When in doubt, watch the Signs !!
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We left Sapodilla Bay one day before our expired time was up, and we hailed the very active and persistent Provo Radio, as required, to announce our departure at the bright and early hour of 07:30 a.m., coffee in hand, but of course. He wished us a pleasant voyage.
As we were navigating our way out, we got in turn hailed by some longtime Banyan Blog Readers, who were at one of the marinas we had just visited the other day.
"Just wanted to say hi, we love your blog..." said the friendly voice on VHF 16.
Whoa !! What a great way to start the day!! And what a fantastic comment to hear, anytime !! Thanks for the Shout Out, thanks for following, thanks for reading !! Too bad we hadn't connected just one day earlier... bad timing !!
And then we sailed, and sailed, and sailed some more and 61 nautical miles later we arrived in Abrahamas Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas.
"We're back in the Bahamas" we both toasted with an arrival beer.
Where we patiently waited out Sunday, a day of rest, a No Day where the winds blew a frenzied chop into the long Bay, and we knew weren't going ashore even if we wanted to.
We noted that it was getting colder out, and after our pre-sundowner showers, it was leggings and a long sleeved top that I needed to dig out from the depths of the closets.
"And look, the sun is setting much later than usual" we both remarked, looking at the "very late" time of half past seven as we watched it slowly set.
"I didn't think we were that far North" said the Capt'N.
Monday was calm(er) and we got up with the sun, had a quick breakfast and made our way ashore.
the very very shallow entrance into Abrahamas Bay a little hard to find and we may have skimmed the bottom as we tried to find the entrance.
The Active Captain reviews noted to follow the stakes and they were a little hard to find too!! But we did find them, and we made our way in, tied up and got ashore.
It was a short walk up the road,
to the open Customs Office, the kind lady a little concerned with getting herself organized before helping us out.
We filled out the required paperwork, and at the end, paid our $300 Bahamas C&I fees.
"Ouch" I winced as the Capt'n handed over the dollars.
Right next door was the BTC office, and we had our devices in hand to get a SimCard and Data plan. The Sign on the door "Closed" and the opening hours noted 09:30 - 04:30 Monday to Friday.
"It's 09:15, they're almost open" we both said. How excellent timing was that??
We waited, and meandered around the parking lot, and waited.
And waited. And waited some more, trying not to check the time every second of every minute lapsed by.
The sun was rising and it was starting to get hot. A few roosters crossed the road. The roads were empty and it felt like a Sunday.
We kept eyeing the Door with it's Closed Sign.
A few moments later, we tried the Closed door, and sure enough it was locked. We checked the time...again.
"It's almost quarter to ten!" I exclaimed impatiently !!
We heard voices inside... there was hope. We waited. And waited.
At 09:50 we knocked on the door.
A friendly BTC agent appeared, unlock the door, and with a smile, said "But we're not open yet".
"Oh, we thought you opened at 09:30?" we replied with a question.
He looked at the time.
"It's not even 9?" he said curiously.
And for the next half hour we wondered how on this connected Earth that we live in, with three devices that are checked many times during the day, that we had managed to cross a time zone during our passages, and our devices had failed to inform us of that little tiny fact.
"No wonder the Customs lady seemed a little unprepared as we were checking in..." I laughed out loud,
"She was just getting to work at the bright hour of 08:00 a.m. Monday morning!" laughed Dave.
We got back to Banyan, raised Dinghy on deck, and by 11:00 a.m. (correct time, by the way) we started our passaging. Again.
We wanted to do this last long jump to get past Long Island, and into the protected anchorage for the next few days. It's all about timing friends !!