Outer Reef

April 5--May 1, Bimini--Nassau, The Bahamas

April 5--May 1, Bimini-Nassau, The Bahamas

Tuesday, April 28---Friday, May 1

Harbour Club Marina, Nassau

We are still here waiting for the winds/seas to drop to reasonable levels so we won't seriously rock and roll when we get out on the Exuma Banks. The forecast shows Saturday to be a good day for departure, so we're planning on that.

We've been busy while we're killing time here. Terry went on a fun shopping/lunch excursion with Sandy off of the sailboat Genesis.

Thursday we (Larry and Terry) took a cheap tour of the island by riding public buses. For $1.25 each direction, we saw simple homes and big, luxurious houses, businesses and beautiful parks and resorts. Highlight of the day for Larry was a hamburger at Burger Kind downtown.

Several boats left Friday going north. Boats are required to check in with the Nassau Harbor officials when entering or leaving the harbor. Listening to the VHF radio, we heard one boat say it was uncomfortable out there. We're keeping our fingers crossed for Saturday.

We don't know what kind, if any, Internet access we'll have further south, so there may not be journal entries for a while.

Sunday, April 26---Monday, April 27

Harbour Club Marina, Nassau

The winds continue to blow and we are still in Nassau, hoping to leave on Wednesday if winds and waves cooperate.

Larry's anchor and dinghy-lifting projects were completed successfully and he only had to change the filters to be ready for us to leave. Then the water pump broke! We don't have a back-up, so if Larry can't fix it, we'll have to buy one at exorbitant Bahama prices.

Terry went shopping at the Bahama Craft Center on Paradise Island. She resisted buying the straw baskets, straw dolls, sea glass jewelry, and straw purses. Limited storage on the boat is a spending deterrent.

Monday evening there was a get together near the marina pool. Everyone brought their own drinks and a snack to share. There was a good crowd of about 30 cruisers and it was fun.

We have really enjoyed having Internet access here at the marina and we're not optimistic about getting it when we go further south to the Exumas.

Thursday, April 23--Saturday, April 25

Nassau Harbour Club Marina

The winds continue to be high and unmerciful. We are so tired of them. The boat is rocking and rolling in the marina! We are ready to move on.

We never intended to spend most of our Bahamas budget on marinas. But, if we were anchored in the harbor, we would be worried all the time about the anchor holding; we couldn't leave the boat for long and Larry wouldn't get much sleep in the pilot house checking the anchor every hour all night.

But, the winds and seas are bad everywhere we want to go right now, so we're stuck for a while. Looks like we'll be in Nassau 'till Tuesday.

Terry took the bus to town to see the famous Nassau straw market only to discover it has been temporarily closed. She visited the Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation. It is in a house where slave auctions were held in the 18th century.

Larry has taken advantage of this down time to work on his never-ending project list. This old boat is showing its age. Now he's working on the anchor system and trying to improve the process for putting the dinghy on top of the pilot house.

Wednesday, April 22

Nassau Harbour Club Marina, Nassau

We finally had just had enough of the rocking and rolling we'd been suffering from all the boat traffic. Larry pulled up both anchors. We put the dinghy on top of the pilot house and headed for the Nassau Harbor Club Marina.

Our friends aboard Alchemy and Freedom just left this marina today to head south, but it was still too rough out there for us. With the boat secure at the marina, we don't have to worry about dragging anchor and can leave the boat, relax, and check out Nassau, which we really haven't had the opportunity to do, even though we've been here for several days.

After we got settled, we took a taxi and went over to see Atlantis. WOW! It is something else. We gambled a bit in the casino. Larry came out $40 ahead and Terry $5.

The yachts in the Atlantis Marina were as big as any we've seen. We had a delicious hamburger at Johnny Rocket's in Atlantis Village. Instead of taking a cab back to the marina, we walked. At the top of the bridge, we got a great view of the harbor and marinas. As we approached the Nassau side, there was a seafood market with several shops and lots of locals. The tourists were probably across the street at the Outback Restaurant.

Monday, April 20--Tuesday, April 21

Nassau, New Providence Island

Too windy to get off the boat Monday, but Tuesday we hiked to the laundry. We stopped at the Green Parrott to take advantage of their free wi-fi. We returned to the boat when the weather started looking threatening and made it back just in time to miss a downpour.

Sunday, April 19

Nassau, New Providence Island

The wind is still high, so we stayed on the boat till late afternoon. We are really getting tired of this wind. It has been blowing like this for more than a week and is keeping us from going where we want to go, even at Nassau. We won’t leave the boat in high winds and white caps unless we’re in a marina and we’re confident the boat will stay where we leave it.

There is a lot of boat traffic here: huge cruise ships, glass bottom boats, ferries, “ Cruise and Booze” boats, double-decker boats loaded with cheerful tourists who wave, multi-million dollar yachts, and cruisers of all varieties. And most cause wakes that rock us. We can’t say we weren’t forewarned because every cruiser’s guide we have said this was a bad anchorage because of the holding and the traffic.

But, by five o’clock the traffic had diminished considerably and we went to dinner at the Green Parrot, which provides a dinghy dock. We met Guy (say gee with a hard “g”) from Quebec, who has a beautiful blue sailboat. He is cruising alone and we shared stories. We really enjoyed having dinner with him.

On the way back to the boat, we stopped by to say hello to Ted, who was so helpful with our anchoring. He is cruising with his parents, who also have a nice sailboat. We met his girlfriend and his parents and had a nice, short visit.

Guy told us about a Laundromat and a grocery store within walking distance, so we may not go to a marina here.

Saturday, April 18

Nassau, New Providence Island

The wind is still high, but the boat seems to be holding in the new anchorage. We stayed on board all day just to make sure the boat is safe. We’ll go ashore tomorrow, if we hold today. It looks like we’ll be in Nassau a few days because of the winds. We’re hoping all these weather delays won’t shorten our time in the Exumas, which are called the “gem of the Bahamas” because of the excellent cruising there.

This was a rest day for Larry, who hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in several days.

Friday, April 17

Nassau, New Providence Island

Nassau, the capital of The Bahamas, is a city with big cruise ships, mammoth hotels/casinos and all kinds of restaurants and shops.

Terry got to see a lot of the island when she took an taxi to the UPS store to pick up mail. The driver was a wealth of information and gave the history of places on the way. He pointed out Eddie Murphy’s private island, Sean Connery’s house, the hospital where Anna Nicole Smith had her baby and the cemetery where she and her son are buried. Of course, there was a lot of real history, too. An interesting, though expensive, trip!

Larry stayed on the boat while Terry was gone because the high winds and strong currents causes the boat to drag anchor here, which is dangerous in such a crowded anchorage.

Friday night was horrible. The winds were blowing 30 knots and our anchor wouldn’t hold because in the crowded harbor we couldn’t put out enough scope to hold our heavy boat. We came very, very close to hitting several sailboats. We tried half a dozen times through the night, but the anchor just wouldn’t hold our heavy boat in the high winds.

About sunup, during our last attempt, we got a radio call from Ted, a cruiser who had been watching our futile efforts. He recommended another anchorage nearby that had a sandy bottom . (The bottom in the crowded anchorage was hard rock.) His directions were confusing, so he got in his dinghy and led us to the new anchorage. When we were there, he took our two anchors and placed them in the Bahamian anchor style. Then he checked them with the look bucket (a glass bottom bucket) to make sure they were holding.

We thanked Ted profusely, of course. He is probably the hero of the other cruisers in the anchorage who feared for their lives when we were coming dangerously close to hitting their boats in our attempts to anchor.

Thursday, April 16

Nassau, New Providence Island

The original plan was to spend Thursday night at Chub Cay, which would have been about a 14-hour cruise, but we after we were underway, we learned that the weather was going to change and we would be stuck at Chub Cay for two or three days. So, we decided to go all the way to Nassau. We left Cat Cay at 3:30 AM and arrived at Nassau at 10:30 PM, a very long day. The last three or four hours were rough and we were concerned that we would have fuel system problems again, but everything worked well.

We were glad that John and Sue had experience entering the Nassau Harbor because coming into a strange place at night is never very much fun, especially when there are coral reefs all around! And, of course, it’s dark and not always easy to see boats at anchor.

Finding a spot in the anchorage field was a challenge and our anchor wouldn’t hold well. Larry stayed up all night making sure we didn’t crash into another boat in the high wind and current. We had a close call with a boat behind us when we moved the boat at 2 AM.

Wednesday, April 15

Cat Cay

We left Bimni in early afternoon, headed for Cat Cay, a short trip of about three hours. John and Sue aboard Alchemy were traveling with us. We originally planned to make the trip “outside” in the Atlantic, but it was a little rolly, so we cut inside the Bahama Bank for a smoother ride.

Cat Cay is a private island, so we didn’t go ashore. There were several sailboats and a motor yacht anchored there, too. It is unusual to see a large motor yacht at anchor.

Tuesday, April 14

Blue Water Marina, Bimini, The Bahamas

Tuesday there was a potluck supper by the marina’s pool. Everyone brought a dish to share and their own plates and forks. It was great fun. Before the dinner, those of us going to the Exumas gathered for a planning session. It will be good to go with other boats.

We’re planning on leaving early Wednesday afternoon. We will no doubt lose Internet access, so we won’t be able to update the website or send/receive e-mails.

Monday, April 13

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, North Bimini, The Bahamas

We have now been in Bimini a week, much longer than we planned, but repairs had to be made before we could continue. We believe the engine’s fuel problem has been solved and Larry has a backup in case we break down again. The portholes in the engine room have been repaired and we hope they don’t leak!

Now the weather’s too bad to leave. The wind is high and the waters are rough. We are getting really tired of these winds. It’s been windy since we left Texas! We’re hoping things will calm down Friday.

The good news is that this is a really nice marina. It’s reasonable ($1 a foot+$20 for electricity+50 cents a gallon for water+$10 for Internet access) the dockhands are extremely friendly and helpful. One major downside is that the marina is open to the channel and there’s a lot of rocking and rolling caused, not only by the waves but by inconsiderate boaters who push big wakes without caring about the consequences.

We had a great time Monday night. Eight of us went (John and Sue from Alchemy, John and Roberta from Freedom, Barry and Paula from Sea Fox) The End of the World Saloon and Snack Bar. It is little more than a shack with tables and benches under umbrellas outside. There was an impressive collection of rums from all over the world. The bartender introduced us to rum and ginger beer, which was quite tasty. Afterward, we went to Captain Bob’s for a delicious dinner. What a good time! We laughed, told stories and shared cruising experiences.

Easter Sunday, Sunday April 12

Bimini

Easter was another beautiful day in Paradise. We treated ourselves and went out to Capt. Bob’s for breakfast. It was very good. This was the third time we’d eaten there and after we left, we discovered that they’d been adding a 15 percent gratuity and we’ve been tipping on top of that! They must think we’re very big spenders.

We went to worship at the Wesley Methodist Church. There was no choir, but the small congregation was enthusiastic in its singing. We were very glad we went.

There was another parade this afternoon.

At 5 o’clock, cruisers gathered around the marina’s swimming pool. Everyone brought his or her own drinks and a snack to share. It was a lot of fun. There were about 15 of us, including three men from Haiti.

These men, who speak no English, are in the middle of a movie/book project. The author, who is Dutch, and a young man with a camera are accompanying them on a very small boat they made in Haiti. They are on their way to Florida. One of the men interviewed Larry on camera.

CORRECTION: Yesterday, we reported that no beer was sold at the Easter festival. We just didn’t see the beer booths. Not only was beer sold, but pina coladas were also. Our friends reported they were delicious.

Two other boats here, Freedom and Alchemy, are also going to Nassau and the Exumas. They plan to leave on Wednesday. We hope to join them. John and Roberta on Freedom and John and Sue on Alchemy are interesting and fun. John and Sue used to dive for treasure and were successful!

Larry and some other men on the dock worked on repairing the broken windows in the engine room. We hope they are fixed for good.

Thursday, April 9 --Saturday, April 11

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, North Bimini

Larry has been spending all his time in the engine room trying to fix our fuel line problem. He has made real progress, but he’s missing all the pre-Easter festivities.

There have been several parades this weekend and Saturday night we walked over to a big celebration with music and food. One big difference from such festivities in the states is there were no booths selling beer, crafts or t-shirts. Just a lot of people having a good time.

Before we went to the big celebration, we visited with the crew from Aqua Quest, a big blue commercial boat, and some other cruisers new to our dock.

There is music all the time here. If it’s not a parade, it’s coming from loud speakers from the golf-cart rental place. Island music. Sometimes it’s jarringly loud, but it’s nice otherwise.

Terry went to the Good Friday service at the Wesley Methodist Church. The minister comes from Mississippi and stays for three weeks every three weeks. He’s been doing this for more than 30 years. He can really play the piano! There were about 15 worshipers, all very friendly. We plan to attend the Easter Service there Sunday.

A 42’ trawler, the first we’ve seen here, came to the slip next to us loaded with grandparents, parents, grandkids and a parrot. The grandparents live aboard their boat near Miami. The young grandkids were quite adept at handling lines and other boat chores. We enjoyed meeting them. They just came over to Bimini for a few days and will return to Miami on Easter Sunday. It’s the first trawler we’ve seen here.

We met a couple from Texas who are on a sailboat anchored in a small harbor here. They were coming in for water and diesel. We visited while they filled their jugs with 30 gallons of water. They are hardcore cruisers and don’t have refrigeration or a microwave.

Tuesday, April 14

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, Bimini

We’re planning on leaving early Wednesday afternoon. We will no doubt lose Internet access, so we won’t be able to update the website or send/receive e-mails.

Monday, April 13

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, Bimini

The good news is that this is a really nice marina to be stuck at. It’s reasonable ($1 a foot+$20 for electricity+50 cents a gallon for water+$10 for Internet access) the dockhands are extremely friendly and helpful. One major downside is that the marina is open to the channel and there’s a lot of rocking and rolling caused, not only by the waves but by inconsiderate boaters who push big wakes without caring about the consequences.

We had a great time Monday night. Eight of us(John and Sue from Alchemy, John and Roberta from Freedom, Barry and Paula from Sea Fox) went to The End of the World Saloon and Snack Bar. It is little more than a shack with tables and benches under umbrellas outside.

There was an impressive collection of rums from all over the world. The bartender introduced us to rum and ginger beer, which was quite tasty. Afterward, we went to Captain Bob’s for a delicious dinner. What a good time! We laughed, told stories and shared cruising experiences.

Easter Sunday, Sunday, April 12

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, Bimini

We went to worship at the Wesley Methodist Church. There was no choir, but the small congregation was enthusiastic in its singing. We were very glad we went.

There was another parade this afternoon.

Larry and some other men on the dock worked on repairing the broken windows in the engine room. We hope they are fixed for good.

Thursday, April 9 --Saturday, April 11

Blue Water Marina, Alice Town, North Bimini

Larry has been spending all his time in the engine room trying to fix our fuel line problem. He has made real progress, but he’s missing all the pre-Easter festivities.

Before we went to the big celebration, we visited with the crew from Aqua Quest, a big blue commercial boat, and some other cruisers new to our dock.

There is music all the time here. If it’s not a parade, it’s coming from loud speakers from the golf-cart rental place. Island music. Sometimes it’s jarringly loud, but it’s nice otherwise.

Sunday, April 5--Wednesday, April 8

Alice Town, North Bimini

Our crossing Sunday was beautiful and uneventful until we got about 10 miles from Bimini. Then things turned bad and eventually became scary and traumatic.

The engine stopped while we were still in the Gulf Stream. We could see the island that was our destination, but because of the stream, we rapidly drifted north.

We put up both sails, but the wind was very light, the Gulf Stream was running fast, and the boat wouldn’t stay on course. Larry tied the dinghy on the port side, near the bow, and turned on the motor. This kept us on course, generally. However, every time we reached a certain point on the compass, the boat would turn around 360 degrees! We couldn’t stop her. Of course, we tried to avoid this, but it happened several times and really slowed us down.

When we finally reached the Bahama Banks about 11:30 PM, we were about 20 miles north of Alice Town, Bimini, and our destination. (NOTE: this is about half the distance from Miami to Bimini!)

The water is much shallower here, so we could anchor and keep from drifting to England. The Gulf Stream waters are very deep, 2,400 feet where we were.

The anchorage was very rough. Terry got seasick, in spite of having taken seasick pills (probably too late). Larry continued to work on the fuel system. At 4 AM he got the motor going, we pulled up the anchor, and headed to Bimini. At 7 AM, after having traveled about 15 miles and within 5 miles of Alice Town, the engine died again. After numerous attempts to start the engine, Larry could not get it to run.

When the engine stopped this time, the seas were quite large and were hitting us on our beam. Things on the boat started shifting and falling. Our new toaster oven slid from its storage spot under the table through the open hatch of the engine room, as did almost everything that was in the galley. In the fridge, Cokes cans broke and the pickle jar cracked.

All our wine, which was stored safely---or at least we thought so--in the farthest spot under the table in six-pack wine cases, were sliding all over the floor. Terry grabbed a jug of cheap red wine and a big bottle of rum just before they fell into the engine room.

It was very difficult to stay upright. We were lucky not to have fallen and seriously hurt ourselves.

The boat was heeling to about 15-30 degrees every time a wave hit us. We were afraid it would turn over.

Our old dinghy, which was tied to the stern transom, broke loose and floated away. Our new-to-us dinghy was taking a beating on the side of the boat. Two davits were broken off.

Larry continued to work on the engine, but Terry insisted that he stop and call for help.

The VHF radio microphone was useless after it fell from its holder twice and hit the instruments below it. So we couldn’t radio for help. Our cell phones didn’t work.

Thank goodness, we had bought an Iridium satellite phone before we left. But, we didn’t know who to call for help. The Bahamas air and sea rescue service is mostly volunteer. The man told us to fix the engine and sail back to Miami or to Freeport.

The Boat US tow service from Miami would have come, but even in their fast boat, it would have been a four-hour trip to get us and a very slow trip back towing us through the rough Gulf Stream. They would only take us back to Miami, even though we were just a few miles from Bimini.

A cold front was expected to hit in the afternoon and the seas were to become even worse, so it was important to get help soon.

Larry had called the Austin Iridium dealer, where we bought our satellite phone service, and told her our situation and asked her to help us reach a Bahamian phone number. When you talk on a satellite phone, the antenna must point directly to the sky. When Larry was talking to the Iridium lady, there was some static, and he said, “I can’t hear you, you’re breaking up. The lady must have misunderstood. She called the US Coast Guard and told them our boat was breaking up!

Larry had just gotten the engine started again, and we were headed south to Alice Town, when an 87’ US Coast Guard cutter showed up with 12 men aboard. They sent over their small boat and two men boarded our boat.

They rode with us and were extremely helpful. When the engine did die, the cutter towed us through incredibly rough seas, 10-12’ high, near to the entrance of the channel to Alice Town, Bimini. This was the first time we’d seen waves crashing over the bow.

The Coast Guard had gotten special permission from the Bahamian government to help us, but the water near the entrance to Alice Town channel was too shallow for their boat to enter.

Larry had gotten the engine to work again, but we were afraid it would die in the high seas. If the boat had died again, the Coast Guard would have taken us aboard and we would have had to anchor the boat in the rough seas and leave it.

The Coast Guard again sent their small boat to lead us through the tricky channel to North Bimini. Once we were safely through, the two Coast Guard men deboarded Outer Reef and returned to the cutter in the smaller boat. We were extremely impressed with all of the Coast Guard men who helped us. They were professional and understood the situation. Helping boaters in trouble and catching bad guys are their priorities, they said.

Friendly cruisers were waiting for us at the dock and helped us tie up the boat. We went gently aside the dock and were so glad our ordeal was over.

The boat was a mess, we lost a dinghy, but we were safe and the boat was sound. And we have a story to tell when cruisers gather, which they do here every evening for Happy Hour at 5:30.

The cold front did blow in and it is much cooler now. We’ll stay here for a while to relax and repair the engine.

Tuesday was beautiful and we were rested after a good night’s sleep. Larry went to the Immigrations and Customs Office to get our $150 cruising permit. (Cash only)

We met more folks on our dock. What a friendly group! They are experienced cruisers and have traveled many exotic places in their sailboats.

After lunch at Capt. Bob’s, we explored the small town. Ernest Hemingway used to come here to fish. Alice Town is one very narrow street with small stores and homes. There aren’t many cars. Most people drive golf carts. We rented one for an hour to go to the hardware store to buy four heavy batteries.

We were able to get wireless service from the marina, but it doesn’t work on the boat. So, we have to take the computer to a table near the office to get the Internet!

Most of our neighbors here are waiting out the windy, cooler weather and then heading out to the Berry Islands or the Abacos. We will be sorry to see them leave; they are the best group of cruisers we’ve met!

Larry is continuing to work on the engine so that we can head out for Nassau. The VHF radio is now working, thank goodness, but the ports in the engine room were broken by the waves and must be repaired so we won’t take on water.

Terry hiked down to the laundry. It took a while to find it; it was off the main street and had no sign. The lady was very friendly and helpful.

Some observations: The Bimini beach is beautiful and deserted. Men play loud domino games in a dockside park. Bahamian bread is sweet and delicious.

We hope to be able to post this to the website. Internet access is iffy at best. If we do get connected, we may not be able to post pictures.

Square Parliament Square in Nassau

4/25/09
Street in downtown Nassau. The yellow building is the welcome center. That's a big cruise ship on the left.

4/25/09
View from Nassau Harbor

4/22/09
Atlantis, Paradise Island

4/22/09
Cruise ships in Nassau Harbor

4/19/09
Following Alchemy to Nassau

4/16/09

BIMINI
The crew aboard the small Haitian boat leave to go diving for conch.

4/14/09

John (Freedom) and Paula (Sea Fox) at the potluck dinner.

4/14/09
Cruisers had a potluck dinner poolside at the marina on Tuesday night.

4/14/09

Eight of us cruisers spent a memorable evening at The End of the World Saloon and Snack Bar, which had an impressive collection of rums

.4/14/09

These kids in the parade's lead car were having such a good time!

4/11/09

All the parades passed in front of the marina.

4/11/09

Polan returns to Miami. We really enjoyed this delightful family. Except for the parrot.

4/11/09

Larry watches as Mariah struggles to get away from the dock to head for the Abacos. The strong winds made getting out of the slip difficult.

4/9/09

Our new friends Anita and Greg on Whisper off to the Berry Islands

.4/9/09
A wrecked trawler on the beach at Bimini

4/9/09

Another gorgeous Bimini beach.

4/9/09

Alice Town's main street

4/9/09

Harvesting coconuts just off the main street in Alice Town, Bimini.

4/9/09

One of the Bimini beaches

4/7/09
The Bimini Museum

4/7/09

This house may have been a hurricane casualty.

4/7/09
We plan to attend Easter services at the Bimini Methodist Church.

4/7/09
One of the Bimini women decorating a straw purse outside her shop.

4/7/09
This friendly lady wanted Terry to take her picture outside her shop.

4/7/09