20100109 Back in Lucaya Again – Tough Transit from Nassau

20100109 Back in Lucaya Again – Tough Transit from Nassau The weather forecast predicted calm winds and flat seas for our departure, and even with an overnight passage, good weather all the way to Grand Bahama Island, 111 miles away. The nasty weather front should be arriving in Grand Bahama on late Saturday night or Sunday morning. On Friday morning, we cast off early from Nassau Harbour Club, leaving the dock before 7am. With calm winds and seas, we were encouraged at the clear sunrise as we made our way past the sandbar guarding the marinas east of Potter’s Cay, under the two bridges connecting Nassau and Paradise Island, and toward the cruise ship terminal. To our surprise, no cruise ships were in their berths. The giant dredge, which guarded the west side of the entrance to the harbor, now had moved to the east side of the channel and several small boats were delivering workers to continue their work. We met 3 sailboats entering the channel as we departed, wishing them a great visit and safe travels. They responded that seas were calm, winds light and southeasterly. We tried to hail Nassau Harbor Control to request permission to leave, but received no response, so we proceeded around the dredge and out into the Northeast Providence Channel, northwest toward the Berry Islands. In reaching open water, a following wind developed and helped push our speed up to almost 6 knots as we motor- sailed onward. We have to be aggressive to make the passage as quickly as possible. The day went well, cloudless & sunny. Cat and I discussed the trip, things we were proud to have accomplished, and things we would change. We had a long list of the former and few of the latter. I am sure this is the first of many “post-mortem” discussions of our adventure. As we neared the Berry Islands, the chop increased and winds died. Two cruise ships, from Norweigen Cruise Lines (NCL) and Celebrity Cruise Lines were anchored at Little Stirrup Cay in the north Berry Islands. These uninhabited islands are used as private islands for tourists on the way to Nassau. A day at the beach is easy from anchor for these ships. They ferry their passengers the short distance from deep water anchorages to beautiful, deserted beaches. Passing Little Stirrup close to our port side, we emerged out into the Northwest Providence Channel and immediately received the “benefits” of both wind and swell on our nose, coming from the northwest. Unable to sail, we motored onward at 4.3 knots. Our ETA into Lucaya, which all day had been projected to 3am, now slowly progressed to 4:30am. When we programmed in our next port of call, West End Grand Bahama Island (25 miles east of Lucaya) the ETA changed to 1pm Saturday. We were tired and the weather was degrading, so we slugged on to Lucaya. We HATE weathermen and the people who love them. The bad stuff came in a day early. To make the passage “complete” it started to rain around 3am. We arrived at 4:30am, but were uncomfortable to enter the Bell Channel in darkness. Cathy, who steered valiantly both in daylight and after dark, took control to “pace” up and down parallel to the shore for 1.5 hours, while I rested and we waited for sunrise. At 6am, at idle speed, I set the course to the buoy at Bell channel. On approach, the buoy and channel markers came into view, sometimes obscured by the now driving rain. The GPS gave us a safe passage and we slowly motored into Lucaya Harbor, taking the right to the Grand Bahama Yacht Harbor and swinging around to the fuel dock. I had to hold my breath as we entered as the charts showed shoaling to a minimum depth of 6 feet in areas. We were entering and as I glanced back could see sand being kicked up by the keel and propeller as we passed. The dock master met us at the fuel dock, announcing that they were OUT of both gas and diesel, but he would help us into a slip. Returning from the office nearby, he gave us slip C414, gave us directions to that slip, then took off to meet us there. We docked with no problems, then connected shore power and tried the satellite TV connection…with success. Cathy and I were both exhausted from our 25 hour non-stop, rolling passage finishing in the cold rain. She did not want to sleep, preferring to mentally vegetate in front of the tube, watching Law and Order and NFL Football. After registering with the dock master in the office, I hit the sack for a 4 hour power nap. When Cat woke me at 2pm, I secured the slapping halyards and added stern spring lines to make us more stable in the slip during the upcoming storm. After lunch, we continued to rest, absorbing re-runs until football began. I plan a complete afternoon of weather analysis on the internet…can the wind blow from the north forever? We started our journey home 2 weeks ago today. We are STILL in the Bahamas! Cathy and Jim