Agenda

It is not a great idea to have a firm agenda when living on a sailboat in the Bahamas. Because so much depends on the weather we have to be flexible, as our friend Ray told us early on in our cruising life. Our main goal this fall was to get to the Bahamas. There were times when we thought even that was questionable. Now that we are here our one other goal is to get to Nassau and buy a more powerful outboard for our dinghy. After that we will go to the places we like when the wind allows. 

So our next stop is Nassau. We had thought we would leave here in the wee hours tomorrow morning and go to Great Harbour, anchor there one night, then go on to Nassau. We learned, though, that neither one of us sleeps very well when we know we have to get up in the wee hours. So George suggested we leave here sometime after daylight and sail overnight to Nassau, without stopping in Great Harbour. I think it is a good idea. We will probably end up getting about the same amount of sleep with his plan. 

Nassau is not one of our favorite places. We usually avoid it if we can. We have never taken Breeze On into the main harbor where the cruise ships go. But that is where we will be going when we arrive on there Thursday. We have the option of taking the shorter route—under two bridges with 69’ clearance, or the longer, shallow route. Cruisers talk about the large wakes kicked up by boats in the harbor. We would not want to have our boat bounce up on a wake just as we were going under the bridge. We haven’t decided which route we will take. 

We started our day today with another to-do list. I did two loads of laundry while George inflated the dinghy so it could be put in the water. Two loads of laundry may sound like a lot since I just did laundry a few days ago. This time, though, I washed our long sleeve shirts and long pants so they could be put away for the winter. That is always a good feeling. 

George also reattached a block (pulley) to the jib. It came loose the first night of our passage here. George called for me to come up into the cockpit at 3 am so he could go to the foredeck to reattach the jib sheet to the jib. We have a rule that if someone—meaning George—has to leave the cockpit, the other person—meaning me—has to come up into the cockpit. Just in case you are worried about our safety, we always wear our PFDs when alone in the cockpit. George is always tethered to the boat if he goes up to the foredeck, and we are tethered into the cockpit if we are alone in the cockpit. The only exception is when we have the full enclosure up. I do feel a bit like a dog on a leash when I am tethered in the cockpit but I sleep better when I know that George is tethered. 

After finishing most of the items on our to-do list we went for a refreshing swim in the pool. Then we walked over to the other side of the marina to buy two conch salads. If you have never had it—it is chopped, raw conch that is “cooked” in lime juice (like ceviche) and mixed with onion, green pepper and tomato. It is made to order so the conch is fresh. 

We used the spin halyard to raise the dinghy enough to pump it up. It had been partially deflated while on the foredeck. 

There was a large school of these fish swimming along on the edges of the marina. One of the locals said they aren’t usually here and he thinks they got trapped and can’t figure out how to get out. Later on we saw people catching them. 

The dinghy is now hanging from the arch. That is where it will live when we aren’t using it. 

One of the boats here for the fishing tournament. We are so grateful that most won’t be arriving until tomorrow, after we have left. We have heard that they like to play loud music.