The Bahamas!

To bring you up to date…we are sitting in a downpour off Cat Island, barely able to see shore or the boats around us. Fortunately, we got a nice walk in this morning! (Reminder – click a photo to see better image)

We left Florida from Rodrigues Key, just off Key Largo, on Feb. 20. After talking to Carolyn Shearlock (of “The Boat Galley” website fame) one evening in Boot Key Harbour, we mentioned that we were heading back to Key Biscayne to meet friends for the Bahamas crossing. “Don’t go so far north!”, she recommended. “Start further south at Rodrigues Key and ride a bit of the Gulf Stream, instead of fighting it.” We were thrilled when Jeanne and Sheldon on Shank’s Mare agreed to head south from Miami to meet us, and so happy to see them again when we dropped the anchor at Rodrigues. At first light we headed toward the sunrise, anticipating that we would arrive in Bimini by late afternoon. We encountered some big side- rolling waves from the north as we got closer to the Gulf Stream – NOT a comfortable ride! But seas smoothed out as we began to ride the 2-3 knot current towards the northeast. Winds were light, but motor-sailing at 8 knots was fun! (our normal speed – motoring or sailing – is around 6 knots). As we got close to the island, the water became the most gorgeous colors of blue, but we focused on the entry channel, which was shallow and had a strong current. Upon entering the channel to North Bimini, the two marinas Jeanne had talked to informed us that there was no dock space, so we proceeded to the northernmost anchorage. Situated just past the big, fancy resort marina, and in front of the cement plant property, it was not the most scenic spot, but very quiet and protected, and we were anchored by 5 pm. We made it to the Bahamas!

In the morning we took the two-mile dinghy ride down the channel to officially check in. Fred and Sheldon went to do the honors while Jeanne and Lisa waited in the park where we tied the dinghy to a wall. Check in comes in two parts; the first is to work through customs to get passports stamped, declarations made, and listing of passengers. The second part is to actually get the three-month cruising permits, fishing licenses, and (in our case) get the cats approved. The first part takes place across from the park where Lisa and Jeanne were waiting. The second, about ½ mile down the road at a marina. Here’s a contest: guess which place we went to first?

As we had filed most documents on-line (and carried copies just in case), getting our passports stamped and locating the best places to eat went very professionally and smoothly.  Getting the permits – not so much.  Language issues with the German couple in front of us and the Bahamian clerks seemed to drag on forever.  Seems they bought a boat in the US but had no bill of sale or ownership documents, and she couldn’t remember the name of the boat.  Fred admired the clerk for his patience and sense of humor.  Following them and another 25 minutes and we were legally IN.  Fred just kept saying to himself “patience is rewarded” and “I’m collecting my reward at the bar as soon as we leave.” Or, as Lisa says, “Fred’s patience was tested; it is negative.”

We found a deck with lunch and a bar on the west side of the island at Radio Beach (2 blocks from the east side), where we were formally introduced to Bahamian Time. Drinks came quickly, and lunches came one at a time, in order. We were numbers 8-11. Good thing the beer was cold and the beach was gorgeous, because we admired it for over an hour before we ate. Next was a walk to the phone store to get Bahamian sim cards. Shel asked for directions and was told we needed a taxi – at over ½ mile, it was too far to walk. It was then that we noticed only the “cruising” folks were walking!  The streets were very narrow, and there were no sidewalks. But the little cars did beep at us and each other as they passed!

Our T-Mobile phone plan includes free data and texting in the Bahamas (but at sloooow speeds), so we got an Aliv Bahamian sim card for Fred’s phone, which allows unlimited data/streaming/text/phone calls to the States for a mere $140/month. And we have had good connections just about everywhere.

North Bimini is the most densely populated of the islands, and clearly divided. The local neighborhood on the south end has small homes and businesses, a school and churches, while the cruise ship docks and big resorts (and the Bimini Bay Mega Marina – more on megayachts later!) lie beyond the large “gate” on the north end. We thought the trade-off would be jobs for the locals, but were told that few locals were employed there. Lisa and Jeanne dinghied up the back canal to go to the beach, and even though most of the lots were undeveloped, they were stopped by a guard and not allowed ashore.

Near Radio Beach we visited The Dolphin House Museum. A work in progress since 1993, Ashley Saunders, local teacher and island historian, has built a house/museum from recycled materials to create a work of art. One bedroom is dedicated to Ernest Hemingway, complete with a few Petosky stones! He gave us a personalized tour, including up to the roof. Some day this may be an Air BnB – it would be neat to stay here!

We changed our quarantine flag to the Bahamas courtesy flag and left Bimini, headed 75 miles east to Great Harbor Cay, the largest island in the Berry chain.  Some choose to make this an overnight run, but with settled weather we went half way and spent a night on anchor on the Great Bahama Bank. Forty miles from anything, in 14 feet of water, we dropped the anchor. It was a little rolly as current went against the prevailing wind, but the stars were incredible!

Arriving on the west side of Great Harbour Cay, we anchored just off the government dock in a bay surrounded by mostly rock, and protected from the stronger east winds affecting the other side of the island. We explored the bay, seeing our first blue hole and a sunken old “drug runner” airplane that people like to dive around. At the dock we discovered Steve, making fresh conch salad. He demonstrated how to remove the mollusk from the conch shell, and showed us how he chops and mixes the ingredients for the salad. It was delicious, and a bit spicy with his “secret recipe” sauce. Unfortunately, Fred got sick later that evening, and we found out there is such a thing as conch poisoning, typically due to poor cleaning. Fortunately, it only lasted overnight, but apparently can last for days. Needless to say, he has been unenthusiastic about eating it again, and it is a delicacy on most islands!

With the wind switching to westerly, we moved to the other side of the island – seemingly an entirely different place! We anchored in a bay of gin-clear water ringed with an incredible white sand beach.  The Beach Club restaurant had good sandwiches and cold beer, and we were grateful for the sail shades, especially when a coconut fell and rolled off the shade onto the sand – instead of hitting one of us! We did a little shelling, dinghied up a creek to see manta rays and turtles, and swam off the beach. This is the Bahamas we had longed for!

Weather is usually the driving force of deciding where and when to move, and with a prediction of high winds coming, we moved past the rest of the Berries to Nassau. We had not planned on stopping in this busy city, but TC friends Liz and Peter on Manitou had recommended a marina at the east end, so we took a slip for a few days. Lisa and Jeanne walked out onto the street and were a little shocked at the cars flying by, just a few feet off the marina entrance! The pool was lovely, as was the modern grocery store and shopping across the street. We walked along the waterfront, and to the Queen’s Staircase, carved out of the limestone rock by slaves in 1793 as an escape route from the British fort on the hill above. Fred was delighted to find a real fish market nearby, and it was fun seeing the various offerings. We chose a lobster (these are spiney lobsters – no claws) and some cleaned grouper, with hopes of catching our own as we continued south.

With full ship stores and improving weather, we topped off our fuel and happily headed southeast to Highbourne Cay, our first island in the Exumas chain. More on that soon!

Fair winds – Fred and Lisa