Uneventful is what we hope for in a crossing and today proved to be just that. 

Our crossing began at dawn as we completed the last-minute preparations needed to “rig for sea.” We securely tied or stowed everything on deck and did a final inspection of the rig. We hauled the dinghy out of the water and double-strapped it to the davits at the back of Dagny. Peter checked the headsail to make sure it would unfurl when ready, and he brought the sheets (lines used to control the sail) back to the cockpit. I prepared the mainsail by removing the cover, attaching the halyard, and loosening the jack lines (the lines that keep it neat and tidy on the boom). I checked that the sail was reefed so we are not overpowered in windy conditions.

This morning’s preparations felt leisurely as we waited for the 9am high tide to safely make our exit through the shallow entrance of Norman’s Pond. I even had time to bake the cinnamon rolls that had risen overnight: a luxury on a passage-making day! 

At 8:45, with the departure checklist complete, we began the process of lifting the anchor. Peter pulls up the chain as I drive the boat forward making his job a little easier. With our anchor buried deep from the recent high winds, we had quite the series of pulling and motoring until the anchor broke loose.  Peter then took the helm, and I stood on the bow looking for rocks and shallow water to avoid. Although we managed to touch bottom and stir up some sand, we made it safely out of the pond.

Soon we were able to hoist both sails and kill the engine to enjoy the morning sailing into deep water: over 5000’ deep in spots. The rest of the day was spent tweaking our heading and sails, reading, napping, and just enjoying the thrill of being at sea with no land in sight. 

“Land Ho!” occurred at 1:20 and by 6pm we were anchored securely in Rock Sound Harbour, Eleuthera. Soon after setting our anchor, we reunited with friends we had met about a month ago, and we enjoyed the sunset on their beautiful catamaran! A perfect ending to a happily uneventful crossing!