...to the finale

We left Spanish Wells around 7:30 AM the next morning and headed for Chub Cay.  We opted to go to Chub Cay instead of Nassau because it reduced our trip by about 2.5-3 hours (25 miles). Chub Cay is one of the islands that make up the Berry Islands.  A couple of years ago, Chub Cay was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, but an investor came in and repaired the marina and the villas/homes on the property and helped turn this marina back into a high end establishment it was originally.  The marina is popular because it is located very close to the "tongue of the ocean", a very popular big game fishing ground.  This was the only marina that we have had floating docks during our entire trip – a rarity in the Bahamas and a treat for us as we didn't have to struggle to get off the boat.  We figured the additional cost of staying at the marina was worth the fuel we saved by not going to Nassau.  Plus we refueled in Spanish Wells which was the primary draw to go to Nassau.

We arrived to Chub Cay around 2:30 PM after a very rough passage, went to the pool and returned back to the boat for an early dinner, as we knew the next day would have an early start and be another long day.

At 7 AM the next morning, we headed to Cat Cay, a private island/marina just south of Bimini.  We decided to go to Cat Cay instead of Bimini (which is 8 miles north) because it would shave off an extra hour of travel time that day, then cut off another hour when we do the crossing back to the US.  Because of our speed, making hour cuts are helpful in both time and fuel consumption.  Also, since Cat Cay was south of Bimini the angle we would have to travel to return back to the US was reduced, so we weren't fighting the gulf stream current as much.

We arrived just after 4 PM.  Because we weren’t members of the yacht club, our access to the property was limited.  We took Sydney for a walk around the marina then headed back to the boat for a cocktail. 

The next morning, we planned to leave at 6 AM to head back to the US, as we were looking at a 12 hour haul across the Florida straits down to the lower keys, 5 of which would be fighting the direction of the gulf stream.  

We weren’t able to leave at 6 AM, as “first light” wasn’t bright enough yet.  We departed around 6:30 AM and enjoyed a great sunrise.

Even more spectacular was the reflection of the sunrise looking westward.  The picture below doesn't show the real beauty.

The water was like glass when we started.   Thunderstorms were building south of us, but we luckily left in time to avoid them.

On our way we hooked up another Mahi, but we weren’t able to bring it in, as it wouldn’t fit into the net the 2 times Dan grabbed it.  It finally broke lose.  Dan was very disappointed.  I was just glad I didn’t lose this one like I lost the first Mahi (waiting for a photo op).

We arrived to the FL coast around 3:30 PM, quickly added 120 gallons of fuel and headed for an anchorage on the gulf side of the bridge (89 miles from home).  We arrived to the anchorage at 7 PM.  We were exhausted after a very long day.

We woke the next morning and started our trek back to Marco by 6:15 AM.  The sun wasn't up quite yet.

We arrived in Marco by 4PM after a long day of travel.  All of us, especially Sydney, are happy to be home.  Even the Manatee’s in the canal met us.

Once again, the Bahamas treated us well.  We look forward to returning soon!