01 June 2007

ideal sailing in Bahamian waters

June 1, 2007

Today was a very short sail from the Bight of Acklins to the Southern tip of Acklins, Salina Point, about 20 miles total. Below is excerpts from our log:

0805: getting ready to weigh anchor to sail 15 or so miles to the S. end of Acklins. We have a weather window to sail straight to Provo on Sunday or Mon. Crew rested after showers, mac & cheese & beef, & good night’s sleep.
0819: anchor up. Autopilot appears to be broken.
0907: close hauled with windvane steering a straight course.
1042: steering a straight course to Jamaica Bay. The waves have subsided & we’re making 5.5 knots at 15-20 degrees of heel. Whilelem [windvane self steering] is doing great – moving along nicely.
1320: anchor down @ Jamaica Bay. Beautiful long beach – only one house no other boats. But lots of waves and current.
1730: anchor down again, finally, after 4 tries. We moved to Salina Point where we found some deep sand to set the anchor in.