Bye Bye Bahamas

Our last week in the Bahamas was a whirlwind.  We had a plan to work our way up Eleuthera and then cross to the Abacos and make our way to the most north-western point in the Bahamas before jumping back to the US.  That plan changed when we were in Spanish Wells with a forecast full of north wind which would make the crossing to Abaco miserable.  We decided to abandon that idea and head west back to the Berry islands then Bimini.

Over the next few days we traveled almost 340 nautical miles and landed in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Our original plan was to travel much further north and land in St. Augustine.  Mother Nature, Poseidon, and Neptune conspired against us with thunderstorms and strong north winds which had us turn in early.  The thunderstorms while unnerving weren't actually the scariest part.  That award goes to the stronger than predicted north winds which turn up horrible waves when they meet the gulf stream running in the opposite direction.  Sam and I were game for continuing as the conditions were improving by the time we turned west, but Reg was decidedly green and Riley decidedly bored.

Our last glimpse of the beautiful waters of the Bahamas

A storm approaches on our crossing back to the US.
Our sails came down approximately 30 seconds after I took this shot.

In the morning after the nasty weather the sun came out and a pod
of 17 dolphins joined us.  We turned off the engine and spent a good
10 minutes watching them.