January 1 -4, 2022 - Grand Bahamas

Can’t believe another year has gone by. At 9:00am, we left Old Bahamas Marina and heading to Lucaya It won’t be as long of a run today. A little wavy today. 

Unfortunately, the wind was right on our nose so poor GaYa  was being bounced and we’re only going. 4,5 knots against the currents also. 

 Information

Grand Bahamas Island is the fourth largest island in the Bahamas   The island runs west  to east and is 70 miles long and 6 miles wide and stretches  16 miles at its widest point. 

11:15am- Went by these huge riggers near Freeport

As we were going by Freeport, Steve remarked that we were boating in 1034 ft of water. 

12:15- First time sail goes out this year. 

12:30pm- Made is a delicious sandwich with my homemade bread as GaYa was bouncing up and down. Surprisingly, I did not feel seasick. 

1:45pm-  Gunter and Sue had their sail out for the first time since they have bought the boat. When they tried to bring it in, it got all twisted and poor Gunter had to go to the bow while the wind was howling and the boat was going up and down. We turned around to let him know just to bring the sail down rather than hurling it in. Sue told me later she thought she was going to have a heart attack. He managed to get the sail down and tie it down before coming in to tie up at the dock. 

2:30pm- Arrived at Lucaya at Grand Bahamas Yacht Club. I think we are going to stay here a couple of days. Coming in the dock, poor GaYa got dinged as the wind and current steered her in the concrete dock. At least we were going slow and she didn’t get her gel coat scratch. 

3:00pm- Steve went to help Gunter and Sue put their sail up and furl it back in. It was quite the show. 

3:30pm- As if there wasn’t enough adventure for a day, poor Sue dropped her glasses in the water off her boat. She had to dive in the water to get them.  

On our way to the restaurant, Steve said he had Dosh and Tits. 

5:00pm-  We decided to go to Rosie’s restaurant for cheeseburgers and fries. Sue and Gunter joined us

Went back to the boat afterwards and watch a movie until we went to bed. 

January 2, 2022

6:30am-  Went for a brief walk before putting in 2 loads of wash. They have a nice facility here. It is quite windy so we are staying put until Wednesday. 

Apparently there is a boat beside Sun Spirit who were going to stay here for a week but they have been here a month. Can’t wait to explore. 

Cleaned the boat, vacuumed and wash my floor. Feels good when everything is tidy again. 

My sun shade have worked out good. It is the first time I tried them out. 

10:30am- Finally finished our wash. One of the machines did not work properly and of course that is the one I chose. The spinner did not work on it so it took forever to dry. The marina compensated for the cost and now I placed a sign on it stating “Out of service”. 

Steve is fishing tits. 

12:45- Walked about a kilometre to the grocery store.  Sue and I forgot our mask so we had to stay out and let the men do the groceries. They are very strict in the Bahamas if you don’t wear a mask.  Huge fine if you don’t.  

They have a really nice grocery store. It has only been opened for a month.

Due to high winds, looks like we are staying here until Wednesday. Nice place to be stuck. 

2:00pm- Went for a dinghy ride down the channel. It is amazing how much money was spent to build walls along the canal lot waterway. We were going to go find a beach but it was too rough at the inlet. We strolled down the canal way to explore. Lots of beautiful houses built. 

We came across these s sunken ships. So sad to see. 

Around 3:30pm we had a beer and a little siesta. 

4:30pm-  Went for a nice hot shower. When we returned, Steve helped Gunter with  his bow navigation lights while Sue and I sipped on a glass of wine. 

6:30pm- Light fixed  and Gunter And Steve came back to our boat and had a couple of beers. 

7:00. - After Sue and Gunter went back to their boat, Steve barbecued sausage while I made a salad. 

The whole island was out of power and we could hear the generators working. Quite common on Bahamian islands to lose power. 

Watch a movie before going to bed. 

January 3, 2022

7:00am- Bread making day.  Breezy warm day as Steve and I walked around the marina to stretch. Steve was so happy when I made him a couple of egg McMuffin for breakfast. 

8:30am- Steve filled up the front water tank and filled up the gas tank with Jerry cans.  He sure gets his  workout.  

11:00am- While Steve laid low, I went for a walk and met Leslie on vessel Master Plan. Julie and Brad from Alizarin, who we sailed with prior years, are good friends with them and told us to go introduce ourselves.  Leslie told me a few places to go eat and visit. 

I walked to the Lucaya Marketplace which was 2 km away. Along the way, I passed the police station.  There were some old buildings falling apart with new ones buying built on the background. Looks like development is progressing. 

The beach access was close by but I didn’t bother continuing. Lots of cute shops at the Market. 

There was a huge mosaic display  near the Art Shop which was closed by the time I got there. The market closes at noon

It was funny to see Wendy’s. 

When I got back to the boat. I got a bag of ice and made us cold cranberry/pineapple drinks. Steve was pleasantly surprised.  Another successful loaf of bread came out of the oven. It is difficult to regulate the oven temperature. It is suppose to cook at 400F however the oven reaches higher than 450F.  Steve said he likes the crustiness.  

While Steve read, I practiced my ukulele and guitar.  

Tacos for dinner tonight. 

Watched a movie before going to bed. 

January 4, 2022

6:30am- Went for my morning walk and stretch. 

After breakfast, Steve and I dinghied to the market however we were a little early. Only a few stores where opened. 

We went around to look at the beaches but didn’t go on the beach. On the way back, a huge Italian sailboat was coming in slowly. He drew 9 ft. What a beautiful boat. 
10:00am-  The marina gave us a ride to the grocery store. Figure we would get our last grocery shopping in since we do not know when we will be doing groceries again. You don’t always get such nice new groceries in the Bahamas. 
When we got back to the boat, I finished making the front sun shades. 

1:30pm-  After lunch, we went to buy ice and pay off the bill. 

Small world…. We ran into Andrew who used to keep his boat beside us on J dock at Fifty Point Yatch Club in Grimsby. We didn’t recognize him because he was wearing a mask but he recognized Steve. He called Steve ‘Fifty Point’ because he couldn’t remember his name. 

. Went for a swim afterwards. So refreshing

I enjoyed the hot shower and did laundry because who knows when we will be doing it again. Tomorrow we will anchor so our luxuries will disappear. Hopefully I will have cell so I can update my blog. 😆

Tonight is porc chops, broccoli, coconut rice and salad. 

Watched a couple of downloaded series and then to bed by 8:30pm.