Bonanza picked up a couple of new crew members in Florida before we headed out to the Bahamas. Jamie and Mel, from Brooks Alberta, figured a little sailing adventure was just what they needed. So, we loaded up the fridge and the bar, left the Old Port Cove Marina - finally - and anchored out at the entrance to the Lake Worth Inlet.
Just as advertised in the NOAA forcast the winds dropped to less than five knots and the sea conditions flattened right out.
Leaving the inlet around 10pm we had the best conditions ever. Clear, calm, moonlit evening with smooth water stretching out ahead - the perfect night to head into the gulf stream and on to West End Bahamas. Unfortunately, our crew member Mel felt the effects of the boat motion and deisel fumes early on, so she went below and spent the evening there. All else went fine until about half way through the night. The wind decided to pick up and up and up and of course the seas followed suit.
Jamie decided he had seen enough of the building wave and retreated below. Conditions deteriated from then on...winds steady at 20 -25 and seas building big and choppy. Bonanza, had no problem handling the goings on and continued plowing onwards steadily right into the Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End Grand Bahama Island. Sorry, no pictures of this part of the adventure. I needed both hands for most of the night. Luckily, we arrived in time to have a victory drink at the beach bar. A few hours later, a strong cold front arrived and we enjoyed being tucked into the safety of the marina.
Now, that's more like it! This is a picture of the water as we arrived at Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands. We had a great overnight motor sail from West End and anchored in the tiny harbour outside the marina. We arrived on shore and decided to walk over to the other side of the island to see the sights. We didn't get far on foot because "Jimmy" pulled up in his white pickup truck and offered us a ride. The ride turned into a whole island tour including beer stops at the Beach Club and the town liquor store.
A few days later we headed out for Panton Island. We sailed back out into the deep water and around the northern most of the Berry Islands. We passed by an anchored cruise ship and the small cay where the cruisers are tendered ashore to hang out on the beach and play with all the water toys. We tucked into the small anchorage around the corner from the cruise ship beach. It was great because we could still watch all the para sail and jet ski action without being too close to the chaos.
We went onshore to check out a nearby lighthouse and walk around on the nature trails. Not much else was shaking on our little island. Iguanas and egrets pretty much run the place. Of course another cold front blew through the next day keeping us on board except for Jamie who is now obsessed with fishing.
