Maybe this 'waiting for weather' part is going to be harder than it sounds ... it's only been 4 days, and I'm starting to feel the initial pangs of cabin fever. For the past 3 days, it has been raining and quite windy, so we've been boat-bound as the seas are too rough to put the dinghy in the water. Couple not being able to leave the boat with the uncertainity of not knowing when we'll see a good weather window for crossing, and you've got the makings for some type of psychological disorder!
We use passageweather.com to analyze offshore weather conditions ... and we listen to the weather guru, Chris Parker. Both sources give a small 2-day window to cross on Monday and Tuesday (2/14-15). The current cold front will move on by then, and the winds and seas will drop. However, the wind will still be coming from the north ... the dreaded north. If indeed and winds and seas stay light (6-9 knots; 2-3ft), then we could have an OK crossing with a north wind. However, the risk is that we have no margin for error if the winds and seas are higher than predicted (which is typically the case) ... a north wind of (15 knots and seas of 4-6 ft) would be uncomfortable due to the large, square waves that would be occuring in the gulfstream (....whenever I hear people use that word - uncomfortable - I translate it to NASTY!).
After Monday/Tuesday, we could easily wait another week for winds to come from the S/SW. Since conventional wisdom is NOT to cross the GS with a northernly wind, the advice we are getting is to sit tight or move south. After "sitting tight" for 6 days, we think moving south on Monday/Tuesday is a better than staying put for much longer!
Cruising is a flexible lifestyle, right? So instead of crossing from Lake Worth, we could also cross from Ft Launderdale ... or maybe Miami. The further south we go, the bigger boost we'll get from the Gulf Stream when we do cross to the Bahamas (it flows north along the FL coast so we can run with the GS as we move northeast towards the Bahamas).
Decisions. Decisions.
Our friend, Mikel, has a ticket to the Bahamas on 2/23, so we're starting to get nervous that he could arrive before we do! This must be why sailors are tempted to break the cardinal rules of cruising (don't drive to a schedule instead of the weather; never cross the GS with a north wind). So we need a backup plan, and fortunately, Mikel is a flexible kinda guy.
Option 1: If we are still in Lake Worth when Mikel lands in FLL, he'll ditch the plan and take the $5 train from FLL to Lake Worth.
Option 2: If we are in the middle of our 2-3 day crossing, he'll need to find a motel in MarshHarbor and wait for us to arrive.
Option 3. If we move south to Ft Lauderdale, he'll ditch the plane and make the crossing with us. Then maybe we'd consider a southern crossing to the Exumas....
Decisions. Decisions.
Right now, I've got indoor jobs to keep my busy. Dan did indeed live up to his promise to free up one of the lockers under the settee so I'm able to move a lot of canned goods to a more convenient location. (sounds simple, but it will involve reorganizing 3 storage boxes -- which means updating the 'pantry spreadsheet' so that I know where to find onion soup mix and canned mushrooms! And then I'll feel compelled to fill the newly available space with more coffee and toilet paper!)
No complaints about this anchorage ... great holding in strong winds ... plenty of space around us ... the marina is a mile away. And the sky is clearning!
Blustery Saturday ....
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