Final preparations in the morning, a quick trip up the mast - what a view and then as sorry as we were to leave - farewells to friends anew - we departed on high tide (mid-day) and made tracks across the Grand Bahama Bank toward North Rock (northern Bimini) and thence to cross the Straits of Florida / the Gulf Stream. As the evening drew in, the sea colour changed from light to dark blue and the few clouds from milky white to darker shades. The wind freshened overnight to 20 knots as we passed North Rock and left the Grand Bahama bank for this trip. Quickly involved in passing and avoiding ships to/from the U.S., Europe and beyond, the night, lit by a half-moon past by relatively quickly - the stars and planets becoming brighter as the moon set at 1:30 a.m. Setting a 20 degree angle to our desired course in order to move with the Gulf Stream as it flowed northward and into the depths of the night

Phil and Di