak to valley to peak again. 

At the time it felt like it would never end. 

I've read so many things about night passages. But nothing really prepares you for that first time out at sea with only the stars (and possibly moon) to guide you. 

Mellow drama aside... We did it. We crossed the Gulf Stream.  It was just as intimidating as we expected, but people have been doing it for ages. 

The plan was to anchor off Angel Creek for the night and shove off around 4 in the morning. Hubs decided to call an audible. The wind was light. The sea relatively calm. So we went for it. 

I think the abruptness of the call, coupled with strong coffee and anxiety made it even more uncomfortable. 

But we are here. Currently tied up in Bimini, but leaving in the morning to cross the banks. A long stretch for the next few days. Then... Then we will be able to take it one island at a time. 

Yesterday, after knocking out some school work,  Coco and I walked around North Bimini while Hubs worked on a few things aboard Airabess.  

P.S.  So far, I'm not one of those authors who enjoys night passages. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that I can't see at all to begin with. It's even more a problem under the cover of darkness. I may change my mind. You, and I will just have to wait and see. 

  

Riding this Wave

The north east wind is still blowing. So we are still moored up in Marathon. 

We are fully provisioned. The laundry is all done. Everything is pretty much stowed. 

Insert thumb twiddling. 

Yeah... So we are just hanging out. But not really doing anything other than homeschool and checking the wind forecast. 

There are 2 last minute things we need to do before we leave the U.S.A.  Unfortunately, we can't do them until we know for sure when we are setting out~ Ms Willow to the vet (there is a 48 hourish window allowed from departure to arrival in the Bahamas), and turning off our phone. 

Insert more thumb twiddling...

This is part of boat life.  We are going with it.  We are making the best of it. 

We would be playing at the beach here, but it's just a little to low on the thermometer. Instead, we have other distractions.  

I'm not complaining. I'm just so ready to start this adventure. It's been a long time coming.