The first time I came to the Keys, somewhere around 1968, I
left a little piece of me there and every time I visit I feel like I am whole
again. When I leave I feel this rip as that part separates. I also found the same piece of me in the
Exumas the first time I went to Lee
Stocking Island
in 2003. Miami was very close but during the trip
today down Card Sound I felt it settle in--I am back. We
are now anchored at Pumpkin Key, a small private island at the northern end of
the Florida Keys . This is our staging point for the crossing to
Bimini. It is south of Bimini which will
allow the northerly flowing Gulf Stream
current to help us along. We actually will
head for a point well south of our destination to end up where we want to be.
A comfortable crossing the Gulf Stream
requires a certain set of weather conditions and we would also like to be able
to sail most of the way. If the wind is
from the north then it fights the current and creates large and potentially
dangerous choppy seas—east and northeast winds are on the nose and beating us
backwards. Of course if the weather is
generally bad (thunderstorms like the last time we crossed to the States from
the Bahamas )
then the trip really is miserable. So we
pour over the weather forecasts and attempt to second guess with a look at the
front movements--looking for that perfect day to cross. In the end we have to
make our own decision—never trust the weather reports. Things looked pretty straight forward all week
for a Sunday or Monday crossing but the front has dipped lower than forecast
and there is a possibility of having to wait a week or more. I know people who had to wait several weeks
for a good weather window to cross. Right
now we are going for it tomorrow—the window appears to be quite narrow but we
only need 7 hours to make it. If we
leave tomorrow afternoon we will get to Bimini after dark but there is a harbor
nearby that is easy to get into to anchor until morning (we did this last
year). We do not want to navigate the
entrance to Alice Town, Bimini at night.
If later looks better, we will leave around midnight or so Monday
morning and arrive just in time for sunup.
Right now I am AOK and happy to be back where the sun is
strong and warm.
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