Bahamas Bound!

After my mom departed on January 4, we turned our time and energy to preparing to cross to the Bahamas. There are two big hurdles to sail to the Bahamas. The first is crossing the Gulf Stream current. Between Florida and the Bahamas, the Gulf Stream is 50-75 miles wide and flows north at 2-4 knots. Our plan was to cross from Key Biscayne (just south of Miami) to the island of Bimini, which is approximately 50 miles, straight east. Ideal wind conditions for our crossing are from the south or west. North winds are a "no go" because the combination of north wind and strong north-flowing current can create big, steep waves and unsafe conditions. East isn't favorable either because sailboats can't sail straight into the wind. Luckily we had a favorable weather window with SW winds to depart on January 6.

The second hurdle to sailing to the Bahamas is navigating the Bahamian COVID protocols. The Bahamas requires a negative PCR COVID test within three days (72 hours) of arrival. It would take Freya 8-12 hours to sail 50 miles, so we needed to get tested, receive immediate test results and then depart. That's a tight schedule! To make things more tense, it seemed everyone in Florida was scheduling COVID tests. Appointments were booked over a week out. To top it off, none of the free test sites could guarantee immediate test results. In fact, they all advised 24-36 hours, once the tests arrived at the lab, so that wasn't an option. So what's the going rate for a PCR test with immediate results? 95 bucks per test! We swallowed that pill and I went into full-on "find a test"mode. There was only one location in the area offering PCR tests with immediate results and they were completely booked. Todd often teases me about being persistent and every once in a while that trait pays off. I kept checking the online appointment system hoping for a random cancelation. I lucked out and was able to book one test. But of course, we needed two. I called the location and they agreed to let us both test under one appointment - hooray! Our tests were scheduled for January 5 and the weather was still looking good for us to depart on January 6. The stars were aligning!

Those two hurdles were the same for all vessels trying to cross to the Bahamas in 2022. A third hurdle was all ours. When we were still in Texas last fall, we ordered a new life raft. It was supposed to arrive weeks before we left Texas. As with so many manufactured items, the life raft company was dealing with supply chain issues, so we left Waterford Marina without our new life raft. I arranged to ship the raft to the City Marina in Marathon, Florida, knowing we would stop there on our way to Key Biscayne. Seemed like a good solution. I asked the not to ship it until I contacted them because I didn't want to burden the marina staff with a huge package. Unfortunately, our signals got crossed and the raft was shipped to Marathon weeks before we arrived. Life rafts are deemed hazardous because they contain CO2 cartridges that automatically inflate the raft. Fed Ex can't deliver hazardous packages without a signature and we weren't there to sign. So when we arrived at the City Marina in Marathon to pick up the raft, it was no where to be found. To add to our stress, the life raft company was closed the week between Christmas and New Year's so I couldn't get any help from them.

After two days of calling Fed Ex, I finally found our raft. It had been taken back to a Fed Ex facility in Marathon. I spoke with Diane who quickly became my new best friend. She had tried to find us but the package didn't have our phone number so she could only hope we would track it down. She was all set to bring it to us at the marina but unfortunately, we had left Marathon to head north that morning. Together, Diane and I found a Fed Ex facility in Miami that would accept the package and hold it until we picked it up. After my mom was safely on her way to the airport, we took a bus from Key Biscayne to Miami to pick up the raft. The package was huge and weighed 70 lbs! I called an SUV size Uber for the trip back and the box just barely fit! It took both of us to carry it from the Uber to the dinghy. We were quite a sight. New life raft on board - check!

The fourth hurdle was boat insurance. We found out the day before my mom left that our insurance carrier wouldn't cover Freya in the Bahamas. What the heck? We were beginning to wonder if our Bahamas trip was meant to be. Our agent had assured me that adding the Bahamas would be a non-issue. I'd been keeping him abreast of our plans to sail to the Bahamas for months. Our agent was in the process of retiring that week so our policy was transferred to one of his colleagues. Unfortunately, she wasn't as invested in us our or our new problem. It quickly became obvious I needed to do my own digging for a new policy.

As we were waiting in Miami for our life raft to arrive at the Fed Ex store, it dawned on me to call Hagerty, where I worked for the last 14 years. Hagerty is best known for insuring "fun to drive" cars but also insures boats. I spoke with a few of my former colleagues and in less than 24 hours, Freya was insured! There is nothing better than working with people you know, trust and genuinely deliver amazing service. This hurdle would have completely halted all of our plans. Thanks to Hagerty, Freya was covered again and could set sail the next day. Wow. Lucky us. Boat insurance - check!

After securing Freya's insurance, we took the dinghy to shore and "Ubered" to Key Biscayne for our COVID tests. The tests took only seconds and within 15 minutes, we had our negative results. Hooray! We sat outside the pharmacy with our laptop and uploaded the test results into our Bahamas Travel Visas. We waited with anticipation and in a few minutes, they were approved! The last step was getting our cruising permit approved via Click to Clear, the Bahamas online customs system. Waiting for that final approval was painstaking! We had cleared so many hurdles...this was the last one. It was quite a process (steps below) and we hoped we had filled everything out correctly. Within 15 minutes, we were approved! All systems go for Freya to set sail for the Bahamas in the morning! Whew!

We hit the grocery store in Key Biscayne for our final provisioning. We knew food was expensive and often hard to come by in the Bahamas so we had been stocking up for weeks. Crazy to think this was our last time in a "real" grocery store. We filled the back of another Uber and carried it all to the dinghy. Our last dinghy ride in the states for a while. Back to Freya to hoist and secure the dinghy on deck and make final preparations to set sail in the morning. Provisions - check!

The COVID protocols, life raft issue and insurance challenges had meant several stressful days leading up to our crossing. Finally, stressors behind us, it was all systems go. Luckily, the weather forecast still looked ideal. We pulled up our anchor on January 6 and departed Key Biscayne before sunrise. So good to push off! We enjoyed bright sunshine and good winds, with Freya averaging 6 knots most of the way. We sailed near a catamaran for a while that was also crossing to the Bahamas. We kept an eye on the sea water thermometer, being one way to indicate entering the current. The water in the Gulf Stream is several degrees warmer than water just outside the Stream. The current gave us a pleasant push north. Eventually Miami was out of sight and it was just Freya and the ocean for miles in all directions. After sailing about 40 miles, we finally saw the low lying island of Bimini. Land ho! We navigated the shallow entrance into Bimini without any issues. We couldn't believe we had finally made it!

We called Blue Water Marina on the VHF radio and told them we were in the channel. They said to watch for JR and he would help us dock. I spotted JR's smile from the channel and knew we were in good hands. Between JR's exclamations, "Making it look easy!" and Todd's stellar driving skills, Freya was quickly tied up safely in a slip. JR was our first taste of the incredibly friendly Bahamian people. We were so thrilled to be there...we couldn't believe it...our Bahamas adventure had begun. Go Freya!