SOULMATES' Passage from Florida to Nassau

My first voyage to a foreign country was the 24-hour sail from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to West End on Grand Bahama. I had been on many other boats that had gone through clearing procedures, but I had never been the responsible one walking up the dock with all the ship’s papers and the crews' passports. The route to the Bahamas was a 133-mile passage that took SOULMATES southeast across the Gulf Stream. Most cruisers make this trip by heading south along the Florida coast to West Palm Beach where they hang out until the wind goes calm so that they can motor the 60 miles across the Gulf Stream. This plan calls for a short crossing in calm seas. But SOULMATES is a boat that likes to SAIL. Contrary to the dockside chorus of “local experts,” we took off in a 15-20 knot northerly that pushed us directly down the course—and quickly. SOULMATES reveled in the waves as we rode on a broad reach under a single reef and a No. 4 Genoa. The second part of my trip was an 127-mile passage from West End to Nassau. We started out with the full-sized jib and full main and when the wind picked up after the sun went down, we tucked in a reef, which was shaken out in the late morning of the second day. Once again, we set off in the early afternoon for the 127-mile passage from West End, around Great Stirrup, and then on to Nassau. It was a full beat for the 65-mile leg from West End to Great Stirrup. All night long, it felt like we were on the highway for cruise ships heading to and from Nassau. Luckily, we could see them on AIS long before they were visible with the naked eye. With all their cabin lights blazing, they were so bright that it was hard to make out their running lights. Just before Great Stirrup, we had to make four tacks to get around the point. In my less-than-alert state, we got within one-quarter-of-a-mile of one of the behemoths — I had a hard time visualizing her course. Radar would have helped, as would more sleep. Once around Great Stirrup, the wind faired, and we could just cracked the sheets, helping us make better time to Nassau.