YACHT "WANDERING STAR": Paradise Island

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Nassau - It's Not Always Paradise In Paradise.

At day break this morning a cold front passed through the anchorage in Nassau

As I write this the wind is howling through the rigging, halyards are rapping constantly on the mast. The noise gnaws at you, filling you with apprehension and unease. You can feel the force of the wind as it whips up the water around us and hurls the boat this way and that. A huge power yacht is holding position along side us, unable to do much else in this wind. We watch as a cruise ship abandons pulling into their snug berth, choosing to ride this one out at sea. We've been up since day break when the front first passed over. This anchorage is notorious for boats dragging and while we have done our best to make sure our own anchor is set in the continually shifting currents and weedy bottom - we can't be so sure about the boats around us.

Sun up and wind and rain are whipping through the anchorage.

We are in Nassau, New Providence. A place we love to hate. It's the metropolis of the Bahamas. While parts of it are stunning with its glorious beaches and cyrstal clear water's; and the obvious bounties of wealth with mega yachts to one side of us, the famous Atlantis hotel on the other and a line of cruiseships in front of us, you don't have to look far to see what a seedy, crime ridden place this is. Sail boats have been boarded and robbed both in marinas and at anchor. Five minutes walk out of the glitzy cruise ship area with its fake designer shops and tacky souvenir stores, you are clutching your bag a little tighter as you walk past the decrepit and derelict buildings boarded up on Bay Street. The haves and The have nots, living so close, side by side - you can understand why the place is rife with crime. We don't go out at night or leave our dinghy anywhere we can't lock it, we are more alert and vigilant than usual.

The gorgeous beaches on Paradise Island

We are here for two reasons - 1. My silly seaglass obsession...the beaches are great for little glass treasures. and 2. A cheap wheel of cheese!- lead by our stomachs we bought a huge wheel of Brie here last year for only $10 - sadly they've cottoned on to the pricing error and now, at more than double the price -its no longer the bargain it was but I had to entice Sim somehow.

A king Mackerel - first catch in a year!

We left Eleuthera last Tuesday on a warm balmy day with not much wind and headed towards Nassau. We were fine with a motor, the trip was short, and unlike when we are sailing, we can potter onboard much like when we are at anchor. We threw a line out and almost immediately caught our first fish, the first in an exceedingly long time. A king mackerel, no less - even Sim enjoyed it. We stopped at Rose Island for a swim - the first of the season too, before heading into Nassau Harbour. And for the most part we have been blessed with gorgeous weather. Our friends on Hunda are here, as well as a couple of other boats we know. With the sunny days came the feeling we had finally arrived in the Bahamas especially after all the grey days of the Abacos.

Is it really a hardship to walk on these beaches?if

Now the beaches have been walked, now we've met up with friends and now we know the Brie is no longer available, we are ready to leave. Only we can't because we are playing that old game with the weather. We want to leave but the weather won't allow us. Instead we are stuck in yet another front, the hot balmy days are gone and a cold wind blows down from the north. The skies are grey and overcast. Its most certainly a day for staying onboard.

Dorothy and I go for a walk on Paradise Island

The famous Atlantis hotel

Local boats tied up at the docks

"Letters for the rich, letters for the poor"

Landing the dinghy on a tiny bit of Beach near all the cruise ships

Digging a hole so we can lock the dinghy to a tyre....a deterrent if nothing else.

No one can pass the cruise ship until its docked.

The lighthouse at the end of Paradise Island.

One of the better looking abandoned buildings.

Enjoying an ice cream with Dorothy and Duncan downtown.

Sim blends in well!

Down on the docks locals sell their wares - conch shells and starfish.

Local boats in the harbour

The local police force.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Sharks, Snakes and Star fish - My Sisters Visit

Colonial Beach, Paradise Island, Nassau, New Providence
Great for beach combing

My sister Jen’s visit has been and gone. It’s been good. Nassau had us in its sticky clutches for a little over a week while we waited for her to arrive. It’s not a bad place if you can overlook the high crime rates, over inflated tourist prices and less than adequate anchorage where wind against tide and constant boat wakes keep you constantly vigilant. I love walking the windward shore to the lighthouse on Colonial Beach hunting for sea-glass and shells. When Jen arrived we made good use of the Green Parrot Bar at Bay Street Marina which serves the most phenomenal Conch Fritters and huge Burgers that justify their hefty price. We snuck into Atlantis (after 6pm) and walked around their impressive underwater world with massive Jew fish and Saw toothed sharks. We took to the streets of Nassau Harbour full of tourist shops and duty free shopping for the cruise ships where you can buy souvenirs and cheap knock offs.

Jen and I at Atlantis

Just before leaving grubby Nassau behind we made a last minute decision to buy a generator at great expense – (twice the price of the US) as our huge battery bank has slowly been depleting with the shorter and often more cloudy days. With the boat fully stocked - as there are no shops, restaurants or even cellular service where we were going, we left the clutches of Nassau behind and pointed Wandering Star in a south easterly direction bound for the Exuma islands. We stopped briefly at Rose Island snorkelling and hunting for more sea-glass but didn’t stay as strong winds were expected that night and we wanted to put ourselves somewhere a little safer.

We arrived late to Highbourne Cay just as the sun was setting and struggled to get the anchor to hold. It is always a little fretful when darkness starts to wrap its finger around you and you are not yet settled for the night. But eventually with the last vestiges of light the anchor finally took hold – which was just as well as the wind blew hard - we pitched and rolled wildly in the built up seas. Sim stood watch through the worst of it, making sure everything was ok. The next morning it was still too lumpy to launch the dinghy so we all had a quiet day on board reading and playing Farkel.

Isn't the water amazing?- At Hawksbill Cay

When the winds finally eased we sailed around to Hawksbill Cay 10 miles further south and executed a perfect example of anchoring under sail, not something we get to do often but made easy in this otherwise deserted anchorage! Hawksbill Cay is one of the less frequented islands in the Exuma chain and yet one of the most spectacular. Totally devoid of human inhabitants, it is just bay after bay of jaw dropping beauty. Crystal clear waters lap gently on the unspoilt beaches. There is nothing there, except for sea, sand and sky. Less than a mile across the shrubby land the ocean rolls onto the windward shore. The only sign there is human life is from all the debris washed ashore. Jen and I explored the individual bays in our kayaks. We hovered over giant rays with wing spans the width of our outstretched arms; we saw all kinds of starfish, and even a shark as we kayaked through the waterways of the shrubby marshland. We hiked across the island and crossed paths with snakes. We even got to see a very impressive green flash as the sun sank below the horizon. But mostly we walked on some of the most spectacular beaches around.

Wow - @ Hawksbill Cay

Soon it was time to move on again, we stopped for one night in Warderwick Wells but carried on the next day to our final destination with Jen, Big Majors Spot and Staniel Cay enjoying the company of a lone dolphin playing in our bow waves on the sail south. We snorkelled at Thunderball Grotto; made famous by the James Bond movie. The coral gardens around the outside of the cave are some of the best we have seen, so healthy and colourful. Inside light pours in from the natural skylights above, the cave is full of Sergeant Majors and colourful Angel fish all waiting in hope to be fed. Even a small reef shark swam in before Jen chased it out trying to catch the moment on camera. We enjoyed a night with John and Shirley from Khaya Moya who pointed out the sparkling Pulsar stars twinkling a multi hue of colours in the night’s sky. We bravely (read Jen, I hung back) fed the swimming pigs with their yapping jaws and protruding teeth that live on the beach at Big Majors Spot. We were surprised at the sheer number of nurse sharks that hang around the yacht club at Staniel Cay waiting for chum from the fish cleaning station. Even under our boat, everyday as the sun sets, a shark would loiter making the thought of swimming an unattractive prospect. Though I do believe nurse sharks are harmless enough, it’s hard to put the knowledge of a recent shark attack to a lady in the Abacos out of our minds. We walked around the small picturesque island of Staniel Cay enjoying more conch specialties at the yacht club.

Oh My! - A shark!

Eventually it was time for Jen to go, we walked her to the tiny airport and put her on a tiny plane. Like I said it has been good, how can it not be? When we have walked on stunning beaches, swam in caves, seen sunsets and full moons, green flashes and colourful pulsars, sharks and snakes, rays, dolphins and swimming pigs.