Clearing Customs, or Not

The daylight can still bring some darkness. This Captain and The Kid were worn to fatigue from the all night crossing of the Gulf Stream. We tied off and prepared to clear customs in Bimini.

Douglas from customs approached our sloop with a warm greetings and welcome to the Bahamas. Douglas was very helpful. He checked our lines to be certain we were secure.

"Some come from all night and don' tie so well." He explained.

Douglas assured us we could rest and he would do the leg work for us to clear. He very thoughtfully reminded this Captain to hoist our yellow quarantine flag and that only the captain would be allowed ashore until the boat is cleared. He collected a $15 per person fee to begin our paperwork. He said that this would get all the necessary clearing work done and ready for me when I could make it to the customs office.

"I thought the $15 was for each person over four people?" The Kid inquired.

"It is. Dis jus' be gettin' de entry fees goin'."

Douglas was very courteous and somewhat apologetic for the confusion about fees. Fees are always changing. It is good to check ahead so you know what flags you need, how much clearing and cruising permits are, and any regulations or documentation changes or requirements.

We were very tired. The crossing and the near miss encounter drained us. It was day now. The light of day, however does not always enlighten the weary to be wary. More than an hour went by and Douglas had not returned. I went ashore to the customs office to look for him and to see if there had been a problem with clearing us. What I found is that Douglas did not exist.

"We have no Douglas working here." I was informed.

"What about the 30 bucks we gave him?"

"There is no Douglas. There is no 30 dollars." Replied the uniformed customs officer.

I gave a description of Douglas to the officer. He very slightly smiled for what I took as he knew Douglas' true identity. I also took it as we were out $30. I completed the clearing of our sloop and got back on board so we could get out into the bay, anchor and get some needed sleep. We were here to enjoy the island. It is a small island. We will, eventually, encounter Douglas.

"You won't get the 30 back, ya know."

"I know, but for 30 bucks he owes us something. That I will get."

"You'll never see the guy."

"It's a small place. I'll ask around by his M.O. Someone will know."

I took down the yellow flag and hoisted the Bahamian courtesy flag (cruising pennant). We were here to getaway. Escapes are made up of varied and interesting elements and encounters. Maybe Douglas had earned his 30 bucks after all.

The Captain and The Kid

http://hubpages.com/hub/Ish-Meal-at-Sea

The Land Drifting North--Part 3

The sky and the sea at night are lost to a darkness unlike the darkness of land. When it is very dark the horizon becomes very close and moves ahead of you differently than the daytime horizon.

The Captain and The Kid had been watching what seemed like land drifting northward. With The Kid's keen eyesight, we determined that the land was at least two large ships moving north and possibly intersecting our course eastward. The speed of the two and the distance between them gave me the idea to split the two and pass between the vessels. As we were adjusting sail and increasing horsepower to motor sail our passage The Kid caught something white flash in the black space where we would make our way.

"I saw it too. What is that?"

We knew it could not be rocks because the first vessel passed right over that course. We had now both seen some flash of white or reflection like breakwater.

The odd stories about the Bermuda Triangle are not stories this Captain pays much heed to. We have had odd occurrences while sailing these waters, but odd will often come with being on the ocean. The ocean is different travel than land travel. Every moment can be its own escape with its own adventure. Getting away by sea gets you away to an escape from the moment you cast off, or haul anchor, if not before. The water beneath you is always moving, thus it has been somewhere and is going to other places. On the water you become like the water in how and why you move about. It is not just about a destination, each moment becomes its own unique destination, especially when you watch the water color change, or feel its thickness, and visit with its inhabitants. The sea is about romance and passion and escape.

We luffed the main and throttled down instinctively while staring into the black space before us between the two large vessels. Our radio crackled a voice we could not understand, then static, so we turned it down. We need to watch and maneuver without distraction or error for what may be dead ahead.

"There!" The Kid hollered above the deafening of the silent darkness.

I brought our sloop hard-a-port and then again. The blackness was not space. The blackness was part of the vessel. We had not been watching two very large ships. This was one! We do not know its length or the type of vessel. It was like a container ship and barge in one. Either end was tall like freighters, but in between was quite low and all dark like a barge. We knew if The Kid had not seen that something we would have hit and been damaged or sunk. A faster boat making the same mistake would have collided for sure. There are stories about fishing vessels hitting freighters and barges at night with fatal consequences.

As the large vessel crawled by us there was no noticeable life, nor any acknowledgment it saw us. It just kept steaming north. We floated for a few minutes. Our Perkins diesel was idling, but our hearts were up around 5500 rpm.

"That was so close." The Kid whispered with a hissing on the s of close, not meant to be heard, but just to express, letting pressure out.

I inhaled deeply, not remembering if I had been breathing, but knowing I was empty and all my muscles were hard with tension.

When you getaway to escape, it is always crucial to keep what's real nearby in case you need it in an emergency. It would not take long for us to recover, to continue our getaway to the Bahamas and to escape among the islands and the people. At landfall, night or morn, we would break out the sundowners and lay back on board to recall our safe passage through the lower quadrant of the Bermuda Triangle.

Oh, yes, after the ship went by our radio and GPS came back. Our friend astern caught up to us in port.

The Captain and The Kid

http://hubpages.com/hub/Boat-Problems-in-Sarasota

Why is That Land Drifting North

Nighttime at sea is dark in so very many ways. The Captain and The Kid had caught the Gulf Stream low. This is the better way to cross to the Bahama Banks when under sail, or even while motor-sailing. You catch the Stream and ride it north until your exit. We decided to get off in Bimini.

"What happened to the sun?" The Kid asked.

"Not sure. Last time I saw it, it was heading west."

So, there we were, in the dark, on the ocean. No problem. GPS is working fine. Next stop Bimini. We were in some contact with a cruiser out from sight behind us. They were beginning their crossing from Marathon, and we had chosen Key Largo. Marathon can be better in that you can run more east and south before the turn north. From Key Largo, you head more south at first depending on horsepower and how much you are sailing vs motoring and where you plan to clear customs.

We took a call on the radio. By location and direction we were sure it was for us.

"Sailing vessel. Are you crossing to the Bahamas?"

"We are." The Kid handled the response.

"We see your light now and then just at the horizon. Good to have this company as we cross."

"We don't see you," The Kid replied, "but good to have you with us. We will watch for you."

In the dark a light is good to see, even if it is distant. We could not see our traveling friend. As it turned out, their sloop was smaller and the mast shorter than ours. The night got darker as we began to turn more north. Stars flickered as they darted in and out of clouds. The water was black. At night it looks thicker.

"Is that land?" The Kid pointed to the east.

It did not seem possible we could be seeing land already. But there was a row of lights in the distance that appeared to be land. Then there was a dark section and another row of lights. It seemed that we were too far south for Andros and too far west to see other islands. As I tried to peer through the darkness, I also tried to keep my mind in focus. At night your mind can be tricked. Add to it that The Captain has a mind that drifts some day and night and enjoys the tricks our eyes play with us. Something was becoming clear. This land mass was moving north.

"Is that land moving?" I asked The Kid to be sure it wasn't me drifting.

The Kid confirmed what we were seeing was moving north. This was an awkward feeling. At sea, movement is something you need to get used to. There are times when you think you are moving and you are not. Other things around you are. Then, there are times when other things are still and you are moving and did not realize it. This kind of perception is what can add to the whole idea about escaping that the sea can provide. You can always be on the move, going other places even when in reality, you are standing still.

As this Captain and The Kid watched the floating land drift north, we wondered about the stories we had read about the Bermuda Triangle. Yes, we were in the more southern part of it, but stories about floating land are ones we had not read.

The darkness grew more dark as the clouds thickened. Light from the stars would have been helpful to try to make out where this floating land was heading and if we were going to intersect with it.

"What's going on out there." Our night friend radioed.

Soon it would be clear what we were seeing that night on the Gulf Stream.
Next time more about the Land drifting north.

The Captain and The Kid
also see: http://hubpages.com/hub/Defragging-a-Good-Heart