Oh my gosh! It's a Merica!

We woke up on Tuesday morning (only slightly late) at about 3:00 a.m, made a fresh pot of crappy coffee and went over our departure plan.  Things were going pretty smoothly as we pulled away from the dock and headed out into the pitch black.  A little nervous because both of our spotlights had stopped working, we decided to look on the bright side and be thankful for the intermittent flashes of lightening helping us to see for a few seconds at a time.

As we motored slowly out of Bimini's narrow inlet, everything was going according to plan.  Everything except for a huge dredging barge that appeared to be blocking the channel.  We'd seen this barge and its long (2 ft diameter) hose snaking its way to shore the previous day, as we stood on the beach and planned our exit.  Problem was, it had moved and that massive hose was invisible to us under the cloak of darkness .  As we got closer, we kept expecting to see it more clearly and find a safe path around it whilst avoiding a string of ocean breakers to our right.  It wasn't happening.  Matt couldn't see anything, and I wasn't doing much better up on bow. The sound of the crashing waves was ominously close.  Sometimes you just have to cut your losses, turn around and head back to the dock, and watch "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" until the sun comes up.

Take two!  Out we go again, this time at 6:00 a.m.  We successfully pass the barge this time and marvel at how we miraculously didn't hit it on our first attempt.  The forecast was looking good, but the skies… not so much.  We were surrounded by threatening cells on three sides.

Storm number 1:  a LOT of rain and thunder.  Intimidating at first, it actually ended up helping us out!  The wind accompanying the rain sent our speed up and we were grateful for the boost.  Wookie is annoyed at being wet.

Storm number 2:  This one is smack dab in the Gulfstream, where the northward current is about 3+ knots.  More rain and thunder- some lightening, and an unexpected wind shift to northerly.  This was very bad (wind that opposes current causes dangerous swell). Although we were making really good time (averaging 7.5 knots), almost everything on and in the boat was wet.  Matt got worried, as the seas kept building, and diverted our course to Fort Lauderdale, the closest port.  10 minutes later, the wind died and we resumed our original course to Lake Worth.  Mother Nature, you're a fickle broad.

So the seas were finally calming and that the weather was looking up.  The sun was shining.  We were in the clear.  FAT CHANCE SUCKAS!!!!

Storm number 3:  Thunder, no lightening, but some of the nastiest swell we've seen.  The forecast had called for very light winds close to Florida, but it was definitely gusting 30+.  We were running, the winds at our back, a handkerchief of jib was all the boat could handle.  We surfed some of the waves (and hit 9.3 knots at one point!), while others threatened to crash over our stern.  As we neared Lake Worth, we were anxious at the fact that we were the only boat on the water.  When we finally did sail into the harbour we were all soaked, shivering and riding a high of post storm exhilaration :)

Who cares? We're here!  We dropped the hook and collapsed.  The next morning we headed to U.S. Customs.

"I see you've been denied entry before"  the border guard says directly to me.  "Uhhh, yeah I guess so, but they let us in eventually",  I stutter back.  After round three of questioning and scrutiny at our flight info- as well as a phone call to confirm our airline reservation itinerary (we must look like liars) we are admitted into the states.  This time our visa is not for 6 weeks, but for 6 months!  WOOP WOOP!  Party time! 

So now we depart.  Up the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) to Glades where we will take Maranatha out of the water, mend some wounds (hers and our own) and fly back to our beloved Vancouver.  

Here's a music video we found to express how we feel about that.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do :)