Sailing to The Bahamas

Bahamas, we’re coming! Today is the day we depart for our five-day crossing from Marigot Bay, Saint Martin to Matthew Town on Inagua Island in the Bahamas. And I can tell you, the excitement is sensible! The whole boat is buzzing with last-minute phone calls and the frantic tapping of smartphones as everyone sends their final messages before we embark on our adventure. It’s like we’re saying goodbye at Schiphol again. But before we get to this moment, a lot has happened in the past five days. Our journey started in Montserrat and then took us to Saint Maarten where we had a list of jobs. From repairing our fridge/freezer to getting our scuba tanks certified, making boat decals and doing loads of errands, we had our hands full. Sailing just the three of us feels good again, but let’s face it, it’s just not the same without those lively conversations over the VHF radio. We may have extra time, but without the camaraderie of our buddy boat it’s a bit lonely out here at sea. As much as we love to read, write and dabble in video editing programs, we just can’t find the peace to do so on this 94-nautical mile sail to St Maarten. Maybe it’s because our excitement for our next adventure is too big, or maybe it’s just because the journey is too short. But hey, at least we have each other and our trusty fishing rod to keep us company. While chatting about our experiences of the past few months and about our plans for the future and dreaming of the new adventures to come, the rod starts spinning like crazy! Jeroen, as a pro-fisherman that he has become in the meantime, takes action and goes into battle with the fish.

Meanwhile, Rajesh and I take the speed out of the boat by hauling in the jib, eagerly awaiting what kind of catch Jeroen will pull up and, as always, Rajesh has the rest of the fishing gear ready, just in case we can kill the fish. Turns out it’s a barracuda and unfortunately, a total of three barracudas bite during this journey. So, after removing the hook we throw the barracudas back into the sea as it is not safe to eat the barracudas above Guadeloupe due to the risk of ciguatera poisoning. A little disappointed we reel in the fishing rod and sit down to enjoy a plate of spaghetti Aglio e Olio. It may not be the catch of the day, but it’s still a delicious meal that we eat in good company. Sailing through the night under a blanket of stars, suddenly our autopilot started making a strange and loud noise. Meanwhile, we know that unusual noises from our equipment usually mean trouble, but Jeroen, the optimist that he is, went down to inspect the problem. He expects them to be worn sprockets, which he has in stock, but prefers to wait until we get to Saint Maarten to replace them. While we kept watch, surrounded by the twinkling stars above us and keeping a close eye on the freighters around us, we tried to spare our autopilot a bit by steering the boat by hand every now and then. Because, that sound was deafening, and we just knew it couldn’t be good. We did not encounter any other sailing boats, which continues to amaze us. Does everyone only sail during the day and are they looking for an anchorage for the night? In a quiet moment, I caught a glimpse of a shooting star and made a wish. It brought a big smile to my face and reminded me of the magic of being on the water.

We arrived in Marigot Bay early in the morning and after anchoring safely we were able to catch a few more hours of rest before the sun came up. Today was Sunday and after we checked in, Jeroen and Rajesh went to work to repair the autopilot. They were indeed worn sprockets, for which we have spare parts. Oh guys, breathe in and out, because the next few days are going to be busy! We have a tight schedule ahead of us and it will take all our common sense, patience and a little bit of luck to make all our wishes come true. First we set off early with our trusty dinghy to the Dutch side to collect our packages: three books full of maps of the Bahamas. It’s a wealth of information and we can’t wait to dig into it! Then we look for someone who can print boat stickers for us. After asking around we are referred to Imagen Graphics, only to find out that we can only get there by car. We note the address and move on to the next item on our list. Our next stop is Budget Marina and Island Water World looking for spare parts for our autopilot. Unfortunately, they don’t stock autopilot parts, but we do come across a separate freezer that catches our eye. We note the dimensions and make plans to install it on the boat. Since our confidence in our current freezer has decreased after multiple failures and the loss of several frozen meals. When we return to the boat, we’ve loaded our dinghy with all kinds of things that weren’t on our list: new crockery with rubber rings on the bottoms so they don’t slip, extra fans, rubbers for our skylights, flags of countries we’re going to and much more! If we want to buy that freezer and also want to give all the groceries a place, the only solution is to reorganize our storage areas. That evening we fill the dinghy with old items that we decide to get rid of and decide to donate our second life raft to a couple of cruisers with two young children and watch as they dinghy away smiling and proud. Well folks, the adventure never ends on this boat! Just when we thought things were going well, we got a text message from the mechanic of our fridge/freezer that he is cancelling the appointment and we haven’t heard from him since. Frustration sets in and we begin our search for a solution. Then I got an idea: why not ask Facebook if someone can help us? To our surprise, we received a quick response and found someone willing to lend a hand! The catch? That we can leave three days later and the fridge / freezer combination will have to be removed from the boat and brought to its workshop. After studying all the weather maps, we agreed with the plan and Jeroen and Rajesh took action by dismantling the device from our kitchen and delivering it to the workshop. The next day we rented a car and hit the road, stopping at several stores on our list. We went to the dive shop for tank certification, Imagen Graphics for our boat decals (my birthday present!), the coffee shop for coffee cups, and the grocery store for groceries. But wait, there’s more! We also decided to buy the separate freezer that we saw at Budget Marina. Jeroen and Rajesh have found a nice place to install it.

With a repaired fridge/freezer and the new freezer on board, we are ready to continue our adventure! Who knows what exciting surprises lie ahead? So far not had a dull moment here on Saint Maarten. The next two days were no exception! We went to the supermarket several times and visited the same shops again to pick up our scuba tanks and boat decals. The boat underwent a complete refurbishment with all groceries and we managed to find a place for everything. Jeroen and Rajesh were installing the new freezer while I continued my project of making curtains for the boat. At the end of the day we were able to collect our fridge / freezer combination, but unfortunately Jeroen came back angry, frustrated and disappointed. The fridge/freezer was not repaired, instead it was even more damaged. We didn’t have much time to think about this, so we decided to put it back and figure out what to do later. On the plus side, our loose freezer is a huge success and we couldn’t be happier with it! To cap off our time on Saint Maarten, we went to see the movie Pathaan, a Bollywood movie that had just been released and was playing on the island for the first time. What a nice end to our time here!

We are all giddy with excitement as we begin our 5-day crossing. As we sail away, we feel the wind in our hair, the sun on our face and the freedom of the sea. It’s a surreal feeling to be alone, depending only on each other and our trusty boat. I’m at the helm, Rajesh and Jeroen trim the sails and make sure everything is in place. We sing sailor songs, laugh and joke and enjoy each other’s company. The first day passes in a blur as we enjoy the beauty of the blue water and the endless horizon. At nightfall, we take turns keeping watch and do not see any other sailing boats besides the cargo ships and cruise boats. We sit at the helm, stare at the stars, enjoy the silence and feel at peace with the world around us. Rajesh is on guard as we sail between the islands of the British Virgin Islands, where our adventure all began seven months ago. As the British Virgin Islands got smaller, the waves got bigger and the wind was blowing at a constant force of 22-25 knots, diagonally from behind. A pleasant course, because the high waves glide smoothly under your boat and you hardly notice the strength of the wind. However, Rajesh noticed that he was starting to feel a bit sick and put a seasickness bandage on. During Jeroen’s watch we even set a speed record, surfing the high waves, of 12.2 knots, although we are not racers, it still feels special. The next morning at 9am everyone was awake and we sat over breakfast chatting about the events of the first night. I ask Jeroen and Rajesh what they feel when they see those high waves coming towards them and I get the following answer from both; “uh, nothing really, it’s just waves!” Well I can do something with that for the blog I laugh. I myself find it really fascinating and sometimes a bit frightening to see when you are at the lowest point of a wave, you look next to you and you see a 3-meter-high dark blue figure coming towards you, so that the boat is gently lifted and we sail on. I wish I had Superman eyes at a time like that and could see through the waves, at all the creatures hiding in the great waves. We sail over more than five kilometres of deep water and on the depth gauge you sometimes see a depth of 30 meters in one go, you just know that there is a group of fish or just a very large fish under your boat! Brrr, it gives me chills. Our bodies and minds are slowly adapting to the rhythm of the sea and we can even read and write again. Our trusty fishing rod was our constant companion and on the second day of our trip we were lucky enough to catch some delicious tuna. It was the perfect size for two delicious meals. As a precaution, I had seasickness bandages behind my ears at the start of our trip and I’m sure they were my lifesaver and I didn’t get sick while cooking inside with those high waves, because I was a bit scared for that.

The next few days are filled with more of the same: sunny skies, constant wind, a course we don’t have to change, waves that eventually become a little less high and the night watches are going well for everyone. We all get enough sleep and feel comfortable with the actions we have to do alone. On the last day, as we see our destination on the horizon, and our hearts are filled with joy and pride, we are welcomed by a group of dolphins next to the boat, who show us their tricks. What a nice welcome! We did it! We sailed to the Bahamas. The longest crossing for us so far: five days of non-stop sailing. Close to Matthew Town I call the harbour and ask permission to anchor. This is approved and the harbour master will arrange for the immigration and customs officers to come to the port to check us in. After anchoring, we give each other another group hug, knowing that this is just the beginning of our adventures together. As they say; “the journey is just as important as the destination”, and we couldn’t have wished for a better trip.