Port Everglades
We had spent the time in Ft. Lauderdale fixing things, doing laundry, learning the ins and outs of the Ft. Lauderdale transit system while in search of outboard engine parts and that all important piece of cruising equipment: a new microwave oven (try carrying an oven several blocks, making 2 bus transfers, then loading it into and out of a bouncing dinghy).
Our anchorage at the marina put us two blocks from the beach and the typical Florida beach front with the flashing light hoopla of restaurants, t-shirt stands, tattoo parlors, bars…the whole catastrophe. The night before we headed out we decided to hit the strip. We despaired at finding a really good restaurant, expecting the usual fare of fried mahi mahi and fries, overpriced cheeseburgers and bone shaking, “overbassed” rock music. Our low expectations dropped even more as we passed the blond belly dancer gyrating to a stepped up jewish folk song. Hunger drove us on, however, and chance brought us, instead, to the Café Del Mar. To our surprise, we enjoyed a fantastic meal made memorable by great service and the terrific music of the Alex Fox Trio. Alex and his two sons wowed everyone with their high energy, Mediterranean style jazz guitar music.
Our Gulf Stream crossing proved to be one of our best sailing experiences. We had timed our departure to enable a day time crossing, putting us at Isaac’s light, the entry to the Bahamas Banks, around 9:00 pm. We sailed all night on the same, port tack, raising the NW Shoal light just at sun rise. We saw about a half dozen vessels through the night, some pleasure craft and some commercial. Even in open water, most vessels use the same waypoints and a good lookout is essential to a safe passage. Twice we had to change course to ensure that we didn’t come too close. A tug and barge seemed to dog us though the night. I was puzzled by his slow progress (we were doing only 3 or 4 knots). Then I realized that he, like us, wanted to clear the NW Channel in daylight. Having Ken with us made the passage that much easier, allowing each of us a chance to catch some sleep.
Passing the NW Channel brought us by Chub Cay, the first opportunity to clear customs and immigration. Contacting the harbour master by radio, he informed us that the marina charged $100 to tie up while checking in. That seemed a little exorbitant for 20 to 30 minutes of dock time, so we verified that the regulations allowed us to proceed to Nassau before clearing as long as we didn’t land. With we continued on to nearby Bird Cay and anchored in 9 feet of water. While open to the west, we had good protection from the south, southwest and east. A spectacular sunset, a great meal prepared by Pat and a glass of brandy topped a really great entry into the Bahamas.
Pat Trumpets the Setting Sun (see earlier blog entry for Conch Blowing Legend)
Spectacular Sunset from Our Anchorage at Bird Cay
A favorable wind greeted us the next morning and it was downhill all the way to Nassau. The light, following winds gave me the excuse to fly the spinnaker. We were rolling along at 3 to 3 ½ knots and both Pat and Ken seemed perfectly satisfied. However, this was much too easy. Without more speed we would have to start motoring to make Nassau before dark. So, out came our beautiful, multicolored spinnaker. You may know that a spinnaker is a very large head sail. It’s designed for downwind sailing in light (less than 10 knots) wind. In addition to increasing your boat speed by as much as 3 times, in our experience at least, it contributes even more in the opportunity for adventure! Under Pat’s skeptical eye and acquiescence (she’s see me do this before), Ken and I readied the sail for deployment. The last time I used the sail, well, let’s just say, it was a great learning experience. Up the sail went…well, partly up, and partly wrapped around the headstay. Shouting instructions to the crew and maybe an expletive or two, I entered the parachute like tent of red, blue, yellow and green; grabbing sail, pulling lines…”Grab that line pull it through, no, not that one the other one…not the one that’s around my leg!!! In short order…or, not so short order, the behemoth filled and we began to fly. From 3 knots we accelerated to over 8 knots! 25 tons of boat, surfing down the back side of waves! It makes you want to shout out loud. We had never gone so fast in Live Now!
The only down side was that by the time we got the sail up and I was satisfied with how it was set, I noticed that Nassau had magically appeared. It was time to take it down. Of course, the wind by now had picked up to 15+ knots and we were almost on a beam reach! Still, the take down went smoothly. No one was thrown overboard by an outraged sail, no one lifted bodily off the deck with a line wrapped around an arm, and the sail didn’t even get wet…well, maybe a little dampish. Ken observed, dryly, that we spent more time putting up and taking down than we did using the sail. Nevertheless, instead of arriving at dusk, we arrived in the middle of the afternoon and the spinnaker made the difference.
For safety reasons (high volume cruise ship traffic) Nassau Harbour requires that you obtain permission by radio before entering. We had planned on anchoring and so informed Harbour Control. However, Nassau Customs and Immigration boards all incoming vessels and while they don’t insist that you stay at a marina, they made it clear that if we didn’t, they would be very unhappy. So, we contacted Nassau Harbour Club and arranged for a slip. The docking went very smoothly, except, initially we were told that it would be a port side tie up. As we approached the marina, the dock master told me, no, it would be a starboard side tie up. That meant we had to move our lines and fenders to the other side. Then, he came back on the radio and corrected himself to say that it was really a port side tie up. I’m sure we made a Marx Brothers-like scene running back and forth from one side of the boat to the other while trying to avoid all the harbor traffic, fight the 3 knot current and find our way into a strange marina. Still, all’s well that ends well. Tied up securely at the dock, hot showers, a sundowner glass of wine and off to the Poop Deck for a great dinner.
Great sailing, great weather and the complete absence of seasickness made this a great leg on our journey. Nassau is a great provisioning place and jump off point for the Exumas, our next stop
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