We headed across the bank toward the northwest channel. From there we abruptly left water that was about 12 feet deep to water that was hundreds and then thousands of feet deep. This area of deep water is called the Tongue of the Ocean. Deb from Nautilus had told me about this transition so I watched from the bow as the water went from green where you could see the bottom to dark blue in less than 30 seconds. We had jumped off a cliff into a deep deep pool.
Our depth finder did not know what to make of this and just went blank and started blinking. I felt the same way thinking of thousands of feet of water below us.
We had calm waters as we passed through the deep and soon several islands appeared . The first we saw was an uninhabited island with a large reef in front of it. The next was Crab Cay and then Chub. We emerged from the deep water and headed slowly into the Chub Cay channel to the marina there.
Chub Cay Marina used to be public but now is all private as is the island. It remains a good port of entry however and on a calm night, it is possible to anchor outside the channel. Otherwise, you have to check in there and then move on. We hailed the fuel dock and they told us to come on in. We raised our yellow quarantine flag announcing that we were a foreign boat not yet cleared to enter.
We approached the fuel dock with another boat. David and the other boat captain , and all of our documents were taken in a golf cart to the customs office. This is included in your landing fee at Chub. Finally, they brought David back and we were clear. We fueled up, exited the harbor and raised our Bahamas courtesy flag.
We anchored in the harbor off the beach at Chub. It was calm. David slept and I snorkeled a bit mainly just to swim. Our anchor was in sand with the chain on the bottom. The water was clear and a few small fish present.
It was lovely to sit in the sun after a swim. I was too excited to sleep. Watched the sunset and the moon rise. We had dinner and looked at our route for tomorrow to West Bay, New Providence Island.
