Crossing Back to Good 'ol U.S of A.

We pulled out of our slip at six-thirty a.m., just as the sky in the East was starting to glow.  It was plenty light enough to see.  We had our course set to head slightly WSW for awhile then turn WNW so we weren't fighting the gulf stream as much.

Knowing we'd be nursing our sick engine and travelling slowly (even more so than usual) we pulled out ahead of the other trawlers to get a head start.  We were surprised by the size of the waves.  Oh no!  This was not what we had bargained for.  We knew they were supposed to lay down in a few hours but it still was not a welcomed experience.  It would not have been the first time the weather forecasts were wrong. With our guts tied up in knots we made the decision to ride it out as we felt it was important to get that head start on the faster boats to ensure they were in radio contact with us for as much of the crossing as possible.

Then the sun brightened, the day turned warm, and everything finally laid down as predicted.  Ahhh.  Soon, we were enjoying an absolutely glorious day at sea.  How wonderful!  Pearl the Perkins Engine chugged away like a champ even though she wasn't feeling her best.

There is something so very awe-inspiring about gliding over long, soft, milky-blue swells - the motion of the ocean - as you bask in the sunshine on the bow of your own little boat, far out of sight of land.  We are so fortunate.

At one point I spotted a dolphin jumping in the distance,  Then another.  Then another!  We watched as an entire group of them approached and surrounded us, jumping in our wake and playing with the boat.  There must have been at least thirty or forty of them!  We've seen lots of dolphins in our travels but never a pod like this before.  Jeff tried to video tape some of it but to be honest, we were just too mind-blowningly excited living it to worry too much about filming.  How utterly magical!

OK, we admit, we borrowed this photo from the internet, but this is pretty much what it looked like.
Add to this that we could CLEARLY see the under water antics as they cavorted and frolicked about,
diving over each other, playing with the boat.
We tried to film some of it but we were way too busy freaking-out with delight to catch it on film.
We always consider ourselves lucky when dolphin comes to play with us.
Knowing that this is likely the last time we'll be out here on Gran Vida, it was a special gift.
Thanks Dolphins!!

Well into the afternoon buildings started to take shape in the distance.  The Bahamian flag came down and up went our yellow quarantine flag.  We entered Lake Worth inlet, dropped the hook in pretty much the exact spot we had lifted it from a couple of months before, and called in to the United States Customs and Border Control to report our arrival.  The crossing took nine and a half hours with an average speed of about six knots.  Slow and steady.

The next day we dinghied into the customs office as instructed and got our new cruising permit from an unbelievably rude officer.  Jeez, are basic manners not required by CBP officers?  He almost got a school-teacher scolding from me but Jeff eyed me down.

It was Jeff's birthday so we had lots to celebrate.  We grabbed lunch at the tiki bar, where they offered Jeff a free birthday shot, booked our haul out for later in the week, and started inching along our journey to Glades Boat Yard, our storage facility.

Happy birthday Jeffy!!