Monday December 29 to Tuesday December 30
It was a narrow crossing window as a cold front was approaching our area of the Bahamas on Tuesday, late morning, We needed to arrive early in the morning in order to get to a safe harbour before the front arrived. We left Miami around 9 am.
It was calm in the gulf stream and we motored through. We got to the bank just before sunset. In the light that we had, I could watch the depth go from a thousand feet to 20 feet.
We were able to sail on the bank for awhile. It was calm enough to cook lasagna soup for dinner. We had a half moon and beautiful stars. We took turns watching and snoozing. David’s snooze was always shorter than mine. The wind shifted behind us and we had to motor and take down the genoa. We kept the main on the preventer to keep us from rolling too much.
We got to the entrance to Great Harbour around 6 am and took our time for the last few miles waiting for light. There was a cut to enter the harbour. Another boat was waiting as well, S/v Nyla and we spoke to them on the radio. They offered to report the depth to us as they entered the channel. We met them later, two brothers who plan to sail around the world.
The cut was hidden until you got very close and all the outside channel markers were missing. We followed the magenta line on the chart. The cut was very deep and there was a current against us but not too strong and Nyla reported on conditions so we knew what to expect. Inside, the harbor was wide and had channel markers.
We contacted the marina where Tramiko planned to meet us and help with lines. The approach and docking went well and we got secure without a problem.
We checked in at the marina but the customs and immigration officers were not due to come until 9 am. The marina staff promised to call on the radio when they arrived. We tidied up a bit and snoozed. We had not heard from the staff by 930 so we checked again. They promised to call. Around 1030, we got the announcement that they had arrived. Island time.
All of us went to the office. It was fairly smooth as we had done our registration online. The woman asked about our fishing gear. She did not like us having a hawaiian sling and told us she would need to search our boat. Last year, this was perfectly legal but the rules change. In the end, she did not search our boat and we were fine to just let that go. We got clearance for 120 days. We will have to renew our fishing permit monthly, online and in an immigration office. We were aware of that rule change and the increase in entry fee.
We napped for awhile, during which we had several short rain showers. The weather cleared but was windy as we set out to explore the town of Bullock’s Harbour. Fishermen were cleaning the day’s catch on the end of the dock: lobster, snapper and grouper.
A man named Ramon gave us a ride to town. We offered him a tip but he refused and told us to just enjoy ourselves on the island. We went to Coolie Maes sunset cafe thinking of getting some food and drink. They did not serve beer or mixed drinks so we ordered lemonade. They were out of that so we shared a gatorade. We had some good chicken wings. They make bread so I ordered a loaf for the next day. We were definitely struggling with the pace but it was all coming back to us. We walked back to the marina as it was getting dark.