Traveling the Great Loop

Feb 28, 2024; North Bimini to Cub Cay; Today’s Run: 100 miles

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Currents and sea conditions constantly move the perimeters of the Banks, but using updated sea charts and keeping an eye for the shallows, we had no problems. The black shadow in the picture above is submerged coral.

The Bank is generally not more than 14ft/4m to 25ft/8m deep, but the perimeters of the shelf fall to over 2,500ft/760m. Swells hitting the submerged bank morph into waves, and that day, a southeast wind combined with 4-foot seas, struck our starboard quarter dousing the boat with spray creating a jarring ride; thankfully, we have comfortable navigation seats that absorbed most of the shock. But I got to the point when I wished nothing more than to have the passage over-with.

Our rough experience did not stop there. After putting down the anchor in Chub Cay, an area open to the southwest, swells continued to roll into the anchorage.

When the wind subsided, diminishing the swells, a current running between the Cays, caused even more roll.

That night, we both wore our clothes to bed in readiness for moving the boat if necessary. We each sought out a more comfortable resting area than what the master cabin offered where waves slapped continuously against the bow. But with each roll, the guest cabin creaked* like a pirate ship, and since we hadn’t made-up the seating area in the salon for sleeping, Mike’s legs hung over the end of the cushions by several inches.

*Several weeks later, Backcove Yachts solved the problem of the creaking guest cabin.