Grand Bahama and Rose Island...

Last days on Grand Bahama

On Grand Bahama Island Richard and I met a lot of ‘fellow’ sailors. One couple, Kim and Steve, who sail the Fine Lion, are incredibly funny people! Alex our next-door neighbor was also a ‘hoot’ he was a unique sailor new the entire sailboat life. We frequently hit up the Corner Bar with these people. We also came to understand that there would be a traditional Fish Fry along the beach, needless to say, we were there! The Fish Fry was fun, full of people, some bohemians and some tourists, fresh fish and perfect island music. We ate the freshly fried fish, that was accompanied by macaroni and cheese casserole Bahama style (a thick rectangular mesh of cheese, overcooked noodles, and some funky spice), chickpeas and rice, and a nice cold beer! After dinner, the dance floor started to fill and I busted a move to a few songs, especially the Cha-cha slide, I mean I had to show off my moves! Haha

The next day a Rent-a-car was at our disposal, at NO cost to us, wohoo! We took advantage of this situation and explored the island, went grocery shopping, and visited some property that our neighbor Alex was interested in purchasing. Let me tell you, we went to this International Bazzar area, where there were supposedly shops, restaurants and what not, We arrived and it was EMPTY, completely barren. That goes to show how the economy is affectiong international tourism, WOW! The grocery store was well, tyipicall for being out of the states, worse than most in South America. The selection was mimimal, however we restocked most everything we were missing, checking the expiration dates very closely!

Later that day Kathryn, Richards’s girl, and my old employer came into town. She flew in; we enjoyed a nice dinner and were off to our next destination, Rose Island. I had the first shift at the helm, while Richard and Kathryn attempted to get some shut eye. It was about a 4hr shift. I kept track of our heading, speed, and other data on the deck log. A few boats came and went, one cruise ship was right on our tail for a while, there was some fuzzy communication on the radio, and other than that, I stayed awake by polishing off a bag of animal crackers, YUM! And it was my turn to get to bed!

The waves/swells were not that bad. The boat rocked me to sleep. 8am, and it was my turn again. It was a lot nicer sailing during the day. We had to sails up, the main sail, the Genowa sail, and both motors going. We reached a max speed of 7.5km that day. We pulled into the Nassau marina to fill up the fuel tanks. There were three huge cruise ships docked as we pulled in, they were MASSIVE! After fueling up, we made our way to Rose Island, a small island right off Nassau. We anchored there for the night. After dropping anchor, Richard geared up and dove on the anchor making sure it was well attached, later that evening and the following day we were expecting 25k winds.

Day two at Rose Island was spent relaxing and exploring. Our sailing buddies Kim and Steve of the Fine Lion ended up anchoring in the same bay. I swam over to their boat to say hi. They were both eager to invite me for some Conch salad. Steve did some diving earlier that day; he speared two lobsters and a few Conchs, nice! We took their dingy and did some exploring on a nearby island. White soft sand, a hammock, and an old green chair are what our findings consisted of. Later that day they both came over for dinner. We ended up eating the FRESH lobster, and let me tell you , I have never ever had such fresh lobster! YUM!

The next day we hauled anchor and set sail for a new destination on the Exhume chain of Cays. They day was choppy, windy, rainy, and gusty. We sailed for 7hours with wind up to 25knots, and reached speeds of 10kmh! We had to reap the main sail so that the wind didn’t give us too much power, also so that the sails would take it! Half way through the journey the clouds came in and gave us a nice rain shower! The boat seemed as if it were a bunking bronco and we all had to hold on to something to stay standing! As our destination came into sight, land hoe! Kathryn and I prepared to hook the mooring ball which would act as our anchor that night. Let me tell you it was one HARD task! First, the wind then the current, and finally trying to steer the boat with such slight maneuvers! Our task was to use a pole and hook a thick line attached to the mooring ball, bring up the loop at the end of the line and connect it to the boat. After about three attempts, we got it, too bad it was over a cable, which it should have been under, ok, re-do! Two poles in the water later, a who-knows-what kind of, know later and about 10+ attempts later we FINALLY got it! What a stressful ordeal!

That night we all enjoyed our cocktails to the max!

After a night of being rocked to sleep, as the wind didn’t die down until the morning, it was a whole new day! I woke up to one of the most breathtaking sights on earth! Little islands surrounding us by 350 degrees, shades of blue, green, and white water, white soft sand, and islands for miles and miles! Words are not enough to describe the beauty. That day we spent some time exploring the island. We were about to go for a swim, Richard jumped in first, and all of a sudden SHARKKKK!

Instincts told us to get away, so Kathryn and I backed up, while Richard, who was still in the water yelled “lower the latter” so that he could get back in the boat! So much for swimming! After visiting the office, one of three buildings for miles, they informed us that it was a harmless shark and all it wanted was some food scraps! Thank God! We also hiked along the island. We took the dinghy to a beach, anchored it, explored the beauty of the island, and returned! Too bad that high tide was coming in and our little dinghy was about to be taken away! We trudged through 10meters of knee high water and arrived at the boat, the anchor was hardly attached to the sand underneath! Good thing we didn’t end up swimming back!