Change of Plans

As I mentioned earlier, John Fortenberry and his wife Judy were visiting friends in the Abacos while we waited for weather. I called John today to tell him it looked like our best weather window for the trip to Nassau would be Tuesday and Wednesday. However, John has some things to tend to back home and will be unable to rejoin me. So i’m stuck with good weather and no one to help me on the boat.

In my younger days, and in boats which I knew very well, I wouldn’t have thought twice about going it alone. But I am older, and perhaps wiser now, and I’ve only had a couple of long days at sea on Steel Magnolia. So I’m looking for company. Fortunately, the lovely Laura Lee’s uncle, whom I refer to as Early Uncle Randy, is planning to ride to the rescue. He can’t get here until Tuesday afternoon, but with luck the weather will hold out for a Wednesday and Thursday trip from here to Nassau.

I’ve also modified my planned route to avoid being at sea for so long. On the map below, I am near Freeport on Grand Bahama Island at the upper left of the map. I was planning on going to the east of the Berry Islands, tucking in there to anchor for a night, and then on to Nassau. The plan now is to go a more southerly route from here, to the west of the Berry Islands, across the Great Bahama Bank, and down to Chub Cay at the southern end of the Berry Islands. The  first day would be about 11 hours, but more than half of it is in water about 10-12 feet deep. The second day would be about a six-hour trip to Nassau.

So, we have a plan. Wish us luck and hope that the next cold front doesn’t speed up and get here too early.