Vero Beach to the Bahamas, MON

We left Vero Beach on the 23rd of December.  This was the third time we had gotten all ready to leave with two times being cancelled because the weather changed so fast.  But, this time was the charm.  We left the mooring field at 8:30 AM went down the ICW to the Fort Pierce inlet and headed out.  Once out in the ocean we turned south to hug the coast until we got down to the Lake Worth inlet.  We arrived outside the Lake Worth inlet around 6 PM and turned left to cross the Gulf Stream.  The wind was around 7-9 knots from the southeast so we were motoring right into it, however the seas were only about one foot in the Gulf Stream so the crossing was a piece of cake.

We had a comfortable ride over but had to dodge several cruise ships and cargo ships around the Freeport, Grand Bahama inlet.  We passed by there around 5:30 AM while it was still dark so it was a challenge watching for all the ships.  We arrived outside Bell Channel, which is the entrance channel for the Grand Bahama Yacht Club where we would be staying.  We decided to go to the fuel dock at Port Lucaya and get diesel fuel and check in at customs and immigration which is right there before going over and getting our slip.

We were in the slip by 10:00 AM and ready to take a nap.  We didn't get a chance to nap because there were four other boats there that we knew and as boaters are they want to know all the details about the crossing.

We stayed at the marina for five nights.  We had Christmas dinner on Margarita, Bill and Margaret, who we were rafted to at Vero Beach.  We both supplied the goodies and dinner was great.

On the way over to the Bahamas our auto pilot decided to give us trouble again.  Here, I thought we had that all behind us.  Now this brand of auto pilot is rated as one of the best and I'm sure I am the only one in the world that is having problems with it.  I found a mechanic that works with hydraulics and had him come take a look at it.  I told him that several other mechanics had severe problems getting the lines bled.  He gave it a try and actually made it worse than it was.  Now we are deciding whether to continue on or come back to the states.  Hand steering on over nighters is not fun at all.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.