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Day 8-13, June 24th to 29th
Atlantis, Nassau. Very impressive indeed. "Da boys" arrived at 8:10 am to wash and wax the boat and after that crossing, it really needed it - better they do it than me! They said they could wash the boat for $100 but they would wash and wax it for $300. That, my friend, is a mega deal because in Miami, they charge $1,000 to wash and wax Salty Old Dog, being the monster of a boat that it is. They also put the ramp/stairs (see www.marquipt.com) on and that is a BONUS for Salty and I to get on and off the boat without having to wait for the Captain's assistance. Such freedom! So, while the guys were cleaning the boat, we toured Atlantis and tried to fight our way through the tourists. This is like being on a cruise ship (or three all at the same time) with all the people, staff and hustle bustle of "vacationers"; hard to believe it will be even bigger and better in another year. Barry said this was definitely not his idea of "boating" but it was an experience to be there none the less. There are 11 restaurants here (we weren't able to get a reservation for dinner at any!), shops, activities - truly an awesome Resort. We had a nice lunch overlooking a man-made beach then walked around, watched the activities along the beach along the ocean - absolutely beautiful but we'll be happy to move to our next Marina down the way - The Nassau Harbour Club which is half the Marina but half the price as well.
Day 9, June 25th Nassau Harbour Club Marina. - We left Atlantis around 11:00 am after I did laundry and sent off a couple of emails as we would not be anywhere with internet capabilities for a while. We had to quickly get fuel as we were running on fumes at that point. Welcome to the Bahamas - we gassed up with 407 gallons of diesel for the paltry sum of $1,202.60 and don't forget the additional 3% surcharge because we used VISA (you do the math) - what a deal. We were in our new slip at 12:15 and boiling hot with the exertion of just moving and breathing. I tell you what, the best things on this boat (other than the Captain) are air conditioning and the ramp to get on and off. How Jackie managed to survive without air conditioning for most of their year-long trek in their 37' Lord Nelson sailboat, I have no idea! After a couple of hours of cleaning up the boat (diesel off the side and spray on the boat) and just getting settled in, we headed off to get some lunch and scope out our new digs. Unfortunately and as expected, we are not able to put the ladder/ramp out on this dock - it's wooden and way to skinny to have it work properly without falling off the edge at low or high tide. Again, unfortunately, it will more than likely be that way throughout the whole adventure, oh well, worse things could happen (and hopefully they don't). We had lunch at a great little spot down the street called Poop Deck overlooking a Marina and took home left-over grouper for Salty. Looks like our new Marina will give us a nicer view at the dock as we are right on the channel heading out to the big water (Yellow Banks in between Nassau, New Providence and the Exumas) so there will be lots of boat traffic. The only down-side to that will be that the boat will rock more but staying in Miami Beach Marina, you get used to that…Salty doesn't like it as he slinks around trying to find a spot that isn't moving, but he'll get his sea legs soon enough. The BEST thing about this Marina is the wireless internet access - it ROCKS! We can sit in the A/C down below and plug away at email, search the net or whatever and this service is only $12.00 a day which is a great deal. It's much better than at the Miami Beach Marina where it is very slow and we have to be outside on the aft deck to get it to connect. We went to an upscale "Oriental" restaurant for dinner and I have to say, it was one of the best I've been to - everything was great. Barry was speaking with the chef on a Catamaran behind us and he highly recommended it, so if a chef says it's good - it's got to be good. We had a horrible storm in the middle of the night and Barry rushed up top to close up the plastic windows in the aft deck where we have our sitting area with rug and large chairs with cushions - takes forever to dry that out. We were really rocking and being tossed about and the noise of the waves crashing under the swim platform wasn't exactly conducive to a good night's sleep. Salty usually sleeps at the end of the bed on the floor but I felt sorry for him and took him up on our bed - poor Salty Dog - didn't want him to be scared! Then the power went out, which means the air conditioning stops, which means you melt in three minutes flat. Barry bought a neat little electric radio that will either start the radio OR shine a bright light when the power goes out and it definitely was beaming a bright light, so it works well. Up he gets again to start the generator and get things working again until morning and the power should be back on in the Marina. Although last year in the Abacos, the power was always going out in the Marina, sometimes for days and I felt sorry for those who didn't have a generator (Bill Chalmers!) and had come into the Marina specifically to "plug in" for air conditioning (poor Jackie).
Day 10, Sunday, June 26th and it will be just a relaxing kind of day. Salty and I went for a walk but it's not quite the same walking on a busy street with hardly any grass to be seen, than running on the beach. Never mind Salty, you will soon be in your element when we head off on Tuesday morning to Highborne Cay in the Exumas to a different Marina. The Captain has entered in his waypoints for the Exumas into the Chart GPS and seeing as how we are going to have some unsettled weather for the next couple of days, we'll figure out our strategy vis a vis Marina or anchoring off when we get there. All the books say that Highborne Cay is worth staying at for more than a few days and there is a beach right there, so I think we can tough it out. We've figured out over the last 24 hours here that one low tide is at 8:00 am and another one at 6:00 pm, with high tides being at 12:00 noon and "sometime" during the night. Low tide works quite well for Salty and I as the entrance/exit point at the gangway where we walk up the side of the boat (mid-point between the waterline and top of the boat) is level with the dock and that means easy on and off for us. This may seem trivial, but when you have to pull a 27,000 ton boat over close enough to jump UP or DOWN and not hurt yourself or kill yourself or fall in the drink - well, let me tell you, this is where you really, really appreciate low tide. We sat around and did virtually nothing today - I made lunch on board, we played on the internet, I updated pictures for our adventure and we watched TV. It was windy and overcast so we didn't feel too guilty about not doing anything. When I said this Marina was half the one Atlantis was, let me re-phrase that - it's one hundredth (is that a word?) the Marina Atlantis is. It's too bad because it is really well laid out with a place where a restaurant used to be with balconies overlooking the Marina and what could be a very nice pool area. There is a huge wooden, circular stairway in the middle of the Marina building that is very attractive too. The front of the Marina/Hotel building that is street-side is rather run-down looking and if they fixed it up, it could be a booming spot. It is located right across the Street from a large strip mall with everything you would need from a grocery store, Radio Shack, fitness studio, you name it. Oh well… such is life in the big City. We took a cab to a great Italian restaurant for dinner; Luciano's overlooking Nassau Harbour with Atlantis on the other side of the channel. Our cab ride took us through the streets of one of Nassau's "residential" areas and gave us a good look at living conditions here. I can't figure out why the Bahamian Government is so bound and bent on having proof of your dog's health with Veterinarian certificates, proof of rabies shots, Import permits, etc. when the stray dogs roaming their streets are clearly more of a health risk to "our" dog than the other way around. These poor creatures shouldn't even be alive and how they continue to live like that is beyond me. Salty doesn't know how good he's got it - or does he? We got back from a lovely dinner, had a night cap and Barry was up and turning on the generator once again when the power went out in the middle of the night. We didn't have a storm, just another night of windy conditions and bouncing around which seems to be the norm at Bahamian Marinas!
Day 11, Monday, June 27th I'm thinking I'll have to call this adventure the "Booze & Bruise Cruise" because all it seems I've been doing is pouring another drink or getting another bruise; I do know, however, that one is definitely not related to the other
(I'm sure they're not related)! This was another day of nothing and being on Bahamian time, but I did manage to go across the street to get my nails done and buy 2 pairs of sandals! Barry also managed to change the oil and fuel filters so that is a good thing and the day was not a total write-off. It's very windy and it's not looking good for us to leave tomorrow for the Exumas but we'll see what the morning brings. We went to an Indian Food restaurant "The Clay Pot" for dinner and it was really good - my Brother Bob would be proud!
Day 12, Tuesday, June 28th Our bedroom is in the stern of the boat and with the wind the way it is blowing, our sleeping conditions are very, very noisy with the waves slapping and pounding the boat, along with rocking and rolling. The swim platform is right there and very close to the water line which means the waves slap on the under side of it all night! Poor Salty - being on the floor with his head bouncing around must really be having a really bad sleep…. I don't know why he doesn't go up to the forward berth where he goes when we leave for dinner - the waves don't slap up there. I believe we'll be taking our fancy mattress pad and moving to the forward bedroom tonight though because as it turns out, we will be staying another couple of days. No, the wind isn't going to die down any time soon, so rather than get pounded in 6' waves, we've decided to dink around Nassau and wait till conditions improve; we'll have lunch out today but I'll be cooking a roast on board tonight - good old fashioned American food - and watch movies (thanks Patty)!
Day 13, Wednesday, June 29th was much of the same and we were happy to see the wind is dying down somewhat. It's supposed to be 11 knot winds tomorrow so that should be ok to cross over to the Exumas….still a bit on the rocky side, but at least we'll get over there. Salty managed to get a couple of dips in the pool today and so did the Captain so all in all it was a good day. Salty's worst nightmare was the shark floating in the pool - what a weenie he is when he can't even attack a plastic shark! We had "dinner" and I use that word lightly, at The Sailor's Choice restaurant and I use that word lightly too. It was pretty much what you might expect on the little islands and cays but not in Nassau. Grouper bites - sound appetizing Bill?
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