Bahamas at last

Bonanza picked up a couple of new crew members in Florida before we headed out to the Bahamas. Jamie and Mel, from Brooks Alberta, figured a little sailing adventure was just what they needed. So, we loaded up the fridge and the bar, left the Old Port Cove Marina - finally - and anchored out at the entrance to the Lake Worth Inlet.
Just as advertised in the NOAA forcast the winds dropped to less than five knots and the sea conditions flattened right out. Leaving the inlet around 10pm we had the best conditions ever. Clear, calm, moonlit evening with smooth water stretching out ahead - the perfect night to head into the gulf stream and on to West End Bahamas. Unfortunately, our crew member Mel felt the effects of the boat motion and deisel fumes early on, so she went below and spent the evening there. All else went fine until about half way through the night. The wind decided to pick up and up and up and of course the seas followed suit. Jamie decided he had seen enough of the building wave and retreated below. Conditions deteriated from then on...winds steady at 20 -25 and seas building big and choppy. Bonanza, had no problem handling the goings on and continued plowing onwards steadily right into the Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End Grand Bahama Island. Sorry, no pictures of this part of the adventure. I needed both hands for most of the night. Luckily, we arrived in time to have a victory drink at the beach bar. A few hours later, a strong cold front arrived and we enjoyed being tucked into the safety of the marina.