Here we are during our second night in Nassau. We walked downtown to a little local place that had very good food at a reasonable price. The architecture was your basic wood shack and the food was all fried but it was all chicken and fish. They didn’t have conch burgers tonight but I had the conch platter and Linda had the conch and lobster platter. Tomorrow we will get back on our diet. Everything was good and the beer was $4 compared to most other places charging $6.

Sitting in our cockpit the temperature has fallen to a very comfortable 78. Most of the other boats have on their air conditioners but I am enjoying the warm breeze. There is a disco on a boat that is going back and forth in the channel providing lots of music much like we had in Miami. I enjoy the entertainment. When we get to the outer islands I will enjoy the quiet and listening to the wind and water. Sunset from our patio.

After dinner we went for a walk around Fort Montague Park just a block or so from the marina. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our phones to take pictures but we’ll get back there. Fort Montague was built by the British to defend the east end of Nassau Harbor. There will be pictures. When we got back the sun was setting. This was the view off our bow looking to the west. Just another picture perfect sunset.

We spent a lot of time at Starbucks today trying to get caught up. I think we finally have our phones setup so we can stay in touch at a reasonable cost. Of course we spent probably an hour waiting to actually get onto the internet so we could accomplish our mission. There is a lot of criticism of the internet in the US and how it is better elsewhere. There may be some places where access is better but I’ve traveled a bit and access in the US is better.

We've met several folks here who just crossed over from the Keys and they seem surprised about crossing from Key West. While we were there we had not met anyone from Boca Chica that had ever crossed from there to Nassau. It was a very pleasant trip and as usual lots of sights. Not sure why it is so unusual except most people go as far as they can in a day. We enjoy longer sails with fewer stopping events. While it’s fun to anchor it takes time to find the appropriate anchorage and get settled down. But looking forward to short sails and peaceful anchors as we work our way down the Exumas. Also, when living aboard there is so much to secure and then reopen at each stop.

Doing a couple days at a time is easy. Time passes quickly and there’s nothing more peaceful than the sound of wind rushing over the sails or water under the hull. That gives us more time to explore.

Off the coast of the Florida Keys is a reef that runs from just below Biscayne Bay to the Dry Tortugas where the continental shelf falls off from 40-50 feet to hundreds and then thousands of feet deep. 

This reef is marked by screwpile lights that have endured storms over the years and still light to warn ships of the edge of deep water. Here is a picture of the American Shoal light off Big Pine Key that we passed by marking our exit from the safety of US waters and into the deep. It also marked the edge of the Gulf Stream where the current began to flow in our direction and ship traffic increased. We timed our departure so that we could make it off the reef in daylight because there are some shoals but our track took us clear of anything shallow.

Once off shore the sky illuminated with stars and constellations that no doubt fascinated ancient sailors. There is something eerie about sailing at night as if there is a great mystery hidden somewhere but there is a beauty to it as well. During the day the sun is comforting in that you can see your surroundings but at night you don't see where you are so much but you see from your spot on earth to light that was transmitted millions of years ago. Nothing puts life more into perspective than being an isolated point in a dark surrounding looking at infinity.

When the sun rose on Thursday morning at sea it presented an ominous depiction of potential challenges. A red sun rose from the sea on the other side of the earth from where it had sunk the night before and quickly hid behind a bank of thick black clouds. The rays of the sun illuminated rain in many places but mostly in the direction we were heading. But as morning turned into day the clouds moved on without giving us any rain and soon a bright sun illuminated the sea and the Bahama Bank we needed to cross.

More quickly than we went into deep water we came out of it.  When we left the Keys we went from 40 feet of water to 600 feet of water. When we left it we went from 2000+ feet of water to 20 feet in less than a mile.

I would have much preferred to sail all the way here but the chances of having the right wind to cross the gulf stream is unlikely so the best we hoped for is no wind and that’s what we got for the trip over here. Forecast is for east wind on Wednesday when we want to leave here and go south. The easterly trades usually blow into the Bahamas making north south sailing possible. It’s just getting here from the west that’s difficult. Now many cruisers are headed back to the US to make their way north. We’ll wait and enjoy the perfect time in the Bahamas. Winter in the Bahamas can be nasty like in Florida and summer is hot. We are coming to the perfect time of year here.  Warm water, declining crowds and friendly skies.

When we arrived at our marina, the Nassau Harbor Club we topped off with about 25 gals of fuel and got in our slip and waited for customs. The local authorities arrived in about an hour, came onboard and processed us into the Bahamas. Very easy and very friendly people. In addition ot filing out some forms for us there job was to welcome us to the Bahamas and hope we enjoy our stay.

Next update will be more about our visit here in Nassau. One of our dinghy engines is being repaired and not sure when we will be ready to leave.