Leaving Bahamas

After lots of discussion back and forth we are going to bite the bullet and leave the Bahamas heading south.

We spent today in Matthew Town, Great Inagua, the southern-most island in the Bahamas chain. We did some provisioning at the general store, then had lunch at Main House, the Morton Salt company town hotel, then went to customs to clear out of the country.

We also jerry jugged 25 gallons of diesel to top up our tank in prep for the next loooooong legs. The first leg will be 280 miles to the island of ile a vache, a French owned island off the southwest coast of Haiti.  We then go 80 miles upwind to the first port in Dominica Republic.

Speaking of wind, we have been extremely unimpressed with the wind forecasts.  The GRIBs (and Chris Parker) said winds down here would be northerly and then easterly. When we came into Great Inagua yesterday morning we bashed ourselves into 10-12 knots out of the southwest for the last 30 miles!  Today we were supposed to have all easterlies but we are now anchored on a lee shore with 12 out of the west! Sigh.

We just hope tomorrow and Friday turn out to be sailing days with the 15-20 knot winds out of the northeast we have been told to expect. We will see.