It's all good....

Crossing the gulfstream at 7+ knots with a reefed main and genoa.

Approaching the Bahama Bank near sunset.

Serenity tied to the dock in Spanish Cay

Spanish Cay in the early morning.

After a day of uncertainty of what we will be doing regarding the boat's alternator and getting to somewhere safe and affordable, all (most of) the questions were answered this morning in a manner to my liking.

We are currently sitting at the northern end of the Sea of Abaco in an exclusive resort marina. Now, that itself doesn't seem so bad, but this is the kinda place where you can have your cruising budget eaten up pretty quickly. TowBoatUS is on the way here now and will be towing us to Great Guana Cay (my favorite) where I have just reserved a mooring ball for a month for a very affordable price. A mooring is a permanently installed anchor that has a float on top of it. You can sail into a mooring field and attach yourself to it and not worry about dragging an anchor when the wind pipes up. This arrangement allows for sleep at nights without worrying about waking up aground at the shoreline. It's the best of all worlds in that you're still your own 'island' in the water - not being tied to a dock, but you have security. This will allow for me to not worry about the boat while home for Christmas as well.

We will then arrange for alternator by ferry to Marsh Harbor. Marsh Harbor is a great place, but not as great as Guana, so I'm glad our base will be Guana. Also, there's no moorings in Marsh Harbor for rent, so when the wind hits 30 knots tomorrow night, I'll be sleeping like a baby instead of being on anchor watch.

Another good bit of news: To cross between the northern end of the Sea of Abaco and the southern end, you have to cross the Whale Cut passage. When the wind is strong North or Northeast, this is a treacherous passage - even being only a mile or so wide. Recently, a passage known as the 'Don't Rock' passage (it goes past Don't Rock) has deepened allowing for boaters with local knowledge to pass inside the lee of the Whale passage. Since we will be towed, the tow boat operator will be taking us through there - allowing us to get to Guana - which we otherwise would not be able to do in these weather conditions.

See - things are looking up.

I'll update after the big move.