"Stuck" in Nassau Bahamas
30 April 2018 | Nassau Bahamas
Linda
With the forecast for rain and thunderstorms, we made a "quick" crossing over a large shallow area called “Yellow Banks” between the Exuma islands and the large island of New Providence where the capital of the Bahamas, Nassau, is located. We took a slip at the Palm Cay Marina on the southeast corner of Nassau. We had planned to stay about 3 days and then enjoy some more remote islands, called the Berry Islands. However, the wind increased and there were nasty squalls with lightning and thunder so we stayed in the marina for almost a week.
Marinas are not Dave’s favorite places. We have to secure the boat with lines and place fenders to protect the boat. Most of the time there are squeaks and groans from lines and docks all night long. Palm Cay Marina proved to be a bigger challenge than most. We were assigned a side tie on the end of a long dock, sharing the space with a power catamaran. Docks here are not floating ; however, a 3-4 foot tide means that one’s dock lines have to constantly be adjusted to be sure they are not tight or too loose. With high wind the boat surges back and forth, rubbing on large pilings with ugly black rub strips. We spent several nights getting up in the middle of the night to adjust dock lines. Dave finally took 3 of our boat outdoor mats and nailed them along the black piling rub strip and this stopped the squeaking.
We made the most of the marina’s free 2 hour courtesy car, taking trips into the city of Nassau and exploring what we could of the island. With 2-3 cruise ships docking in Nassua daily, it is quite a touristy place.
One of the touristy place we visited was the Ardasta Gardens and Zoo with a Flamingo "Parade" and Parrot feeding aviary. See the photo of Norma Jean performing an excellent flamingo one-legged stance.
Norma Jean and Mike had planned to accompany us through the Berry Islands to Freeport but due to our delay in Nassau, they were able to get a flight out to Fort Lauderdale instead. We hated to see them depart but have lots of wonderful memories to share.