Nassau, Bahamas

We are finally in the Bahamas!

We left No Name Harbor (just south of Miami) at daybreak on Thursday with a group of other boats.  The crossing was okay, although the wind was pretty much on the nose.  We were off Bimini by late afternoon and decided to head on to Chubb Cay. Crossing from the ocean to the Bahama banks is incredible.  The depth goes from thousands of feet to tens of feet in about a quarter of a mile.  When the depth sounder started working again at 499 feet I timed it on my watch.  Within 4 minutes at 5 knots we were in 30 feet of water. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible.  After months in the murky ICW we spend a lot of time just staring overboard at the novelty of see through water.

 The overnight run was one of the most enjoyable we have had - the 3/4 moon was bright enough that we had great visibility.  After the moon set the stars were incredible.  We even saw a few of the leftover meteors from the Geminid meteor shower.

Around 4:00 in the morning we realized that for a change we were making better time than expected and would get into Chubb too early so we spent an enjoyable four hours sailing. The sunrise was gorgeous.  Around 8:00 STAR called with an update on the weather and we decided to head on to Nassau.  When we made the decision we were happily sailing and did not want to waste a good sailing day sitting in a harbor.  About an hour later the wind was again exactly from the direction we were headed so it was a long, very slow slog.  Happily, we pulled into Nassau harbor in the late afternoon, at exactly the same time as STAR.  Unfortunately, the marina we were hoping to go to was full ($1.75 per foot), so we had to call the next one on our list. We ended up at Nassau Yacht Haven ($2.00 per foot). Pulling into tricky marinas is always a slightly tense moment. This time the tension was lightened by the cheerful greeting from the very small dog that was helping the dock hands.  Although it was a little more expensive at this marina we lucked out because the customs officer came to this marina first.  We were cleared through by 7:00 p.m.  The customs officer was heading to the other marina next and didn't expect to get done there until midnight.  The hot shower at the marina was wonderful.  The great thing about going 20 days without an indoor shower is the tremendous enjoyment of unlimited hot water in a room with a door! 

We are not sure where we are headed next but it will probably be one of the islands in the Exumas. Our decision will be based on wind, weather, and where other boats are headed.  Judging from all our other trips you may think we look to see where the wind is coming from and decide on a point directly into the wind but we really do use other criteria.  In our defense we are not the only ones with this problem.  I heard another cruiser say he doesn't really need to look at his compass.  If he knows the wind direction he knows his heading as it is always the same.

We are enjoying the warm weather and the clear waters and are very happy to be in the Bahamas.