sunset on the banks
So, after a false start on Friday afternoon, when the wind failed to settle down, Independence got an early start Saturday morning, Bahamas bound. As the distinct coastline of Dade and Broward County became more and more miniature on the horizon, Paul & I made our last cell phone calls to family & friends to let them know we were off-shore at last. It was calm enough to notice the sharp, short chop at the western wall of the Gulf Stream followed by the distinct 3-knot northward push, resulting in our slower speed.
The daylight hours included several citings. First, the spray of whales that Paul spotted, then minutes later I saw spray twice more (although the type of whale can be identified by the shape of the spray, we do not possess that knowledge!)
While this was happening, we simultaneously hooked our first fish of the season, and true to custom, when we reeled it in it was a barracuda—oh well.
A little later, I spotted a big turtle, lounging at the surface just alongside our boat and finally, in the afternoon one of our reels hits and start spinning out at such a speed, Paul could not stop it, and I throttled back to neutral. This fish was big—it almost spooled us. The next hour Paul fought and pulled back on this fish that was diving deep and taking him from one side of the boat to the other, as I scrambled to pull in the other lines, and pump the boat in and out of gear to keep the fish where we could handle it.
It turned out, Paul’s first guess was correct—a beautiful, blue marlin! (the other guesses were a big tuna, or a shark) We had to cut it away, hook still in, and I fear the worse for the poor fish, but maybe by miracle he revived….
We were pretty exhausted by then, glad for the workout (likely the only exercise we would get for over 20 hours), and also pleased to know that our gear held up and we managed to bring the fish to the boat—it’s always a learning experience!
Sunset was lovely, and after refreshing showers, we enjoyed crab cakes on a bed of greens, that we had purchased from The Fish Peddler, in Ft. Lauderdale. Paul is now feeding me coconut stuffed cookies from the German bakery—yumm…
We have passed several sailboats, with whom we made radio contact—all headed towards Nassau to clear customs and immigration, then on to the Exumas. It is dark, now- the stars are a glittering blanket overhead—so abundant and clear, I have forgotten what the night sky looks like with no other ambient light.
Our plan is to pull over in another couple of hours, just before we leave the shallow waters of the banks at Northwest Channel, which is the entrance to the Tongue of the Ocean- that extremely deep body of water that lies between there and New Providence Island, the location of Nassau. We will drop the anchor in about 10 ft of water about a mile off the waypoint course, and sleep till dawn. Tomorrow, we cruise the Tongue of the Ocean (where the sea state can kick up in a nasty way, but we are counting on continued light & variable wind). We should arrive in Nassau around 1 pm or so, and after customs, etc., if I am lucky and the internet at the Starbucks (!) across from the marina is working, I should be able to post this, and someone other than myself will read it!!!
Tada!
PS Even better.... managed to snag wi-fi on the dock, so I am posting this from the comfort of Independence, safely snuggled in to Harbor Club Marina, rinsed down, and a mahi in our cooler, which will soon be on our dinner plates!!
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