Our overnight run from Bimini to Highborne Cay was a success, we actually enjoyed the alternative to what was previously a three-day slog with not much in the way of great destinations in between. We previously traveled south from Bimini and started out from Cat Cay at daybreak, making stop #1 at Chub Cay or Frazer Hog Cay, then day two to Nassau, and day 3 to one of the northern cays of the Exumas. Chub Cay has become prohibitively expensive for a stay in a very nice marina but is otherwise unremarkable; we’ve been to Nassau, not one of our favorites, also a costly stopover, so the overnight was a great way to maximize our short weather window from Bimini and make a dash for the Exumas. We traveled with 3 other boats, and we’ve all agreed it’s a good option. One down side is that the transit through the Northwest Channel is in the dark, so we miss a good fishing opportunity. The Channel was exceptionally busy for late at night, but many cruisers were taking advantage of the same weather window in both directions, so we had lots of radio chatter to pass the time! 25 hours total, we averaged a bit faster cruise speed than normal, keeping up with two 48 footers who typically cruise at about 7.5 kt to our 6.4, so a compromise was struck. The higher fuel burn’s just not worth the hour or two cut off the cruise, really! But our run was really quite enjoyable, we enjoyed much better conditions than were predicted.
We arrived at Highborne Cay around 1030, and spent the day enjoying the scenery and the beautiful beach. Winds kicked back up the following day, but we were well protected from the E-NE winds. Two of the boats in the pack continued south to Warderick Wells, we anchored with Celebrate to catch our breath from the overnight.
