US East Coast to the Caribbean - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 171

Nicky, unfazed by the bumpy ride
Soon we were thoroughly tired of our windward slog exacerbated by the cross swell: there
was too much motion to read, play games, or do anything much more than watch the hori-
zon. We consoled ourselves with respectable twenty-four hour runs of 132, 152, and 140
miles - and fantasized about the next two legs of our passage, which would theoretically
be easier downwind runs. The good news was, we were holding up well with our two-
handed watch schedule. Still, I felt a nagging uncertainty about my master plan: what if
the central Caribbean turned rough before we could get across?
Each night, the waning moon rose a little later, and each day, we shed another layer of
clothing, now down to shorts and T-shirts for good. With the wind peaking at thirty knots
at night, we reefed the mainsail and struck the genoa in favor of a smaller staysail that
flies on Namani's removable baby stay. Despite the decrease in canvas, Namani still
streamed along at six knots with a slightly more comfortable motion, an indication that we
had reefed at the right time. Waves continued to splash over the bow and port side, penet-
rating Namani's normally dry cockpit. Never had we had such a salty passage!
The ceaseless commotion made the sight of Mayaguana on our sixth morning out a wel-
come sight. In this area of the southeast Bahamas, depth contours squeeze together like
tight isobars on a messy weather chart. We didn't come into soundings until the very en-
trance to Abraham's Bay, a five-mile-long refuge strewn with coral heads. Proceeding