Time: 19:20 local
Lat: 25 25.2′ N
Log: 77 50.1′ W
At anchor, Chub Cay, Bahamas

Christmas Day we anchored up from Cat Cay with the objective of crossing the Great Bahamas Bank. The cruising guide describes it as the “longest, and most boring, passage” in the islands.

We sailed north, around Bimini, to cross the deeper part of the Bank at night, planning to take advantage of the lighter winds forecast for the overnight hours. The only problem was the winds didn’t listen to the forecast, so they kept blowing at 20 to 25 all night pretty much right on the nose. It made for a long, slow, wet slog, motorsailing almost all the way. The 57 miles took all night.

Since we cleared the bank later in the morning than we expected, our ultimate objective down near Nassau was out of reach before dark, so we elected to drop anchor midday near Chub Cay. Actually, we dropped the anchor about five times before we found a patch of sand deep enough to dig into and hold the boat. Here we are the only boat in sight, and the shores of the surrounding Cays are very sparsely lit at night.

Right now it is still windy, although it is (again) forecast to drop over night. If the early morning finds us with favorable winds, we’ll head off again, hopefully finding a place relax and enjoy for a few days.