Fun and work in Nassau

Today is Saturday after coming into Nassau on Wednesday. Tomorrow Sunday we plan to leave and head down island as they say to the Exumas. We had initially thought we would leave Friday or Saturday but we had lot of things going on and time slipped away. But, there is no hurry for us to get anywhere. Best reason to leave tomorrow is that the wind should be favorable to go down to the islands. Hopefully it will be warmer. We wanted to get here to enjoy warmer weather and water but since the cold front came through just behind us it has been anything but. We also want to leave the marina to reduce cost but we need to be on anchor.

We’ve been busy since we got here. We arrived early Wednesday afternoon and we got fuel and into our slip. We checked into the marina and had to wait for customs and immigration who came late because the woman in the marina forgot to call them.  But we used the time to do an initial washing off of the boat to get some of the salt off from the trip and cleaning inside the boat. With all the water and spray we took on the boat the salt didn’t all come off with the first rinse. The weather forecast was for the cold front to come through with possible rain in advance so I thought I would wait until after the rain to finish washing the boat. Of course by doing that it was assured we would get no rain and of course it didn’t rain.

Some anchored boats that were a bot too close to shore.

When we arrived at the marina some friends for Annapolis were here. They had come over more than a week earlier and were still here. It was very nice having some friendly faces greet us along with the smiling Bahamians who are always happy to see new folks arrive. Our friend Wendy Kravit who was here with her friend Voy a former Annapolitan has an IP 420 just like ours. In fact she bought her boat about the time we bought ours and we compared shopping notes and she did many of the same upgrades we did so we compared notes throughout the process. During our time here we spent a good deal of time together discussing boat stuff.

Some salvaged artifacts that were recovered near Nassau in water storage waiting for restoration

The approach to the marina is a bit tricky. Through the middle of the east end of the harbor runs a shoal and we came in at low tide. At mean low water most of it is less than 5 feet and it was near a full moon low tide which meant it was really low. Coming through the harbor we were going against wind and tide so I was using full cruising speed but not getting as far as I should. When I came to a break in the shoal that is right in front of the fuel dock we were heading to I had to turn quickly toward it but still at full power to keep from getting swept onto the shoal by the wind and current. So when we got into the fuel dock I turned to come up right alongside running very fast. So in my Captain Ron moment I turned into the wind and current at nearly full speed and then put the engine in reverse and stopped exactly where the dock master wanted. The moment was not lost on one of the dockhands as he commented to our friends that they should call me Captain Ron.   

Our mission here in port was to enjoy being here but we had the usual cleaning and maintenance items to do. We also had to cleanup several spots where we took in water so we will have to determine where it came in and then fix it. That will not be easy but something we need to do when conditions permit. The deck needed cleaning not only to remove the salt but from stains that developed probably from the excessive water on deck. 

During our passage we encountered some very big waves that rearranged things in the cabin that weren’t sufficiently secured. Usually we secure everything but we found that not to be enough. During one encounter the seatbacks from one of the settees flew off and much of the provisions behind them went on the floor. First time that has ever happened. We picked them up while crossing the Banks where it was calm but at some point I will need to put eyebolts into the seat frame and use bungee cords to hold the seatbacks in place to prevent a recurrence. I probably should have done it here but we shouldn’t have to worry about it until we leave to head back to the US. There is a really good hardware store on Man O War Cay in the Abacos that we will visit just before we leave.  

Along with cleaning we had shopping to do for local beer and rum. We were greatly disappointed that our favorite liquor store did not have any Havana Club 7 YO rum and no likelihood of getting any. So shopping took a fair amount of time as we had to walk to several different stores. We also bought a spear and sling to try to get lobster since the season runs until 1 April. Hopefully we can find some.

We also visited our favorite Starbucks to communicate with the world. Since we got a Bahamas Telephone (Batelco) we hoped to use it for data but have not been able to get our Wirie to recognize our Sim card. So we are looking for alternate ways to communicate once out of Nassau.

Hard to believe we’ve been here 3 days but we’ve been busy. Besides working and shopping we’ve spent time socializing with our friends. Thursday night we all dinghied over to the Atlantis Marina on Paradise Island and walked around the aquarium and shark ponds. What a treat! 

We were able to get out to our favorite local restaurants to enjoy local conch and lobster. Today we went to McKenzie’s for lunch which is a little local place on Potter’s Cay but it has now become a tourist place. It was packed with cruise ship people who were guided there by taxi drivers and Trip Advisor. So much for a secret.

This evening we had a happy hour with some new friends who came in yesterday with an IP 40 Dream Catcher. Dean and Kim are from Idaho on their way to Puerto Rico where they are going to drop the boat for the offseason when they go back to Idaho.   

Tomorrow off to the islands to enjoy some beautiful water and beaches. With any luck it will even be a great sail. Next blog whenever we get connected again.