With the beautiful weather forecast predicted for the next few days, we started our 230 NM, 44 hours passage from Spanish Wells to Fort Pierce, FL. The route will take us through the northern part of the Eleuthra, passing through Egg Island Cut, sail towards the northern tip of Berry Islands, then northwest by the Grand Bahama Island, finally Fort Pierce Inlet. It’s a busy two full days of bluewater passage.

We rigged the safety lines all around the boat so we can tethered ourselves to the boat if leaving the cockpit is necessary. We setup our bunk with lee cloth so we can sleep underway without falling out while the boat rolls from side to side. We prepared meals for the next two days without having to cook underway. We pulled out the cruising spinnaker for forecasted tailwinds for downwind sailing.

Passing through Egg Island Cut, we heard sailboat Tao hailing us on VHF radio. They were on their way to the Abacos and they wished us a safe trip back home. Buck and Debbie are very special people and we were so fortunate to have met them. We hope that our paths will cross again someday.

It didn’t take long for Claudia and I to get into a groove of passage making. We saw lots of flying fish but couldn’t capture them on camera – they’re just going too damn fast. We do our chores underway, clean, read & talk with family and friends while Internet is still available. We sailed for the first 8 hours until the wind died, then motored sailed for the rest of the day. Since we planned this 44 hour trip to arrive in Fort Pierce in day light, we needed to average about 5 knots speed, any faster means we arrive in the dark, something we try to avoid when entering new harbors.

At 2AM, the cruise ship “Disney Wish” was on the radar heading very close to us. I radio the ship and asking if my current course was acceptable. The woman captain from “Disney Wish” replied in English with a very pleasant Bahamas accent – “I see you Fujiko, please proceed with your course. We will be approximately 1.5 NM apart. Not a problem. Thank you for checking.” I thanked the captain from the cruise ship and continued on our way.

The hardest part for this trip was not the weather, the seas or the night traffic; it is trying to slow down our boat and not going too fast to arrive at night. At times the condition was perfect for full sailing at 6-7 knots but we had to reduce sail area and slow down to 5 knots average. We’ve never entered Fort Pierce Inlet and we needed to anchor once we get inside the Inlet to wait for 11AM before we can check-in at the marina. I’m cautious by nature and didn’t want to go in at night and trying to anchor in an area known for strong current.

At 7AM, we entered Fort Pierce Inlet and dropped anchor. We used mobile app to check in with US Customs. We were cleared within 30 minutes. I went down and slept but Claudia was too excited, she stayed up and cleaned up the boat and let notified everyone that we’ve arrived safely.

We’ll stay in Fort Pierce for a few days before making another 160 NM, 26 hours run to St Augustine.