NASSAU HARBOR AGAIN
Glassy water hasn’t been the norm for this trip, but we sure had calm seas today for our sail from Highbourne Cay to Nassau Harbor. It was about a 40 mile trip, and we needed to motor the whole way. We tried to keep our speed up to 5 knots to make decent time. Charlie and Phyllis’s boat Wyvern is 5 feet longer and has a 4 cylinder diesel to our 3 cylinder. They tend to get ahead of us, which is natural. We try to keep each other in sight on long trips. Along the way, they diverted to a coral head to snorkel and enjoy the pristine coral along the way. Today was a great day to do it. The seas were calm so it was easy to climb in and out of the sailboat and snorkel about. We would have to drop our dinghy to do this so decided to skip it. By the time we caught up they were back on Wyvern anyway. They also diverted to explore a blue hole a few miles off course, but were thwarted by a dive group anchored over the top and in the way. We just made a straight course to Nassau and they sailed in at almost the same time. We both needed fuel but there were two large yachts tied up at the fuel dock. Sometimes, holding thousands of gallons it takes them a long time to fuel up. We anchored and waited until we saw them leave and then approached the fuel dock. Wyvern was a step ahead of us, so we circled until they were finished not wanting to collide with them. It takes a bit of figuring to decide which way the current is running and whether the wind (or lack thereof) will push your boat onto the dock or blow it away. We were in no hurry and when they were finished fueling we approached the fuel dock. We calculated the current right and two nice young Bahamian attendants caught our lines and we made a flawless docking for a change. We only needed about 45 gallons of diesel, and were on our way quickly. Not bad for 39 days of sailing, motoring and charging the batteries. It was a bargain at today’s prices. In past years we have paid as much as $6.00 a gallon.
Fueling done, we re-anchored then relaxed on the boat. Later we dinghied to Wyvern to plan our next few days adventures. There is nothing in Nassau we haven’t seen before, so we will sail out of here early tomorrow heading northwest on fair winds for the Berry Islands.
The picture is of the only cruise ship in Nassau Harbor today. Jack thought it looked cool at sunset with the lights just coming on. Knowing how much planning it takes to put two people on a small ship for 2-3 months, we have to admire the planning it takes to feed and house and entertain 1000s of folks even if it is only for a few days.