We left Old Bahama Bay, and our first experience reading Bahamian waters was a bit of trial by fire. We had two good sets of charts on hand – the Explorer charts on my phone and our Navionics charts which had been confirmed as accurate for the Indian Rocks Passage – but it was still a little nerve wracking. I’d asked on the “Bahamas, Land and Sea” Facebook group about running this passage, and several people who had done it chimed in that as long as we didn’t go at low tide, our 4.5′ draft would be no problem, and they were right. I’m used to the murky waters of the northeastern United States where you can’t see the bottom until your face is buried in sand. Being able to see 20′ down is unsettling at first. Being able to see in 7-9′ is downright terrifying, because everything looks like it’s too shallow.
Once we cleared the passage and found ourselves on Little Bahama Bank, we raised the sails. Sure, the wind was light. But we were in no rush, and it was wonderful to turn off the engine and put those big white flappy things we’d carried all the way from New York to good use. 😉 We managed 3-3.5kts over ground, which was enough. Since it was a total flat calm and was supposed to stay that way, we decided to drop the hook in the middle of the banks for the night in 14′ of clear blue water just in time to watch the sun set.
We couldn’t see land, and it was the darkest, starriest, most beautiful night I’d ever seen. We could see the glow of a couple distant towns, but we were completely alone out there. For the very first time, I could actually see Orion’s bow – I’ve never been anywhere dark enough to see it before.
I can’t adequately describe what it’s like to spend time out on the banks. I’d heard other sailors talk about it, and I’d seen some of the sailing YouTubers I follow do it, but I didn’t get how amazing it was until we did it ourselves. During the day, the whole world is blue, and at night, it’s entirely black and either way, you feel like you’re just floating in space. The silence is absolute, and the sense of peace and calm is beyond measure. I’m so glad conditions were right for us to be able to experience it!
One reply on “Somewhere Out There”
“murky waters of the northeastern United States where you can’t see the bottom until your face is buried in sand” Priceless!
Your descriptions are so vivid, I feel like I am right there with you.