On May 17th we departed Great Harbour in the Berry Islands for Lake Worth, Florida, a straight line distance of approx. 130 nm. We were looking forward to getting back to the US sooner rather than later. But timing this passage was a matter of choosing the "least worse" weather window as we were confronted with the choice of tacking upwind in forecasted 10-15 kts the whole way (increasing the overall distance we had to cover) if we left that day versus motoring a straight-line distance if we left anytime after the 17th for the next week or so. In other words, we had one day of wind then forecast calm for many days.  

We prefer to sail upwind versus motor in no wind, so we decided to leave on the 17th and start tacking, knowing we could bail out and motor if needed as that was our other choice anyway. The forecast wind direction was from the SW to NW – an unusually broad forecast sector. This indicated the uncertainty in the wind forecast and if we were lucky, just maybe, the wind might favor the SW end of the range and give us a better wind angle for sailing. Even if it only got to WSW this would still be a bit upwind, but would minimize tacking. The direction to Lake Worth was WNW and we could possibly sail it in one tack.

Complicating matters was the fact that we needed to cross the Gulf Stream with its swift north-bound current, so we had to “aim” even further south, closer to the wind if it went SW. And there were still more intense squalls forecast, albeit limited to a bit north and east of us, then heading in an easterly direction (away from our path). Taking all of this into account, we departed Great Harbour around 8:00 am in light NW winds on port tack. The first tack took us more northeast than we cared for toward Grand Bahama and, after only a few miles, the wind direction clocked to even further N, so we made our first tack back towards the west with the light wind continuing to die further—perhaps it was too early in the day for the forecasted 10-15 knot winds.

Before long we decided to motor sail as the wind was less than 5 kts and we set a more direct course towards Lake Worth – specifically to a point south of our destination to account for the eventual Gulf Stream current. As is often the case, the dying wind speed was actually a prelude to a wind direction shift – it began backing to the west and maybe, just maybe, it would get to SW and then increase in speed as forecasted. For now we were motor sailing almost directly up wind but we were comfortable.

Through the middle of the day the wind did indeed keep backing to the WSW and increasing in speed. By 3:00 pm the wind speed increased to the point where we could shut down the engine. WSW at 8-12. Boat speed in the still flat seas was a comfortable 6+ kts. We could make one long tack to Lake Worth, account for the Stream, avoid the squalls to the north, and arrive in daylight around 8:00 the next morning. Maybe even catch a fish! Life was good…

Then it got a bit too “good”. Over the next few hours wind speed continued to increase to 20+ kts. We were now sailing way too fast and we sheeted out the sails, expecting the wind to lessen after dark and allow us to slow down. But for now our ETA to Lake Worth was around 2:00 am. We didn't want to get back THAT soon as we didn’t especially want to enter the inlet in the dark.

By dusk we could see lightning flashes from the squalls north of us and there was no sign the wind would decrease anytime soon – in fact we were seeing gusts into the low 30s—a wind speed that had been forecasted within the squalls but not for general area weather. We had no choice but to shorten sail and we reefed the mainsail around 6:00 pm. Not long after that we reefed the genoa. At sunset the wind was still building and we reefed the mainsail again. Before it got dark we fully furled the genoa and were sailing on just the main at the second reef and were still going 8+ kts. Our ETA to Lake Worth Inlet lengthened a bit to 5:00 am. By now the seas had caught up to the wind and it was very rough, salty, and miserable. At least we were spared the squalls which stayed north and moved to the east – but they were close enough that we could hear the thunder and see the flashes of lighting as we continued to head northwest.

Around 10:00 pm the wind started abating and clocking back toward the north – apparently all in conjunction with the passing squalls. This slowed us down a lot. By midnight we were motoring again with the wind far forward, but the seas were still very lumpy and it was still miserable. ETA was back to 8:00 am. Ultimately, the wind was on the nose. The crossing of the Gulf Stream was uneventful and we estimated the north drift accurately. We arrived near the coast at sunrise and entered Lake Worth Inlet at 7:30 am on the 18th. By 8:00 we were anchored in the same spot as last year’s visit just off the east shore of Lake Worth with a nice view of fancy Palm Beach homes. It was a serene finish to a boisterous passage. We cleared US customs via phone but had to get to the West Palm Beach airport within 24 hours to clear immigration. Time for a nap….

Our good friend Larry (who had visited us in Sint Maarten for the race) lives nearby and offered to take us to the airport later in the day. After completing the immigration chore we took Larry and girlfriend Lynn to dinner.   It had been a long day and a half, but life was good again.

Habitually keeping an eye on the mainsail halyard, Dave noticed still more chafe aloft after the rough passage from the Berrys. This chafe was in the same general location on the spare halyard but now installed on the starboard side of the masthead crane. On May 19th Dave went up the mast three times to repair the halyard and also to repair the steaming light that didn’t work on the passage. A sharp edge that caused the chafe was discovered and filed down. Previously, this edge was not an issue as the halyard didn’t contact it when installed on the “normal” port side. After smoothing the edge, Dave needed only to cut off a couple of feet of the halyard which included the chafed portion then retie the crane end. The steaming light was an easy fix.

The weather in Lake Worth was calm but hot and humid in the following days as we awaited arrival of friends Paul and Carter to assist us on our passage to the Chesapeake Bay. Their earliest arrival was May 25th which turned out almost exactly to coincide with the arrival of a good weather window for a non-stop passage to Virginia. In the meantime we enjoyed spending time with Larry and Lynn and took them sailing out into the Gulf Stream on Sunday the 22nd. We had a beautiful day and a good sail but caught no fish. We’re hoping Paul and Carter bring some fishing mojo with them.