Crossing to Florida

Since we stretched the time with our friends on Helia to the last possible moment, we face a final overnight passage to Gun Cay. My shift is uneventful with great stars, but Tom has a much more exciting watch as Liberator, two tankers and powerboat vie for space in the narrow channel of the Grand Banks. By early afternoon we sight Gun Cay. The day brings a livelier sea than we expected, so we find a refuge in a tiny protected bay. It’s Saturday and the anchorage fills with day boaters from Miami blaring either Latin or Country music. It’s back to “civilization” from here on out.

After lunch, Tom and JT snorkel vainly searching for sea biscuits. When they venture ashore, a kind woman shares some sardines with him so he can feed the rays. Later, we take our last can of sardines so Zoe and JT can try. These rays have grown accustomed to being fed and stay nearby in hopes of a handout. These southern rays are either gunmetal gray or a soft black with skin that feels like a cat’s tongue. They haven’t any teeth so they suck the food from the flat palm of a hand. JT captures it perfectly when he says it feels like the suction of a vacuum cleaner. Zoe is reluctant at first then befriends a tiny ray who comes back repeatedly to feed from her hand. While feeding the rays and beach combing I find an elusive cone shell. How lucky! I only had one and needed a second to complete my collections for the kids.

In the evening just after sunset Tom spies a spotted eagle ray cruising around the anchorage. They are such unique sea creatures and we are excited to have seen one on our last night in the Bahamas. The next morning, just after daybreak, we set sail for Miami. We are crossing the Gulf Stream which turns out to be strong enough that at times we seem to be staying in place. An hour into our trip we hear a distress signal and the Coast Guard follows it with a Pan-pan announcement asking for boaters to call in with information on when and where they heard the signal, so they can triangulate to narrow the problem. We comply and continue listening. Later a boat calls to report an overturned “homemade” sailboat. No one is visible in the water. The scarcity of information leaves us all wondering whether this was the boat reporting distress.

We finally make it to Biscayne Bay around 4 and shortly thereafter our friend Cristian comes by with his family and dog Luna on their boat. It’s a Sunday so there are some 60 to 100 boats in the harbor. It’s fun to have other kids on the boat again and they enjoy playing with each other while we catch up with Cristian and Paige. It has been an unusual day, but it has passed smoothly. At the back of our minds is the thought of the capsized boat and the distress call. For us though, we are home, safe at last.