Alice Town Bimini

We left Marathon for an overnight sail to Bimini. The conditions were not perfect and we were only able to sail about a quarter of it, but we knew that going in. Between the holidays and the upcoming forecast, we thought it best to leave when we did.

When we left Marathon, the navigation software plotted the shortest course, not the best course. And, best is subjective. Instead of staying on the course plotted close to shore, we decided to head out into the Gulf Stream and ride that up to Bimini. According to Windy, the current was running almost 2 knots and an extra 2 knots on a sailboat is huge.

The winds were east-northeast and we were starting to see some of the wind versus current waves. It was a bumpy ride that we could have avoided if we had stayed closer to shore and out of the Gulf Stream, but the extra push was too tempting.

Since this was a 24 hour trip, we decided to make fresh water to top off our tank. We’re pretty selective about where we make fresh water and try to avoid marinas, anchorages, and silty areas. The cleaner the water, the longer our pre-filters last. About 5 minutes into starting up the process, one of our pumps stopped pumping water. I had just changed the pre-filters while we were in Marathon and naturally assumed this issue was an air leak in the system. After about an hour of troubleshooting while Sue drove I determined the issue was with the low pressure pump.

It was decision time. Do we abort the crossing and head to Key Largo to troubleshoot, or do we press on knowing that I had a spare pump in inventory and could swap it out. When I say a spare pump, it’s not “THE” pump, but it’s “A” pump that will work, mostly.

I swapped out the pump and the water maker started working so we decided to press on. The issue with aborting the crossing was I had already completed all the boat paperwork with Bahamas customs online. If you miss your arrival date, you have to go through another process to re-schedule. Also, with the holidays and the weather forecast, I wasn’t sure when we’d finally make it across. I didn’t want to spend Christmas on anchor in Key Largo waiting for parts. Nor did I want to spend Christmas in Bimini, under quarantine and unable to go ashore while waiting for the Customs and Immigration offices to open. So, we pressed on.

The Florida Straits is a very busy waterway with commercial traffic and we were moving much slower than most, trying to cross it. Most busy routes have traffic separation zones but the straits do not. I suspect because of the width and depth, there really is no reason the keep ships separated, so for someone trying to cross, it was a free for all. It reminded me of Frogger, the old video game from the 80s where you’re a frog trying to cross a busy highway without getting run over. And, it was a night crossing.

We didn’t get run over and the closest we came was to a tug boat who was traveling an unusual route. It wasn’t crossing nor was it traveling like the rest of the traffic. AIS said it was heading to Puerto Rico. They actually altered course to avoid us. Not sure I’ve ever had commercial traffic do that before. That was the closest, but when you’re within 2 miles of the big mega cruise ships, it does feel like you’re about to get run over. And no, none of the cruise ships adjusted course to avoid us.

One of the issues that I’ve been troubleshooting since Peoria IL is EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) between the Garmin VHF Radio, Starlink, and now my handheld VHF radio. When using the Garmin remote handset in the cockpit to broadcast, and Starlink is on, my transmission is garbled. If I turn Starlink off, my transmission is fine. Use the handset inside the boat connected directly to the radio and the transmission is fine. It only occurs when using the remote handset with Starlink on.

To work around this I either use my hand held radio or turn off Starlink. The marina we’re staying at uses channel 68 for everything. I tried to hail them on 68 on the hand held but I was hearing nothing but crazy static. Mind you this is all happening while I’m hovering outside of the marina in a narrow channel. I had Sue turn off Starlink and I tried the big radio from the cockpit. Nothing. I had Sue turn Starlink back on so that we could call them on the phone… While all this was going on, I drifted out of the channel and ran aground. Doh! What I discovered is my EMI issue also includes the handheld on channel 68 while the Garmin radio is on. Starlink makes no difference.

I was able to unground myself using the bow thruster and horsepower. Now that I have my mandatory grounding out of the way, we can continue on.