Two days after Thanksgiving. 0430 EST. We are raising anchor preparing to head 5.1 nm north to Port Everglades and out to sea…….we have two bridges to deal with and we need to make the first one by 0500 and the second by 0530.
Out to sea. I’m excited, nervous and to be really honest – a little nauseous. This is it, the moment when this adventure gets real.
We made the bridge scheduled openings and approach Port Everglades and am alerted of an incoming Cruise ship. We hold off and wait for him to clear. We get clearance by 0600 at start out. Sea conditions are as predicted – east winds at about 12 knots waves about 2.5 ft. The prediction is that the winds will drop all day and stay through the night. Hope that holds too.
I have Roger and Alan get the feel of the helm before we engage the autopilot as we head into the sunrise.
The plan is to cross the Gulf Stream and enter the Great Bank north of Bimini and to reach at least Chubb Cay and maybe Nassau if the weather holds.
As the day wears on, the winds drop and the seas flatten. We reach the Bank by 1245 and couldn’t have wished for any better sea conditions.
