Flying down the Tongue of the Ocean!

The island of Bimini is essentially all alone in the Atlantic. It's closer to Florida than the other islands in the Bahamas. The prevailing winds in the Bahamas are east and we needed to go east...so we waited a week in Bimini for north winds to sail to the Exuma island chain. We left Bimini on January 13 at 7 am, rounded the northern tip of Bimini and sailed east across the Great Bahama Bank. The Bank is a super wide and shallow area of the ocean. We saw depths ranging from 10- 25 feet. Freya's keel draws six feet, so 10 feet of depth gets our attention. We enjoyed sunny skies, crystal clear blue water and a moderate north breeze. The wind died as Freya entered the Northwest Channel, so we motored for several hours and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. As predicted, the wind filled in from the northwest and eventually went west, as we sailed south through the Tongue of the Ocean. Aptly named because it's a long narrow area of super deep water, shaped like a tongue. Think of The Rolling Stones famous logo. And imagine water 3600-6600 feet deep! No worries about going aground now!

We sailed all night, taking three hour shifts at the helm. The wind was forecasted to build up to 30 knots, though manageable because Freya would be sailing with the wind. Also doable because the Tongue of the Ocean is protected by islands on three sides, so the waves don't have room to build. During my first shift, Freya sailed past New Providence Island with the lights of Nassua illuminating the eastern sky. As the wind increased, we continued to reduce sail. By my second shift, Freya was sailing with a triple reefed mainsail and small staysail, which is like a storm jib. The wind was blowing 20-25 knots with gusts to 28. This was the most wind we'd experienced on Freya and she handled it like a champ, riding the waves beautifully. Soon the wind was blowing a steady 24-28 knots with gusts over 30. I felt like I should be scared, but I wasn't. Freya was built to handle this kind of wind and seas and she was proving it to me. Freya was flying along at 7-8 knots and I was in awe of her stability and grace! I kept a close eye on the instruments though and gasped aloud when I saw the wind speed hit 36.9 knots! Holy smokes - that's gale force! Hearing the increased wind from his berth, Todd joined me in the cockpit and was equally amazed by how well Freya was performing in such strong winds. Thankfully, we only had big wind and no rain or storms. In fact, we were sailing under a gorgeous starry sky.

Our timing was perfect. Just after sunrise, Freya turned east for Allens Cay. We needed the sun since we were sailing into the shallow waters of the Great Bahama Bank again. Time to watch the depth gauge. The west wind moderated to 20-25 knots and was now behind us. Freya was still flying and we could soon see the narrow entrance with Allens Cay to the north, SW Allens Cay to the south and Leaf Cay in the middle. The waves were crashing into the western shore of Allens Cay and SW Allens Cay which caused my body to feel tense, like it does before a the start of a bike race. I just kept telling myself to breathe. We furled the staysail and wanted to take down the mainsail but weren't comfortable turning Freya into such strong winds and big waves. We decided it would be safer to go in under sail and douse the sail in the protection of the harbor. We couldn't see the narrow anchorage but assumed it was full of boats, similarly seeking all-around protection from the strong winds. We devised a plan and went into action.

Motor on, transmission in neutral, we sailed through the cut between the islands, heading straight for a big rock. We were going six knots, which felt like 10, much faster than we would normally approach such a tricky anchorage. There was only one path deep enough for Freya and we had to nail it. I was at the helm and my job was to head for the rock, turn north hugging Leaf Cay, weave through the anchored boats and turn into the wind. Todd's job was to lower the mainsail as soon as I headed into the wind and drop the anchor at the first suitable spot. Stakes were high and our adrenaline was flowing! We felt we had one shot.

There were two anchored boats to steer around before I could turn north, away from the big rock. As I rounded the second boat, two guys were standing in the cockpit, wide-eyed at our rather audacious landfall. They waved hello and I smiled and somehow calmly said, "Hi, let's chat later!" I threaded the needle of deeper water with Leaf Cay on my starboard side and the anchored boats to port. Without even talking, Todd and I could both see the only spot to drop the anchor. I turned into the wind and Todd immediately dropped the sail. Like always, he started toward the mast to unhook the main halyard and I firmly said, "Forget the halyard, just get the anchor ready!" He nodded agreement and went straight to the bow. I somehow maneuvered Freya into the only open spot between three anchored boats and the sand bar in front of us. Todd quickly lowered the anchor and paid out rode. The strong wind quickly blew us back and Freya came to a halt as the anchor dug into the sandy bottom. She had never hooked up so fast and so hard. Thank goodness! We looked at each other and couldn't believe what we had just done. We had flawlessly pulled off the most difficult anchoring situation we'd ever experienced. On a boat we've been sailing just over a month and anchored less than 15 times. We had risen to the challenge and were super proud of ourselves and Freya. The three of us were becoming quite a team.

165 miles and 29 hours later, we were safely anchored at Allens Cay. Welcome to the Exumas! We sat in the cockpit and soaked up the gorgeous scenery. We were surrounded by cays and rocks, turquoise water and a white sandy beach off our stern.

We swam, enjoyed dinner in the cockpit, watched the sunset and marveled at the beauty around us. We had anticipated exploring the Exumas for months and were finally here! Feeling so grateful and lucky. Go Freya!