Acclimating to Island Life

It finally feels like we are done preparing and finally cruising. We’re in Nassau now after spending two nights at anchor between Devil and Hauffman Cays (pronounced Keys). We caught our first fish, cleaned it and grilled it for our dinner Christmas day, it felt like a big step for us. Thanks to Bob Vanderpool for taking Jeff finishing last summer before we left Jefferson Beach Marina. He had shown Jeff how to clean the fish otherwise we wouldn’t have known what to do with it.

We spent a day exploring the Cays and snorkeling around the harbor where we were anchored. At sunset we enjoyed Rum Punch (drinks at sundown are affectionately referred to as sundowners) with some fellow cruisers. Jim and Linda joined us and brought along their conch shell horns to herald the sunset. Apparently this is a Bahamian tradition they learned last year and have been perfecting their skill since then. Jeff and I tried them out and couldn’t make a sound, Jim and Linda’s whistles were impressive.

We got an early start yesterday morning heading for Nassau along with three other boats from our anchorage. As we pulled out we realized we had only taken one picture, it was such a pretty spot that had we spent our time enjoying it rather than photographing it.

Started out looking like a great sailing day but the wind stopped cooperating after a few hours so it was under motor for at least half the 40 mile journey. The only problem we experienced had to do with checking in with Nassau Harbor Control before entering the harbor. It’s a busy place with lots of cruise ship traffic and monitored closely. We hailed them on the radio several times then just announced our intention to enter the harbor since we had no other choice. Everything went well and we later learned they were experiencing a problem with the radio at the time. Doesn’t sound like it happens often and everyone was frustrated.

Our stop here in Nassau was mostly for supplies and Internet access to order a few things. Brian and Katie will be visiting in about a week so we ordered a few things for them to bring along. They arrive in Georgetown on January 7th for a week. We will do some exploring as we head there to meet them then do more exploring with them.

We do have a few things on our calendar, Brian and Katie’s visit then Sarah and Kristi will visit first week in February. Our friends Joe and Cheryl Keefe will be in the Bahamas around the last week in February and we hope to catch up with them. Then in mid March we will be joining our kids for a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon and won’t be back to Echo till early April. It seems like a busy schedule but there is room for more visitors. The biggest problem we face is knowing what day it is, we’ll keep track so we don’t miss any rendezvous.

Please note that our cell phones are of no use to us here, we do have a satellite phone for emergencies and some limited calling since minutes are very expensive. Also, internet access is limited and sporadic. We are able to make posts via the single side band radio but not able to include pictures, we will try to upload some when we get to Georgetown.

Happy New a year to all – Jeff and Mary