REPORTS FROM THE RIP: Racing against the wind

The last week we have been fighting the weather. You can plan all you want but one thing you can not do is force the issue with the weather. All of the big storms that New England has been getting hammered with are greatly effecting our weather even this far south. Each time one of those blizards passes into the open North atlantic, It sends enormous swells southward. Add to that brisk winds and it can make for sketchy crossings
On day one, We left from Anna Maria and made for Miami. We were against a bit of a time line as there was to be a big swell coming from the north. On the way down, we made a pitstop in Marco Island and picked up a friend of ours. Capt Barbara Evens wanted to make the trip south to the Turks. I figured it would be nice to have someone with experience on board and as you will read later in this report , she really stepped up to the plate. Anyway, we made it to miami Without incident.
On day two, We left out of Miami and made for Nassau. The weather radio was issuing special high seas warnings for the gulf stream. ( Seas 6-8 feet with 10 footers thrown in. The winds were light though and were not to pick up till we were across the stream so we headed out. We did see 6-8 foot and a few 10 foot swells but the period was 4-5 seconds. ( meaning they were very spread out. ) We barely took spray the entire way across. Once up on the bank we stopped and Matt jumped in on a couple wrecks I know of. The water was clear but a bit cold so we headed into Nassau. I took our crew for a walk thru Atlantis but we were all dead tired and went to bed early.
On day three we fueled up and headed south to the Exumas. We stopped on the Yellow Bank and got some very nice lobsters. The winds were light and seas flat. The forcast winds were for North winds at 10-15 kts. After diving we headed to Stanial Cay. The afternoon there was beautiful. Light winds and perfect temps. We even got to see the Green Flash as the sunset. We Grilled lobsters on the back deck and had a great meal. All was perfect. Then we all went to bed. About 2 hours after we got into our bunks I was jolted awake by the boat bouncing against the dock. I thought it was just a boat going by and throwing a wake. But a few minutes later our rub rail hit even harder. I went outside to feel a brisk 20 knot wind straight out of the west. ( Staniel Cay is a great marina and very protected ... Except for when the wind comes West.) There was a Yacht behind us with crew scrambling to replace a giant inflated fender that had just popped. a few slips over, a sailboat had snapped a dock line. I knew it was time to get out of there. ( Yes Tom Thompson, I heard your voice in the back of my head warning me about west winds there). I ran below and knocked on stateroom doors and Barb and Matt sprung into action. The increasing winds had us pinned and pounding against the dock. You would have thought the three of us had been working together for years. We untied and got away from the dock as if it was a calm day. Our next choice was to go out and anchor ( in 20 knot winds) or to just start motoring further. I puckered up my butt and made my way thru the maze of boats and rocks and bars that make up the cut from the marina to the Exuma sound. Its not bad in daylight but at 12;45 at night it sucked. Once in the deep water of Exuma Sound I set the speed at 8 knots. this would put us off of Cat island at sunrise. With the winds from the west, it was a calm and beautiful ride. Having Capt Barb on here sure made the difference. Especially when we had to take turns driving so we could all get a little sleep.
On day four the sun rise to the east was brilliant. We were right off of Columbus point, Cat island. We deployed our lures and only minutes later we had our first wahoo. The next 2 and a half hours were a scream. Our next fish was a big wahoo over one hundred pounds that Matt caught. Then it was Capt Barbs turn again. She caught another One hundred pound + wahoo. I think she weighs the same as the fish she caught. Then to our surprise we had a pod of whales begin jumping off to the side of the boat. It was all very exciting.We managed to lose another big wahoo to three very large sharks and lost a big Yellowfin tuna. But Barb to get one Tuna to the boat. The bite suddenly slowed so we fished our way to San Salvador. We picked up a few nice Dorado which completed the offshore slam of a Tuna, a dorado, and a Wahoo for Capt Barb. Congrats. By the time we tied up in San Salvador at riding rock marina, We were exhausted. We went up to the little restuarant at Riding rock and had an excellent dinner. It was good to see Pops, Michelle , Kevin and Miss Peaches. We gave a lions share of the fish to locals there on the island. Miss peaches reciprocated with a tray of her world famous Bahamian Mac and Cheese. The surge in the marina was not as bad as I have seen it but we did not sleep well. I awoke the next morning to find that the weather forecast had changed. We had planned to spend a day there and recharge. But there was another north swell coming and I needed to head south.
So on Day five we headed south. Our destination was Mayaguana. After running for a bit I saw that we would be passing close to the Plana Cays. We decided to fish for a while. We only got one Bull Dorado but it was a nice one. We rolled into Abrahams harbor at Mayaguana around 5:30 in the afternoon. Matt jumped in to see that the anchor was set well. He was amazed at the water clarity. We washed the boat and poured adult beverages for everyone. The sunset was spectacular and the meal of Yellowfin tuna sushi as an appetizer followed by Y-fin tuna steaks, wahoo steaks and Mac and Cheese was amazing. We all spent the evening playing with the sea life that was attracted to the underwater lights on the boat. Then I think we all got the best sleep of the trip.
On day six, I awakened to see the forecast had changed yet again. The winds were to be a bit more brisk. But with only 50 miles to The Turks and Caicos, I was not concerned. The big concern was what the forecast is for the next week is. The next cold front looks to be a bad one with 30 knot winds and 13 foot seas. After breakfast Matt and Capt Barb jumped in on a few coral heads and got us some more lobsters. By 10 am I decided we had better start trolling our way towards Provo, Turks and Caicos. We trolled for about 4 hours and only caught one big wahoo so we made our way to Blue Haven Marina. Upon arriving we ran into some old friends from the Singulars and the Tempo Reale. Its always cool to see old friends. Im was still worried about the impending weather so I got on line and saw that the weather forecast had not improved. I have my old friend Dr Kurt and My old mate Tyler flying in to the Turks on the 20th. But the winds at that time are to be 30 knots. So I made some calls and got them to move their reservation to Punta Cana Dominican Republic. This frees me up to take advantage of a small weather window that I have on Wednesday. Our plan is to leave out very early Wednesday morning and run the entire way to Samana, Dominican Republic. It will be a long day but If we don't catch this window, we could be stuck here for another week.