20091216 Transit from Lucaya, Grand Bahama to Nassau, Bahamas

20091216 Transit from Lucaya, Grand Bahama to Nassau, Bahamas The plan was simple, leave early from Lucaya, anchor that evening in Phantom Cove, Little Stirrup Cay, then up early again for a second 50 miles to Nassau, Bahamas…We were ready, but things change. Up early at Port Lucaya Marina, we moved the boat to the fuel dock to top off the tank. I then went up to the dock master office to settle our account. Unfortunately, the only individual, who knows the computer system was scheduled to come in at 7:45 am. She arrived on “Island Time” at 8:15. We were now 1.5 hours behind and could not make our anchorage, so we changed marinas and decided to strike out on December 15th. With a pre-paid bill, we got up at 6:30 and left at 7am. Motoring out of the Bell Channel, we immediately encountered a heavy chop and the wind on our nose. Unable to sail to our intended anchorage at Little Stirrup Cay, we motored onward. After 3 hours, with an average speed of 3.5 knots, it was clear we had to again change plans. Our fallback position was to motor onward, bypassing Little Stirrup Cay, and continuing south to Nassau. This would entail another all-nighter, but put us a day ahead, and allow us to see the city. The seas were from 3-4 feet and confused in the morning. It was during this time that natured called for my morning constitutional. Cathy took the helm, but is just learning how to steer, compensating for the wind and waves. She did her best, but it is challenging for her. In order to stay in contact with the head, I was forced to take an unusual position. Right foot firmly wedged against the sink, with prehensal toes firmly gripping the top edge, ~ 3 feet off the floor. Similarly, left leg wedged into the door jamb, with a toe inserted in the latch for security. Both hands gripping tightly the latches under the top of the head. So perched, I noted the sun’s rays sweeping my outstretched legs, left to right then reversing, as the boat swung through a 60 degree arc along her path. This combined with a 2 foot drop from the swells. This was an interesting experience. The confused seas calmed to 1-2 feet swells from noon through the night into the next morning. The wind shifted along with our direction of travel, always on our nose. We motored on, with increasing speed as the seas fell quiet and night engulfed us. The darkness out at sea is a very special experience. As we moved slowly away from land, lights flickered and were doused by the horizon. At 3am, we were miles from any land. No lights were visible from any direction. There were no clouds in the sky. The Milky Way was brighter than I have ever seen. The usual heavenly constellations were painted with millions of distant twinkling background stars. Without land to block the view, the tinseled counterpane of stars on the blackest background extended from horizon to horizon on all points of the compass. This is a unique and moving experience. At the end of the night, we were traveling at 5.8 knots, but had to reduce speed to arrive after sunrise. The final injustice was a brief, but intense rain shower to wet me thoroughly before dawn. As the sun rose and the sky brightened, one cruise ship left the harbor entrance, then two more immediately filed through the channel. We fell in line behind the second cruise ship, only to discover it was Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas, the same ship that Cathy and I took on our honeymoon 16 years ago. We made our way up the harbor, under the two bridges that separate Nassau from Paradise Island, arriving at Nassau Yacht Haven Marina. We tied up to a face dock and had to wait for a slip to clear, then moved over and secured our lines for our stay. Tomorrow we will tour and visit the city. Jim & Cathy