In Nassau Now

February 25: In Nassau now, awaiting more favorable weather.
We left Georgetown after the last Norther blew itself out and
so had a very nice passage through the Exumas. Once we entered
the Exuma Bank, the water was smooth, calm and crystal clear.
Unfortunately, it also seemed heart-stoppingly thin to us. We
are used to deep water and moving along in just 10 feet covering
sand and coral heads seemed Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! especially when
the water at twenty feet deep looked (to us) just about the same
as the water at five.
Fortunately we had the excellent Explorer Charts borrowed from
our friends on Alexina, who had made the trip the year before.
So in addition to standard marks for routes and anchorages,
we had their penciled commentary and hand-noted good places to
stop. We were in Nassau in five days with no unpleasant surprises
and enjoyed meeting the nice folks on the family islands very
much.
Except we also needed to change the fuel filters four times in
about 40 hours of motoring since leaving Luperon. Usually we
change them once in 100 hours just because you're supposed to.
We changed them because they clogging. We had tried to find
someone to filter our fuel in G'town with no success, and there
were fewer boat services in Black Point and Highbourne Cay.
The plan was to get to Nassau before another Norther hits on
Thursday and see what services we could round up. We were fortunate.
The marina referred us to Albert's and a tech came the next
day and took 20 gallons from our tank and a lot of sludge. Clearly
the fuel that sat in the tank over the summer had become contaminated
by the corpses of dying microbes inspite of Biobor's best efforts.
The fuel disposal only cost $5 a gallon, $1 less than it will
cost to replace when we leave here. (Were we had? Maybe, but
we got a look at what came out of the tank and are happy that
it's gone.)
Further good news, we were referred to an electronics tech who
agreed on the phone with J's assessment that the GPS antenna
was showing warning signs of death. Since he was in Florida,
he would buy one for us plus a handheld Garmin and bring them
back with him to install. This way we would get the right part
at US prices and without the 45% Bahamian duty. Another win!
He'll be here on Thursday the seventh at 8 am.
All this means we are spending about two weeks in Nassau. The
strong Northers now coming off the US coast in waves have meant
we wouldn't really be going anywhere anyway. We've decided to
make our exit when all is fixed and the Gulf Stream is flat.
It is winter after all. Yesterday Laurie wore her fleece all
day. We have not needed the pool here
Today will be an on the boat day. It has been raining on and
off, sometimes hard. We are wearing socks, jeans and sweaters.
Touring will wait for a better day. The weather service recorded
57 degrees today.
Wednesday March 6: a lovely day. We toured the city of Nassau,
saw Atlantis and had a lovely Greek lunch. There is a fairly
large Greek population that settled here in the 1800's for the
sponge diving and after 1922. It was however, about as much
tourism as we could stand. The six cruise ships in the harbor
came loaded with college kids on Spring Break and the scene was
reminiscent of March 2002, which we spent in Key West.
Thursday March 7: The tech has come and gone. Thinks the antenna
is fine, the system is just older and has problems digesting
all the data now packed on the chips. We explained to him the
various reconfigurations over the last two years and he gave
us some good ideas. He also imported a handheld for us, so backup
is secure. Laurie feels the same relief she felt last year when
Dr Singh in Antigua said Jack's back would get better with rest
and the right drugs.
And, speaking of rest and drugs—Jack's back did choose to bother
him at the beginning of our stay in Nassau. It was no problem
for him to take drugs and sleep and not operate heavy equipment.
So the weather wasn't a problem for him, either, and that episode
was nipped in the bud.
We are glad we came back from the Caribbean in 2004 via the Old
Bahama Channel. We were in a hurry. It is now clear to us that
there are no quick trips through the Bahamas.
Between Horizons and US waters there's an overnight to Lucaya
and a day-hop to West End, both on Grand Bahama Island, plus
an all-daylight crossing of the Gulf Stream to arrive in Ft Pierce
FL.
Horizons sits proudly in anticipation, like a golf ball perched
on its tee.