From Nassau Bahamas New Years day!

Hello from Nassau, Bahamas!

We've had a great couple of weeks as we progressed across the Gulf Stream into the Bahamas for our first foreign entry.

After visiting our boat broker friend at Jewfish Creek, in the upper Florida Keys for a couple of days, we returned to No-Name Harbor on Key Biscayne to ready for our crossing. We met several cruisers doing the same as a pot-luck supper at the park provided a chance to compare notes and previous experience to those of us more novice in this pursuit. We found that many were anticipating favorable weather and seas for the following morning (Christmas day) so it was decided that we'd all check in with each other around 4 AM via VHF radios to monitor final decisions and timing for departures.

Our Christmas eve was rather restless as apprehension set in, yet we felt somewhat rested when the alarm went off at 3:45 AM Christmas morning. Checking in with the boats we had determined to have the strongest experience, led us to find some feeling reluctant to go due to some uncertainty regarding a current weather forecast and its expected effect on the stream. One other boat felt that the forecast, although not perfect, yielded a safe opportunity for a good crossing. We decided to go with them as we were tired of being "held hostage" in this crowded harbor with too many boats and a weather window we predicted to be getting shorter. So at 5 Am we pulled out of the harbor and slid around the bend on Key Biscayne to begin our first solo crossing. The seas were fairly calm to out about 5 miles where they began to steepen, as expected.

The Gulf Stream, the fastest flowing river in the world, runs northward up the coast of Florida and the lower east coast, before shooting off shore near Cape Hattaras. It can be a raging lion or a sleepy pussy cat. For our crossing it seemed in between. Once we got about 10 miles out we began to feel the strong current below our catamaran as we motored across the "river". The wind was too much on our nose to put up any sails, at this time so we waited for it to change to a more favorable direction before attempting to add some sail power to our vessel. We motored at a slower speed than we were capable of, due to wanting to stay with our crossing companion, a mono hull named Highlander, manned by new friends Bill and Susie from Kentucky. We were, however able to average around 5 kts, an acceptable cruising speed. Because the Gulf Stream moves so rapidly northward one must select the correct angle of crossing to wind up at the desired spot some 50 miles away. The stream is about 20-40 miles across, depending on your location, and once well into it, we experienced a maximum of around 4' waves. Our cat handled them with ease even through the occasional bow crasher.

We felt the northerly flow ease as we approached the islands of Bimini and Gun Cay, our intended arrival point. We had correctly adjusted our crossing direction as we found Bimini in our binoculars a few miles off our bow and arrived to the south coming between Bimini and Gun Cay. Since we still had good daylight, we decided to continue across the Bahama Banks toward our customs clearance destination at Chub Cay. The banks are a vast flat shallow "lake" with depths varying to about 20' maximum. Because of this, the wind direction and tidal direction can, upon conflicting directions, make for a very unpleasant crossing. Since wind was not an issue to us we continued without concern toward an evening anchorage out on the banks just a little way "off the highway". We anchored in 10' of water and enjoyed a well deserved Christmas night's rest. Early to rise we headed off toward Chub Cay under jib and motor power. We arrived at Chub Cay in early afternoon and anchored offshore of the exclusive, private resort.

The next day we took our dingy ashore to see about clearing customs. After being told we needed to bring our boat to the dock for clearing customs we returned with the cat at around 9:30 AM. We were then told that the customs agent would arrive shortly to do the paperwork. After a couple of hours, and a renewed inquiry, we were told that it would not happen until after the lunch hour break at 1PM. At roughly 1:30, we were told that they would take us to the airport to the customs office for customs clearance. Once we got to the airport office, we found ourselves waiting for every air traveler's arrival to be cleared ahead of us. It seemed that every time it looked like we would be next, another plane would land and we would have to sit and wait for them to clear. Finally at 4:30 we were done and were returned to the boat. We decided that we were simply looked at as "boat trash" and were treated accordingly by the customs officer.

The next day our traveling companions, Bill and Susie, suggested we try our luck diving for lobster and we set off for a nearby island on our respective dingies, snorkel gear in tow with a packed lunch for the trip. Although we didn't have any luck finding lobster, we all had a nice swim and enjoyed wandering the beach after our lunch. Once back on board, we decided to go ashore to try to do some internet and were turned away by the security, claiming they needed to charge us a $100 "docking fee" if we wanted to come ashore. That left a rather sour taste in our mouths we decided to head out in the morning rather than feel like indentured servants to be kept at arm's length from this hoity-toity bunch of yahoos. That night we invited Bill and Susie over for a BBQ dinner and to plan our next days travel plans. Soon we were ready to hit the sack, after a fun day in the sun.

Next day, up early we headed off across the "Tongue of the Ocean", some of the deepest waters on earth, up to 10,000 feet deep! This too, can present a tough crossing if winds and waves rear their ugly heads but we hit the timing right and had a rather uneventful crossing into Nassau harbor. I say uneventful with a footnote, however. As we could travel faster, we arrived a couple of hours ahead of Bill and Susie and after anchoring and dropping the dingy, we received a call on VHF from them announcing a critical mechanical failure for them leaving them about 2 miles offshore without motor power. The waves, although not threatening, were indeed too steep to engage in a towing effort so they decided to raise their sails and sail into the harbor under wind power. Although this sounds relatively easy, Nassau Harbor is a VERY busy harbor with cruise ships, tour boats, pleasure boats, fishing boats and an active current and tidal motion to contend with. They made it inside the harbor without incident and anchored at their earliest opportunity. The next morning, we dingied down in the morning and helped motor them into a betteran chorage until they can determine what repairs will be necessary.

Since a rather strong cold front is approaching the islands, many of the boats planning to move on toward the Exuma Islands are finding a need hunker down and await a better weather window before heading across more potentially difficult water, into the Exumas. Because Nassau Harbor has poor anchorage grounding in strong winds, we have since decided to take a slip at one of the Marinas and take advantage of easy shoreside access to finish preparing our vessel for the remainder of the winter adventure. We hope to be back underway following the passage of the cold front at the end of this week and would love to be anchored in the Exumas by next weekend. Time will tell.

Today is New Year's Day, 2008. We just returned from the Junkanoo Festival parade, held twice a year in the islands, once on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and then again on New Year's Day morning (scheduled to begin at midnight New Years Eve and go 'til dawn!). Due to some late night rain storms, the start time was delayed until around 4:30Am so our decision to skip the overnight part and try to catch the early morning was a good one. We Actually awoke at 3AM and flipped on local TV to see what was happening, only to hear of the rain delay. Back to bed and up again at 7 to go downtown and try to catch the end of the parade. Fortunately,the parade was still in full swing when we arrived and we really enjoyed the colors and dancing and music. It was kind of a combination, Rose parade, Mardi Gras, and street dance all mixed together. Very colorful costuming and elaborate floats pitted one neighborhood group against another in this annual bachanal. We wandered around enjoying the affair all morning and felt that we had really gotten the full flavorof the affair.

Talking with some of the participants afterwards, we found out that the competition was primarily for bragging rights although their were cash prizes involved. Their were 6 major (Class A) groups with major sponsorship, whom were provided seed moneys for costume materials, yet each group was responsible for their "theme"and the decorations of all of their presentation. Around 100-200 participants were involved in each groups presentation and they each included a marching band, some major floats including many colorful talented native-style dancers. Then at the end the costumes and floats all go in the dumpster and they start anew next year. They told us it takes about 2 months to make the stuff working everyday! We really felt this was a cultural affair not to be missed, and were so glad we were able to witness it, first hand.

We have been so impressed with the friendliness of the Bahamian locals from the formalness in their greetings to the politeness of their manners. We've traveled all over the city on the public busses, through areas of the island which many tourists never see, and have never felt threatened in any way. Always been greeted and assisted when we'd ask directions and found them to be gracious and kind always. Crime is a big problem here, however, so we are not acting foolishly and carelessly, yet we've felt very secure in our inner island travels.

For the next few days, we'll be sitting at the Marina, awaiting the weather to clear up, before resuming our passages south.

Here's wishing everyone a fabulous new year and the best to you all for 2008!!!

Rick and Suz