Crossing back to the good ol' US of A

Up a little after 6 and saw another sunrise- the last Bahamian one. ETA 4 PM. I'm assuming we will pick up a few knots of current heading NW to the Lake Worth Inlet.

Average speed of 9 knots on the way home. We took advantage of the current in the Gulf Stream pushing us north in our journey from Bimini to Lake Worth. We've always left the Bahamas from West End and headed directly west. I don't know why I never thought about it being a little quicker coming home this way, but it makes sense! Maybe it is because our journey from Lake Worth to Bimini took us all day- sun up to sun down- when we crossed in 2022... but that was moving SE, against the Gulf Stream.

The waves were barely a foot tall, following us, with a nice breeze to keep us cooler. There were patches of storms and nothing really hit us until around noon or so, even though we could hear it around us. The rain lasted 30-45 minutes, so it was nice to finally get the boat rinsed off! Rain was few and far between this whole summer- a big difference from our time in the Bahamas in 2022 when it rained almost every afternoon and evening.

Since it was so smooth on the water, Ben started going through his tools that he is leaving on the boat and organizing them into bins. He started purging stuff from the front lockers that we accumulated over the years and didn't need anymore.

Moose took apart and stowed the fishing poles for our reentry into the US. The past 3 times we've used the CBP Roam App and they do a video call with us to confirm all of the people we claim to be on board are, and we don't have anything or anyone unaccounted for. Our boat has a US Customs Boat Decal, similar to precheck at the airports but it is for the vessel, so that speeds up the process. This time, they didn't do the video call, they just approved us. So, Moose put back his fishing stuff and threw out a line to see if he could catch anything while we were out on the ocean for the last time.

Roo and I were sitting in the sun on the bow and heard Ben and Moose talking about a ship south of us that was hauling booty. Ben said it was USCG colors, but was unsure why it wasn't showing up on AIS. As it got closer, it became clear, he announced to all of us that we were going to be boarded. We saw the small boat deploy and head our way with lights on. He put the boat in neutral while the girls and I put the dogs in their kennels. Moose had to reel in his line before anyone could get close to us.

It is funny because in all of our 6 summers, we had never been boarded by the Coast Guard, and it literally was right off the coast of the Lake Worth Inlet, our last few moments of being in the ocean on this boat. On our drive to the boat in May, I thought it would be cool to have bragging rights of never having been boarded. I guess we still do- we were on the boat for 11.5 months over 6 summers before it happened. That's still a long time!

The boat had 5 guys in it and 2 of them came aboard while the other 3 stayed on their boat. The bigger cutter ship (with about 24 other people!) circled our boat and their smaller boat while they were conducting their inspection. 

The 2 young guys who came aboard took turns asking us questions, checking for safety equipment, inspecting the boat, and where different things were located. It was actually kind of fun and like a scavenger hunt! Where's this... you need to show me x amount of that. Can I see the toilets? Show me the engine rooms and bilge. Where's your flares? (Fun fact- all this time we had flares AND a flare gun and didn't know the flare gun was in there! The zipper was busted, so it took some tools to get into the bag, but it was all there. I'm just glad we didn't need to use them and find out then that we couldn't get into the bag when we needed to!) They were impressed that we had an EPIRB. During all of this, we talked about so many things. They are on the ship for a week at a time and then get a few days off before returning to duty. They were very friendly.

Ben asked them if they got tipped off by customs as a non-video re-entry or something. They told us, no it was because we were coming back from the Bahamas and going slow. 😂 We thought we were going pretty fast! (It was for us anyway.) They say they board and conduct inspections for all vessels coming back from Bahamas. It was a surprise because it has never happened to us until now! Maybe because it has generally been much later in the evening OR because we were moving NW instead of straight west, so it was more obvious we were coming across from the Bahamas. 

One of the guys was on the newer ice breaker in Lake Michigan before his current ship. That was exciting because we toured the old ice breaker in Mackinaw City in 2024.

I asked if they had stickers or something for the kids. They said no unfortunately, and Ben asked if they had any challenge coins, and they said their ship was new and they didn't have them yet- which is also why AIS wasn't registering them on our end yet. Ben gave each of them one of his challenge coins anyway. One of the guys pulled his patches off his uniform and handed them to the kids. He said they had more on the ship that he could replace them with when he got back.

I'd say they were on the boat for about 20 minutes or so. It turned out to be a really intriguing experience for all of us and we passed the inspection! This is great news, especially looking forward, with the boat survey coming up on Friday.

It put a smile on my face to know that this happened on what would have been my Gramps' 100th birthday. He was in the Army when he was younger, but I know he would've loved to hear all about this. He passed away before we got our boat and started these adventures, but all of our travels remind me of times I spent with him and my Gram on their Coachmen camper in the 90s. Happy 100th birthday, Gramps! 🎂 

We passed a happenin' Peanut Island, then pulled in and tied up at Munyon Island around 3:15. That made for an 85-mile crossing in 8.5 hours...WITH our USCG stop. Not bad!

Once we got to Munyon, it looked like it was going to storm, so we started packing up things inside the cabin that we knew we wouldn't need over the next few days, and things we wanted to bring with us for our stay at Uncle Paul and Aunt Denise's house, after we are off the boat.

To Bimini

Woke up a little before 6 to get underway. We had a 94 mile day, crossing from the Berry Islands to Bimini.

Watched the sunrise while underway this morning. Saw a cruise ship sailing in front of the sunrise.

The water was calm, mostly flat, and the sun was behind clouds with a little breeze in our favor- all of the conditions we really love for a long travel day. We were going 9 knots for about the first half of the trip before returning to our typical 7 knots speed. I'll take it! It means our ETA is closer to 6 pm and about a 12 ish hour day.

We traveled at 8.3 knots average and anchored [for the final time on this boat] a little after 6. Our estimate was right on the nose!

Glad we took some photos last night because the sunset was cloudy tonight.

Hoffman's Cay, Berry Islands

Zig-zagged across our route to make the waves more tolerable. They were only 2 footers, but taking them on the beam... [I think I've mentioned this before...] just absolutely sucks!

Whenever we mention the Berry Islands, people always say how much they LOVE the Berries. We've been here before, but neither time really found much to do off of our boat. We got a few suggestions from Daryl (boater with the dog from 2 different anchorages in the Ragged Islands) this time. One thing is for sure... The color of the water here is absolutely beautiful!

Anchored off of Hoffman's Cay at the north beach. This beach has a cute little swing and a conch shell-lined path leading to the blue hole. This blue hole doesn't connect to the ocean, so there are clams that live in it and not much else, except for the occasional algae. Sounds like a perfect blue hole experiencefor us! Reviews say to take this path despite it being longer and less shady rather than the south beach path due to the poisonous trees along that path. Due to the rocky ledge landing area from the cliff at the blue hole, it was recommended to go at high tide to ensure enough coverage. We missed that window for today and have a few days to spare, so we will stay here a few nights.

I read on some reviews of this beach and anchorage that there are some friendly resident sea turtles that hang with people here. Of course that means that people likely feed them. One review mentioned that they got nipped by a sea turtle- not in a malicious way and didn't break skin- but clearly mistaking humans for food which is unfortunate in so many ways.

There was a boat full of people at the beach when we got there, so we hung out on the boat, cleaned up a bit, and did some laundry. By the time they left, we had already started dinner and figured we would enjoy the beach tomorrow. High tide will be at 3:26, so we will plan to start the trail to the blue hole around 3.

Tonight's sunset was perfect. The colors were gorgeous- not even talking about the sun, just talking about the reflections in the water! We could even see the moon. It kept getting better with each passing minute. The kids were fishing and we all were soaking it all in as one of our last sunsets in the Bahamas on our Cartermaran. I know this night will be etched in my memory forever. 

Since it was our first morning in a while that we weren't going somewhere new, everyone slept in a bit. Moose was fishing from the bow and I was watching him for a while. We spotted several turtles heads pop up in the water between us and the beach and got excited.

We got ready and went to the beach. There was a metal plank with boat stickers on it, so Roo added ours and quickly jumped on the swing.

Sure enough, after the Chicken was anchored and we got into the water, the sea turtles started swimming up to us! They were so brave and beautiful!! We just couldn't believe there were so many who would circle by so often. Every time they did, we all tried to gather together and slowly approach it so we could watch it close up. This was a checkmark on our must-do list for all of us!! (All video footage was taken on our GoPro camera. Not sure if I can add that here at all.) One of the larger turtles even had a remora or two! I didn't realize remoras hung out with more than sharks.

After lunch, we went back to the beach and took the trail to the blue hole, anticipating getting in, and cliff jumping from the top. The trail, despite the reviews, was decently shaded and was a pretty quick hike. 

Once Ben reached the cliff, he quickly announced that we would not be jumping from there. It was way higher up than he thought and in order to clear the rocks underneath, we would have to leap out pretty far without any hesitation or else we could break some bones or die. Gee, thanks, Ben. 

I said I wanted to walk down into the cave below and see what the water looked like there. Yep- lots of rocks there, too. Ben said for a family that is not fond of heights, he doesn't see why we even thought about this- we already did something similar but less high in Canada. 😂 Good point.

After a few minutes of me saying I really wanted to jump, ultimately I decided against it. We really were enjoying swimming at the beach, watching the turtles, and didn't want to ruin that or the rest of our vacation for this one time jump.

We beached for a while longer and then went back for dinner and watched Project Hail Mary before bed. (I have not read the book yet, but still plan to!) If you haven't seen this yet- go watch it!

Rinse and repeat for today, but without the hike to the blue hole.

Roo and I got stung by jellyfish today! She was complaining about it before lunch. I got stung right as we were ending our day. I remember being stung as a kid when I lived in Florida, but hadn't experienced that in recent years. Such an interesting feeling- it stings and kind of itches, leaving a red splotch on the skin. The stinging comes and goes for a while after, but disappears after a few hours.

Everyone showered and we took some last Bahamas sunset photos.

The kids watched a How to Train Your Dragon movie and we went to bed early, anticipating an early and long day of travel in the morning.

Fresh Creek & Andros Town, Andros

Super rolly night! Thank goodness we all had some melatonin or Dramamine to help us. I did not sleep straight through. You know how you have those dreams as you're drifting off to sleep and you jerk yourself awake because you're falling off a cliff? That kept happening to me, but I was for real slanted and kept having to rebalance myself.

Ben got up with Moose and pulled the anchor. He told me to go back to sleep, so I gladly did!

As we pulled into Andros Town, Andros, it had just about been a 7 hour day. This town is so cute. This isn't a beach area, but more like a little canal. Ben got us a night on the government dock on the north side, so technically we stayed in Fresh Creek, Andros. They charged us $6.85. For the NIGHT! Usually we are charged per foot. Wow, what a deal.

There is a little sheltered area right off the wall of the dock. Today is Sunday, so a lot of people were gathered here hanging out, coming and going. Once we were tied up, Ben asked them for some recommendations for dinner. He always says the locals are the ones who know where it's at.

The boys and Roo went to stock up on some more Goombay Punch and ginger beer for the last time, to last us through the end of our trip.

We walked over the one-lane bridge to Andros Town to go to Five Brothers for dinner. They had great music. It was hot. They moved their plug-in fan and pointed it directly at us in our little shaded patio table area. It helped keep us cooler and kept the [biting] flies away! A kitty joined us at our little patio.

On our walk back, we took a photo at the Andros Crab and hopped on the boat for the night. Tomorrow we will head to the Androsia Batik Factory. We are hoping to get a tour and make our own batik fabric, but couldn't get ahold of anyone there. They open at 9 or 9:30- we saw both posted.

We woke up and walked over the bridge to Andros Town. There was some debating between me and Ben and what we were told or saw about where the factory was, so we went into the Tourist Office to confirm. (I was right, BTW.)

As we were walking up the street, we saw a large group of people getting a tour, so we joined in. Turns out they were all together, so I'm sure the 5 of us stuck out like a sore thumb. It's all good, we got the tour we wanted!

There were several rooms to the factory and each room was a step in the process. The first room was full of all of their foam stamps, ladies cutting out new stamps with x-acto knives, and a few long tables set up for wax stamping. The next room was where they dye the fabric, with various bathtub looking things. I LOVED the dyed pallets on the floor. Finally, the sewing room. This is where all of the batik was hung up or laid out to be turned into something besides fabric!

The tour ended in a gift shop full of batik- sold by the yard, and made into anything you can imagine: bags, scrunchies, shirts, dresses, sarongs, pillow cases, cloth napkins and place settings, onesies, bow ties... it was all there! It is so vibrant and beautiful all together. We got 4 pillow cases, a zip duffle bag, a shirt for Moose, and a dress for Roo- all in different colors and designs. 

We did not get to take a class and make our own. None of us asked about doing so. It was super hot and we found several things we liked that were pre-made. It meant we could still use the rest of today to get to our next location, one step closer to home.

On our walk back, a nice lady and her daughter were walking back to her office and chatted with us a bit. Ben told her that we have been all over the Bahamas and that the people in Andros have been the nicest yet. She said she likes to help people so that when she needs help, they'd be there to help her.

We walked back over the bridge into Fresh Creek and got ready to depart. We traveled for 5 hours and ended up in Morgan's Bluff, Andros.

After we anchored, Moose started fishing. We heard thunder and he helped me close up the cockpit before the storm. Turns out the storm was just threatening us. It never even rained here. Ben reopened the cockpit and grilled some cheeseburgers for dinner.