New Horizon will leave Chub Cay

After almost a week of absolute bliss NH will plan to head out into the seas tomorrow Friday.

Yesterday February 7th was our first grandsons Tigran’s12th birthday. Although we are far away we send greetings via text and are there in spirit. 

The weather is beginning to settle somewhat so tomorrow we will make the cruise to New Providence Island and anchor at West Bay for the night and then on Saturday head to Highbourne Cay which is the tip of the Exuma’s. 

Nandad felt comfortable today to stretch out by the pool without his yellow ankle bands - so we are hoping he will not have any bites. 

We head over to Nauti-Rooster - which is the local bar - and have a wonderful dinner and drinks with fellow cruisers while the locals play chess, back gammon and pool. The bar has many tea-shirts from boaters hanging up on the walls, stickers on every wall and door  and lots of boat memorabilia. 

While chatting with our neighbors today this big turtle floats right by. Nana was so excited to finally see some activity in the water. 

We finally walked all the way down to turtle creek where you can take your paddle board or kayaks up the creek to watch the turtles and sometimes the bull sharks. Today we will watch from the shore. We have had a wonderful tranquil week on this little piece of paradise but like all journeys we will continue to the next destination. 

Tuesday 6th February

Well it’s a very nice feeling when you are safely tucked into a safe Harbour listening to the howling winds from the dock. Today the winds are up to 30 knots with gusts of 41 so very nice to be at the marina. Yesterday was the calm before the storm. We had an amazing afternoon snack onboard Bagus with host Anette and Bill on their Kasey Kroger 52’ - homemade brownies with strawberries and whipped cream and a wonderful cappuccino. We were joined by Don and Karen from Winthrop MA and believe it or not Karen’s family used to own Patalino in Franklin. What a small world. 

Here is Nandad advertising the off spray which he is using  to try deter the mosquitoes and gnats which seem to love him. It also provides you with a direction of where things can be found. In between the wind and rain we did find some sunshine. When Nana went for her walk she found the lovely chapel and a beautiful garden where somebody is growing Orchids from the palm trees - and yes in this picture the rooster is real! 

In between showers we managed to have a lovely dinner at the club house while chatting to a couple who have been cruising this area for almost 20 years! They had lots of stories to tell and many changes to the area. 

This picture is from Nebo and will show the outline of our journey from Grand Bahama Yacht Club to Chub Key.

The Berry Islands

Today is Michael’s birthday wishing him lots of greetings from the Berry Islands wishing he was here.

The Berry Islands stretch over 30 miles along the northeastern edge of the Grand Bahama Bank. They are 30 islands and 100 cays. Now you will want to know what is the difference between a Cay and an Island - Nana discovered that a Cay is a small island formed on the surface of a coral reef and an Island is sub-continental land that is surrounded by water! The Cays are mostly uninhabited or privately owned however there are several wonderful anchorage spots and you can dinghy to the beaches but there are also two marinas one at the northern tip at Great Harbour Cay and the second one is Chub Cay right at the southern tip which is where NH is docked for the next few days. The Stirrups lie at the northern corner of the Berry Islands and Great Stirrup is owned by Norwegian Cruise Line and Little Stirrup Island is leased to Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and renamed Coco Cay. On our way over we could see the Icon of the Seas on our AIS anchored at Coco Cay. The Icon of the Seas is the largest cruise ship in the world at 1198 feet carrying 7000 + passengers!

We choose the more isolated spots where we find peace and tranquillity. 

The rooster is a very popular bird here on Chub Cay and can be heard anytime during the day. The locals hang out is called the Nauti Rooster. The Island houses about 50 staff all living in the staff village around the corner from the clubhouse. There is also a very large well maintained vegetable garden, the largest solar array in The Bahamas, and there is also a small runway for private aircraft and charter flights. We rent a golf cart for the day however it takes about 20 minutes to drive around the island. Sport fishermen call this world renowned site “the pocket”. We have heard many reports of bonefish ( which apparently is eaten by the locals ) and many of the charter boats chase Marlin , Bluefin Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo and Barracuda. 

Sunrise in Lucaya - Sunset in Chub Cay

An early start on Friday for our 92 mile cruise to Chub Cay. The weather should be perfect for a smooth passage without surprises at an average speed of 10 knots NH should be pulling into the dock by 4.30pm. The seas were as predicted and we were able to identify lots of traffic with the AIS which helps prevent collisions - always good to avoid! It makes all the difference having a clear sky, light winds and waves less than two feet. The cruise took us eight and a half hours however it was such a nice passage we were able to have breakfast, lunch and snack without any issue. The water depth went from 1200 to 30 ft to 10 and watching the change in color was truly amazing. It can be somewhat frustrating when you can’t find the markers as indicated on the charts but keeping our waypoints and degrees on auto pilot helped and of course the confidence of a very skilled Captain. We were guided to our slip in time to watch the sunset.

Saturday February 3rd. Nana can be seen in the distance tossing a shell into the ocean and making a wish for her grandson Conor’s 10th birthday which she shares a birthday with.

Last night we watched a movie on the beach called Deep Fear - very fitting given we are on a boat. I believe bull sharks make their way into the harbor here which makes Nana a little nervous. What a way to spend you birthday starting with greetings from the kids and friends followed by breakfast up at the lodge , then a golf cart ride to Walkers Beach followed by a swim in the infinity pool and finally dinner with the surprise birthday cake that fed the whole dining room dessert. Thank you everybody - feeling so grateful.

Laydays at Grand Bahama Yacht Club

Wednesday Jan 31 st .After a super relaxing day we head to Smith Point Beach to the weekly fish fry. We take a taxi at the resort with a few other boaters and arrive just after sunset to get in line for the food. I guess this has been a tradition on the island and is organized by a local family community who all live in small homes on the beach. A live band plays, the bar serves lots of drinks and the open kitchen fries snapper, grills ribs and chicken. All served with rice, potato salad, Mac & cheese and cookies for dessert. The line is slow but the conversation flows, the music is good and we are right on the beach. What a life. 

Before we leave a local fisherman was delivering conch to the marina and insisted on giving me a gift.

Thursday we have booked into Chubb Cay from Friday Feb 2nd for a week. It is approximately 92 SM so it will take us several hours. We are very excited as the resort is reported to be very upscale. The weather looks good so we expect a smooth crossing - fingers crossed. We decide to visit the Garden of the Groves which is about 12 miles from the resort. It was in its prime a very beautiful tranquil spot  - it still is however it needs a lot of attention. Our lunch was delicious and we are back to the marina in time to get a ride to the grocery store and provision before we leave.

Nandad admiring a very curly cactus and Nana walking the labyrinth.

Heading to Grand Bahama Yacht Club

Monday Jan 29th was a very windy day and way too cold to be at the beach or the pool. Nana and Nandad decided to rent a car for the day and take a drive to Freeport and Port Lucaya. The island is about 93 miles long and 17 miles wide. It is about an hours drive to Port Lucaya and along the way there is a lot of evidence of Dorian which caused much destruction in 2022. The International Bazzar at Freeport is now abandoned but just behind it is The Fragrance of the Bahamas Ltd.,Perfume factory which Nana might visit in the next few days. We did visit Port Lucaya Marketplace where we found the Bahamas Maritime Museum. This was a well worth visit and we had a personal docent give us the history of the Bahamas and the artifacts of the shipwreck Maravillas ( lost off the northern islands on January 4th 1656 ). The museum opened in 2022 and is sponsored by Carl and Gigi Allen who purchased Walkers Island in 2018. Carl Allen is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, outdoor sportsman and explorer.

The marina beside the marketplace looks like it is abandoned and the marketplace itself had many empty stores.

We has a very nice lunch at the Ocean Reef Marina - the restaurant at the GBYC was closed - and later once we got back to NH we had dinner at the restaurant here at Old Bahama Bay followed by a quick stroll on the beach.

Tomorrow we will leave for Port Lucaya. 

Tuesday we leave West End at 11 am and head into the seas to Lucaya, Bell Channel approximately 30 sm so a short cruise. It is a beautiful cruise and the winds and waves were as predicted so the passage was comfortable and relaxing - it does make a huge difference cruising during day light! It was interesting to cruise along the coast about two miles off shore passing several channels. There are no anchorage’s along the shoreline only marinas. Freeport is a cruise ship port- of - call and Freeport Harbour is a vast commercial port. There are several super ships waiting to unload their cargo. Bell Channel is the entranceway to Port Lucaya about 9 nm from Freeport. NH enters the channel ( the water is so clear you can see the bottom which is a little weird ) ,proceeds inward and heads to starboard where a slip at Grand Bahama Yacht Club is reserved. We are tied up and plugged in by 2pm. Plenty of time to washdown all the salt from the boat, take a stroll and check in. The marina provides a courtesy drive to the grocery store daily at 2pm, a water taxi that will take you across to the marketplace, a pool, laundry and several water sports for rental. We will stay here until Friday so will become quite familiar with the marina and its facilities. 

Nana and Nandad thought that Tigran would really like this tender docked at the marina.

Old Bahama Bay Marina

A very handsome Captain and a beautiful flag. We are officially legal for 63 days should we decide to stay that long. Once we brought NH into her assigned slip we decided to explore the area. The marina is surrounded by very colorful little villas which all look out on the bay. There is a gym, pool, Teaser Tiki Bar, restaurant and of course the beach. They also have beach volleyball, basketball, chess & checkers and of course cornhole. By the time it’s lunchtime the marina is full mostly with sailboats. 

It’s the perfect afternoon to settle in and enjoy the wonderful breeze onboard. Unfortunately just before sunset our view is obstructed by Destination. I guess it goes to show there are good goods in small parcels. 

Nana took a stroll to catch the sunset. We had a very nice dinner onboard to celebrate our first evening in the Bahamas. Tomorrow we will plan over breakfast our next destination  - no pun intended !!