Hurry Up and Wait

Our Destination

Waiting in Fort Lauderdale

Breaking away from Vero wasn't easy but it had to be done. So after 2 weeks a favorable and welcomed weather window opened and off we went.   A 6am break out of jail on Wednesday 2/20 plan was hashed with our fellow cruisers and off we went. That evening we arrived in West Palm and dropped anchor in Lake Worth to wait for our weather window for the crossing over to the Bahamas. But it looked like we we not going to get one for several days so the plan changed. The next morning we weighed anchor and sailed down to Fort Lauderdale to stage our crossing. Now I know where the top 1% hide their toys! Flexibility is the name of the game for safe cruising. We are now slaves to Mother Nature. Highs, Lows, troughs, isobars, north winds, south winds , all kinds of winds. You sneeze down here and the winds shift. It will drive you absolutely crazy so because I have no interest in going crazy I do the "King" thing and throw money at the issue. I hired a professional weather guru who gladly takes my credit card number and charges me $25 a call each time I want to hear his "professional" weather synopsis. Albeit it is specific to my routing and a one-on-one discussion about the weather. So today I pull the trigger and made the call. From my POV it looks like a good weekend to make a crossing and Chris my weather guru agrees although he warns the Saturday could be for the hard core sailers with South winds blowing 20-25 kts and 5/8' seas on the beam, Sunday calms down with the winds still from the South which is favorable for a Gulf Stream crossing and calmer seas.

Mega Yachts 

After witnessing the faces of the other cruisers reacting to the calmer seas we have decided to cross on Sunday. It all comes down to this. A good crossing equals a happy first mate and the next 3 months will be fantastic. A bad crossing could cost you a 1st class plane ticket home for your first mate leaving you alone on your F..... boat. For those who don't understand the complexity of crossing one of the greatest natural phenomenons on earth called the Gulf Stream try to imagine sailing a toy remote controlled sailboat across the Missouri River.  If you attempt it after a big rain storm dumped 4" of rain up river you probably would never see your little toy sailboat again. But if you wait until the river has subsided and no rain has fallen for a week or so and with some good planning you would probably be successful in sending your little toy boat to the other side  and live to see another day. Well to Mother Nature we are the little toy boat and the Gulf Stream is the "Monster" when she is angry. So you wait and you wait until you get the perfect pick six and go. Sunday looks like our window so the stage is set and we have a green light. We will weigh anchor Sunday at 5am and exit the Port Everglades inlet at 5:30 with a ETA at the West End, Bahamas at 3:30pm Sunday afternoon.  Stay tuned.
I have to add my two cents and tell you we are enjoying the sights along the way today we saw the JetLEvi which was right out of a James Bond Movie or Iron man the guy started his water jets and shot out of the water and flew around.