May 23 and 24 - Great Sale Cay, Abacos, Bahamas to Ft Pierce, FL (120 miles)

Based on calculations for our distance to travel and desired arrival time at Ft Pierce inlet of 0800 May 24th (around slack high tide), we needed to depart Great Sale Cay around 1130 on May 23rd. So, we got to sleep-in and enjoy a leisurely morning.
In preparation for our overnight trip, I took the leftovers mentioned yesterday and added all of the ingredients for vegetable chicken / beef stew soup, then placed it in the refrigerator to cook later that evening.
At 1130, we weighed anchor and headed out for our first waypoint, Little Bahama Bank (approximately 55 miles) which is on the western edge of the Bahama Banks.  After that, we would head to Ft Pierce Inlet, a total of approximately 120 miles.

Sailboat anchored at Great Sale Cay

While still on the banks (which is only around 15 foot deep) and in calm waters, I decided to cook up the leftover stew.  That way we could get the evening meal out of the way in case it turned out to be rougher than expected during our crossing.

Hearty stew for the crew



Cockpit dinning



The stew was a hit and after eating, we settled in for a long night at sea

Sunset at sea

Darken ship - the red lights are to preserve night vision

 So, we set the watches and plowed on toward Ft Pierce. The trip across wasn't bad, but it did get a bit rough while crossing the Gulf Stream with short seas of 3 to 4 feet right on the port beam with winds of around 15 knots.  After a bumpy night, Ft Pierce comes into view

And by 0830 we are moored at the fuel dock, Harbor Town Marina, Ft Pierce, FL.  You can view the crossing on my SPOT tracking website here:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0SBESk9KhYAvOPh3fQ4ZKzLFPyoz0Lbi9
After taking on 33 gallons of diesel, we move over to a slip and start to relax...

Harbor Town Marina slip

...but not yet!  Val notices strange noises coming from one of my 8D AGM batteries (not a good thing). After inspecting it and making a few calls, we determine that it is defective (likely an internal short) and will have to be replaced.  Fortunately, there is a West Marine nearby and Val and Lisa have their car at the marina.  So, all that needed to be done was remove the old battery (which weighs around 180 lbs or so), get it off the boat, take it to the car, swap it out at West Marine as it is still under warranty (thank God, as a new one is around $800) then reverse the process. 

New battery - heavy, new battery.

Finally got the new battery installed and all is fine.  The plan is to relax for a day or so and depart on Monday, headed north.