On January 29th, 2024, I headed south with my buddy Rick on ORIA, bound for Spanish Wells, Bahamas. Weather permitting, the plan was to go non-stop. Unfortunately, rough conditions prevented a gulf stream crossing with the window that we had. As a result, we anchored at No-Name Harbor, Biscayne Bay, Florida so that Rick go fly home the next day out of Miami.
We had a fantastic 470 mile sail offshore from Hilton Head to Miami with typical conditions being a beam reach in 15-20 knots of wind. At times it was a bit rolly, but at times we were sailing at over 8 knots.
I can always count on Rick. He is a world-class sailor with many thousands of miles passed under his keel. He sailed with me for 1,600 miles to Antigua in 2021.
Fortunately, my buddy Moose was able to fly in the day after Rick left, and we departed for Spanish Wells the following day with a perfect weather window for crossing the gulf stream and Bahama Bank with calm winds. The weather was near perfect.
We arrived into Spanish Wells on a Saturday, and we could not clear into customs until Monday. We still enjoyed ourselves on a mooring very close to the docks. Our buddy Tom arrived on Tuesday.
We left Spanish Wells after two days and sailed south on a beam reach, at an average speed of 7 knots, anchoring in Rock Sound for a couple of days. This was a great destination, hanging out at Wild Orchids for lunch or dinner, live music, and watching the Superbowl.
The next stop sailing south was Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina. Here, I splurged and rented a slip for two days. This marina had a very nice bar/restaurant, pool, and free loaner bikes with many miles of places to ride. It was a 5 star experience and I will be returning with my wife, Kay.
The next stop sailing south on another great 7+ knot beam reach was Cat Island, where we anchored for one night, but did not get to shore.
The plan from the beginning was to make it to Long Island in the Exumas to spend time with two old college buddies (Tom and Eric) along with their wives. My wife, Kay was supposed to fly into Georgetown a few weeks later.
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This trip ain’t over yet… Tom and Moose flew home from Georgetown a couple of days later. After that, I sailed home solo after Kay had to cancel her trip to Georgetown. Our sweet dog, Ellie was diagnosed with a nerve sheath tumor on the right side of her head. Photo below:
The anchorage in Georgetown had over 400 boats, which was a record. After hanging out in Georgetown for only 2 days (strong winds out of the west made the anchoring uncomfortable), I started sailing north stopping at Little Farmer’s Cay, then Shroud Cay, then Highbourne Cay Marina.
What a beautiful marina and property! It is pricey, but well worth it for a couple of days, especially if the winds are strong out of the west. The food at the restaurant was outstanding.
I departed Highbourne Cay Marina and sailed 421 miles solo non-stop to Fort Pierce, Florida (except for anchoring for six hours on the Bahama Bank at midnight to rest). This was my route:
I stayed in Ft. Pierce for two days and continued north up the ICW. Anchored for the night near Cape Canaveral. The next stop was Halifax Marina in Daytona Beach, FL. My depth sounder transducer needed to be replaced (from inside the boat). Luckily, Amazon came through and it was delivered the next day. I visited my buddy Moose and as a bonus, it was Bike Week in Daytona!
Below was my route for the entire roundtrip from Hilton Head, SC to Long Island and Georgetown in the Exumas. Returning from the Bahamas, I used the ICW between Fort Pierce and St Augustine, FL.
