Nassau, Bahamas to the Exumas!

After our successful sail fishing from the Berry Islands to Nassau, we arrived at the west entrance to Nassau Harbor just after sunset. Not one, but two massive cruise ships were leaving the  harbor as we were sailing in. One was the Disney ship with a massive video screen projecting all the Disney characters....oh boy! We  snugged up to the  SW corner of the harbor to stay clear of these monsters and hailed  the Port Authority who was apparently too busy dealing with the cruise ship departure to respond to us. By this time, we were entering an unknown harbor in darkness which we have said we would avoid. Fortunately my experienced captain was at the helm slowly navigating the unmarked bridges and unlit renegade boats and we anchored along the north shore adjacent to Paradise Island. The current was ripping through the harbor so we put out a stern anchor.  In the morning it was apparent we were anchored a bit to close to the channel as the ferry boats were passing us both to port and starboard. 

With much difficulty, we hauled up the anchors and checked into the Nassau Harbor Club and Marina across the channel where Leela was staying. Tim kept having déjà vu as we walked through the swimming pool courtyard and he finally realized this was the same hotel he stayed at with his family in the late 60s when his family chartered a Soverel 28 and cruised the northern Exumas. Much had changed Nassau and a lot has been neglected since then, and especially after the 2008 market crash which hit the islands hard.

We walked to Potters Cay under the Paradise Island Bridge. Potter Cay is where the locals set up their food stalls selling fabulously fresh ethnic food along with food stands with fruits and vegetables. Many of the restaurants have small bars which are packed with locals drinking and playing games, looks like a lot of fun for the evening but this was happening as soon as they open at 1100. We enjoyed a delicious snapper dinner and conch ceviche salad and scored a delicious massive avocado which Tim later turned into a guacamole, yummy. Tim made numerous runs to the local marine supply stores and liquor stores to load up with inexpensive Nassau Rum at $8.50/liter!  Now the challenge was how to store all these liters of rum throughout the already stuffed cabinets and lockers.

Since Nassau would be the last major city we would visit for over two months we checked all our "need to buy" lists and filled all the water tanks to capacity along with a new 25 gallon water bladder we strapped on deck along with two 5 gallon waterjugs. Tim lugged the 5 gallon gasoline jug to a nearby gas station to top it off with fuel for the outboard. Finally we needed to get one of our propane tanks for the stove filled which meant having a fellow come to the marina, take the tank to get filled and return it..... in "Bahama time", which meant you are never sure when you will actually get the tank back. After a long day of getting ready we backed Kuivato out of the slip (an Ericson 38 maneuvers wonderfully even in reverse, unlike many sailboats), pulled up to the fuel dock to top off the diesel tank and heading out to the nearby anchorage.  Once again we were anchored in an area with strong currents and opposing winds which makes for an unsettled wild night of boat swinging in all directions requiring everyone to leave a lot of swing room to avoid having boats swing into each other. The next day we did some final provisioning (ie: mostly buy more rum..... We broke a bottle on the cabin floor, who knew rum makes a great floor cleaner and smells wonderful!). That afternoon we sailed a short 6 miles east of Nassau to Rose Island for the night to get away from the commotion of Nassau (sirens, ferries, tour boats, jet skis, currents.....). It was lovely to get away and have a nice quiet anchorage to ourselves. The next morning we met Leela at Porgee Rocks and set off for the 35 mile leg to the Exumas! It was a beautiful sail across the Great Exumas Bank which averages about 15 foot depth with its shallow  sand flats and coral heads which require keeping a close eye on the charts, navigation software and in the more shallow areas, a spotter on the bow to point out shallow hazards and the deeper water. 

We arrived at Allens Cay buy late afternoon and dropped the hook in crystal clear water in a lovely protected anchorage with about 20 other cruisers. Allens is often the first stop in the Exumas  for most cruisers, and while often crowded, it's still a lovely place with endangered iguanas on the beaches, nice snorkeling sites and lots of small islands nearby that you can dinghy to and have your own private  beach to enjoy.  We spent three  days just swimming, relaxing, exploring, and eating lobster and conch we bought from some local fishermen. 

After 3 days it was time to more on.  As we were preparing to leave Tim decided to check the engine since he had notice more engine oil odor than normal. He found a quart of oil under the engine.....ugh, an oil leak, this could be bad. Four hours later he determined oil was leaking from the oil pressure sender which screws onto the engine block. This was good news because it meant the oil wasn't coming from a blown gasket, bad bearing seal or a hole in some part of the engine. A temporary solution was to seal the leak in the sensor with JB Weld, an amazing 2-part epoxy.  This however meant another night at our paridise setting waiting for the epoxy to cure. The next morning we fired up the engine and the leak appeared to be fixed, at least for now.  Off to the next stop, Highborne Cay.

Photos to be included later, hopefully!