Livin’
Large in the Bahamas: March 13 2015
Down
the New River we went with a little bit of current in our face to help with bridge
openings. Luckily, a mega-yacht was
being towed at the same time right in front of us – nice to have a mule. Mega
yachts do not even attempt to navigate the narrow river and tight
turns. Instead, they have a tow boat in front and behind.
It is a tricky operation. The tow drivers called and
quickly received bridge
openings and we happily rode on their coat tails.
The crossing to Bimini was positively benign as we went over the Gulf
Stream (Mar 6). However, no swimming off
the boat because we saw dozens of man o’ war jellyfish floating on the water’s
surface with stinging tentacles dangling below.
But
no time to rest on our laurels because guests were coming and we needed to get
south. We were checked into the Bahamas
with our boat cruising permit, our stamped passports and a fishing permit. So long Bimini Blue Water Marina – wish we
could stay longer (Mar 7). It looked
like we could squeak south with overnight driving during a short weather
window. Drat! Strong winds dipped further south than
expected and we got our butts kicked.
But there is no stopping - past Chub Cay, through the tongue of the ocean and into Nassau was a very uncomfortable
ride (Mar 8). Things fell from
everywhere…including potatoes, onions and garlic off the sink and rolling
around on the floor. No need to pick
them up – once fallen, they cannot fall again.
We
were emotionally exhausted as the sun rose.
New creeks and groans kept us anxious and on edge throughout the black
night…it’s all a learning process with a new vessel. We poked our heads beyond Nassau and onto the
Yellow Banks. All
looked good so we
continued to Shroud Cay after dancing between the coral head bommies
(Mar 8). It was a long day and night but it felt fantastic to
have the hook down and nicely buried in the Bahamian sand. The day came to an end and we anchored in ten feet of water so clear that we could
see the ripples in the sand below. We
jumped into the water and exuberantly splashed around at our current
location. Yippee! Lots of miles under the keel with just a few
more to go.
The
next day we kept moving in order to get as far south as possible.
Our friends were coming into George Town but the winds would not
let us get any further than Staniel Cay.
