We Made It!

We passed this big freighter as we were going out the cut.

I know you’ve been waiting to hear that we made the crossing safely. We awoke early on Friday at the marina in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and passed out to the ocean through the cut at Port Everglades and headed toward the rising sun. It was projected to be 2 to 4 foot seas dying down to 1 to 2 foot in the afternoon.

Since the weather window closes again on Monday, Capt. Bob’s plan was to make it to Nassau by Sunday night and be safely tucked into a marina through the next bad weather period. So, instead of going to Bimini and checking in there, we went to Gun Cay and then another two hours out onto the Bahamas Bank. You may remember from last year, that this is basically a limestone table around the edge of the tongue of the ocean with very shallow waters, usually between 10 and 18 feet deep.

It was a pretty rough crossing on Friday. I had secured the boat as best I could, but I had not made our lunch ahead of time and had to open the refrigerator for lunch meat and mustard. Well, you may remember the fiasco we had last year when the frig opened on its own when we were in rough water and poured out its contents onto the floor. Well, it happened again, only this time - after I opened it. Many items were just waiting to fall our when the door was opened. I think next time we know that it is likely to happen, we will try putting some duck tape inside the door to try and hold things to the shelf they are on. At least this time it was not the sour cream that opened and spread everywhere, leaving an odor for a few weeks as it hid in places I could not find nor reach. It was just a container of brown rice which was much easier to clean up.

When we anchored, we realized how sore we were from having to brace ourselves and hold on as we walked around the boat during the day. At least by night, the waters calmed and by the time we reached the bank, it was quite tolerable. Yes, it would have been better to wait till Saturday to cross, but we would probably not have reached Nassau, leaving us to find suitable anchorage where we might have to be for a week. Been there, done that – much more fun to be in Nassau where I can shop at the Straw Market and the shops at Atlantis and the Captain can fill up any remaining spaces in the boat with rum.

We anchored for the night out on the bank by our lonely selves – just us, water ad stars. I know you would love to know what that feels like, so I tried out my new cameras movie feature, I'll add that when I get to a fast Internet connection. We then took our bottle of Champagne (that I remembered to get on our last shopping trip), so we could carry on the tradition of toasting ourselves on the successful crossing. We went out on the top deck and popped the cork out into the water. Then sat back and rested our feet on the dinghy and had our Champagne.


Video I took of the Bahamas Bank - feel the peace

We woke Saturday to very calm waters and an eerie grey /aqua sky that seemed to flow into the water of the bank. You had to look hard to see the separation between sky and water. I’ve only seem that one other time and that was just outside the Little Wicomico River jetty right after Hurricane Isabel had passed through. It leaves you with this strange feeling. It remained mostly cloudy all day, but I’ll take the calmness anytime.

Saturday night we made it to Chub Cay where we anchored for the night and proceeded to Nassau Sunday morning. We arrived with no problems and waited for Customs and Immigration to arrive and check us in. We had some trouble finding a marina that would give us a slip with electricity. We ended up with a slip at the TPA Marina which appears to be a family owned marina where most all the boats are owned by the family that owns Kalik Beer. We are right next to a mega yacht called the Maritana X. Huge mega yacht purchased with "beer" money. It does provide nice shade in the afternoon. lol


View of "Maritana X" from the Pilot House


View of bridges crossing the Nassau Harbor from Pilot House

Monday we took a bus downtown so I could visit the Straw Market and make some purse purchases and Bob could buy some Rum. Tomorrow, we plan to visit the Bicardi Distillery here. It is in the process of closing and making all their rum out of the plant in Puerto Rico. If you know of a developer that would like about 80 acres of prime land here in Nassau, let them know it is available!


Downtown Nassau - it was this loud. Here the mixture of music, including the Christmas music among the rest.

Bahamian Traffic Guard

Friday is Junkanoo, a huge parade and party on the island. I'm not sure if we will stay for it, or if we will scoot out of here if the weather is clear or not yet. Sunday night, the band that plays in the parade practiced down on Potter's Cay, a wharf right near us. They practiced their drum beats till after midnight. You could actually "feel" the beat in the boat.