Nassau/New Providence (2012-2014)

On March 1, 2012, we left Great Harbour in our 4788 Bayliner named, “On The Hook”, heading to Nassau on New Providence Island in the Bahamas.  Before entering Nassau harbor, when within a mile or so, all vessels must first get permission to enter the harbor by calling Nassau Harbour Control on VHF 16.   They will ask you to shift to working Channel 9. They will ask for your last port of call, request boat documentation and your intended destination. (You also have to call them before leaving the harbor, for permission to do so, when they will ask for your destination.)  Nassau Harbor is the waterway between New Providence Island and Paradise Island.    After receiving permission to enter the harbor, we passed the Atlantis Resort and the cruise ship docks and proceeded to the Nassau Harbour Club at Latitude:  25.07462  –  Longitude:-77.31256.

Modern Day Atlantis

Cruise Port

The Nassau Harbour Club Hotel & Marina is located on East Bay Street on the New Providence side of the waterway and across the street from the Harbour Bay Shopping Center which has a Fresh Market, liquor store, bank, Starbucks, a couple of fast food restaurants and more.  The Dockmaster’s name is Peter Attaloglou.  He can be reached via e-mail at peter@nassauharbourclub.com. The marina has 67 boat slips and can accommodate vessels up to 150 feet in length.  There is no fuel available at the marina, but you can get fuel nearby.

Nassau Harbour Club Aerial Photo

Just down the street is a very popular restaurant called the Poop Deck.  The Poop Deck’s East Bay Street location overlooks a marina and the harbour and has been in business for over 40 years.  They specialize in fresh seafood.  They are open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.  Prices range from $15-$42.  They have a second location at Sandyport near Cable Beach.  FYI – When we were in Nassau in October, 2014, the East Bay location was closed for remodeling.

The East Bay Street location of the Poop Deck Restaurant

We enjoyed lunch one day at a Greek Restaurant called the Athena Café.  It is described on their website as follows:  “Casual dining in the heart of downtown Nassau, featuring ‘authentic’ Greek and Mediterranean Cuisine and conveniently located upstairs at the corner of Bay Street and Charlotte Street, with a choice of indoor seating or a relaxing outdoor patio capturing all the excitement, sounds and views of the street activities below.”

We have been traveling to Nassau, by one means or another, for over 40 years.   And, we are very happy to see that it has “cleaned up” in many ways, but, I am sorry to say that Nassau has become a “big City” with a commensurate crime rate. Be very street-wise. The crime rate is high (not only for theft), so take care where you walk, especially at night, and secure all your property as best you can. Locking your boat securely at night and when away from it is a must, as is locking your dinghy and outboard when tied to the boat and ashore at a dinghy dock.  Even with 24-hour security at Nassau Harbour Club and our doors locked, a thief was able to open one of our windows and steal some of our cash.  Rick actually caught him in the act.  The thief identified himself as “Jack Sparrow” – the pirate played by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The City of Nassau was originally named Charles Town.  It was burned to the ground by the Spanish in 1684.  When it was rebuilt, in 1695, it was named Nassau in honor of the Prince of Orange-Nassau who became William III of England.  By 1713, over 1,000 pirates lived in Nassau outnumbering the 400-500 legitimate residents.

We returned to New Providence Island on May 9, 2012.  This island is mainly known for Nassau and Paradise Island, but we chose to go to a fairly new marina on the southwest side of the island, some distance from Nassau.  Albany Marina is in the settlement of Adelaide and is located at Latitude:  25.00434 & Longitude:  -77.5062.  In 1807, the British abolished slave trade and resettled thousands of Africans liberated from slave ships at Adelaide Village and Gambier Village, Over-the-Hill and Bain Town along with other islands in the Bahamas.  Adelaide has remained a small farming community.  But Albany Marina is very modern and Tiger Woods is said to be part owner.  The facility has floating docks and was recommended to us by another boater at Highbourne Cay.  The dock master, Derrick, was very helpful contacting someone to come to work on our generator.  We shared the rental of a car one day and drove into Nassau with Fred from the S/V Rhombus.  We had a nice lunch at the Green Parrot in the Hurricane Hole Marina on Paradise Island.  The Hurricane Hole Marina is a 90-slip, full-service marina accommodating yachts over 200 feet in length.  The Green Parrot is their waterfront bar and Grille which is located adjacent to the swimming pool.  Hurricane Hole also has a fuel dock which is conveniently located on the waterway between Paradise and New Providence Islands.

Hurricane Hole Marina and Green Parrot Bar & Grille on Paradise Island

Later, we went to supper at a very nice restaurant in Lyford Cay called The Mahogany House.

When you come to visit the Bahamas, you go through Bahamian Customs and Immigration.  When you fill out the form for Immigration, they ask you how long you intend to stay.  Most visitors stay for a week or two or maybe three, but Rick and I stay for months before flying back to Florida.  When we returned on separate flights in July and August of 2013, we were both given permission to stay in the Bahamas for only 30 days.  So, we needed to get to an immigration office to request an extension before the end of August.   This is why we flew on Flamingo Air from Staniel Cay to Nassau on August 19, 2013.  You can find out more about Flamingo Airlines at http://www.flamingoairbah.com.   The plane is very small and our return flight was full.  The pilot had Rick sit in the co-pilot’s seat.  (The fare in 2013 was $100 per person one-way.) 

Randy Rolle, one of Tucker’s sons who lives in Nassau, picked us up at the airport and took us to the immigration office.  We are extremely grateful to Randy for all of his help (we might still be riding around Nassau looking for the office if it weren’t for him!)  When we saw the immigration official, she explained that some of the small airports in the Bahamas do not have immigration officials assigned to them.   Rick cleared customs at one such airport, in Congo Town on Andros Island.  The airport that I cleared through, when I returned 10 days later, does have immigration agents, but apparently there was not one available at that time because my paperwork was also handled by a customs agent.   She told us that customs agents are only allowed to give a maximum of 30 days in the country and that is why we both got permission for 30 days. 

After receiving our extension, Randy took us out to Cable Beach where we checked into the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino.   On December 15, 1988, the most extravagant resort in the Caribbean (at that time), Carnival`s Crystal Palace Resort & Casino, opened at Cable Beach near Nassau.  The 900,000-square-foot resort and casino complex had approximately 1500 guest rooms.  Rick and I stayed in the Crystal Palace for our anniversary the following October.  Wyndham has now sold the Crystal Palace and it will become a part of a huge new development call Baha Mar, a $3.5 billion resort scheduled to open in 2015.

When complete Baha Mar will encompass four hotels (Rosewood, Hyatt, Mondrian and the Baha Mar Casino and Hotel) and 307 furnished private residences.

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Baha Mar will also include:

• An 18-hole, 72-par championship Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course
• 200,000 square feet of combined state-of-the-art convention facilities
• A 2,000-seat performing arts center
• An art gallery with a curated collection of Bahamian art
• More than 30 restaurants, nightclubs and bars
• Two spas, including the 30,000-square-foot destination ESPA at Baha Mar
• Designer retail boutiques
• A beachfront sanctuary with native Bahamian flora and fauna
• 14 distinctive pool experiences
• A private island

We ate supper at an Italian restaurant on Cable Beach called Capriccio Ristorante.  This is a family-owned restaurant that has been there for decades.  We had a great bottle of Chianti with our delicious meals, after which we shared an order of authentic Tiramisu and a cappuccino.  You can sit outside or inside at Capriccio’s.

Our next visit to Nassau was in our boat as we were making our way back to Florida.  On February 24, 2014, we left Highbourne Cay Marina headed for the east entrance into Nassau Harbour.  As soon as we went under the Paradise Island Bridge (heading west), we turned into the entrance for the Atlantis Marina.  When you stay at the Atlantis resort, whether in a room or in a slip, you use your room/slip card key for everything purchased at the resort.  Also, all of the amenities are available to you.  We spent an entire day in their water park, called “Aquaventure” – more on that later.  One night, we had dinner at the Café Matisse in Nassau.   Our dinner at Café Matisse was very nice.  The Café is downtown in an old house on Bank Lane behind Parliament Square, just off Bay Street.  We arrived about 20 minutes early, but they seated us very quickly at a table for two on the upstairs veranda overlooking a courtyard filled with lighted trees and about 20 tables of diners.  We felt that we had a great location as there were only 6 to 8 tables on the veranda.  I ordered pumpkin ravioli and Rick had spicy lobster over linguine Alfredo.  Café Matisse is open from noon to 11 p.m., but is closed on Sunday and Monday.

On Wednesday, October 8, 2014, we again approached Nassau Harbour from the west.   This time we had come from Bimini around Chub Cay and on to Nassau/New Providence/Paradise Island.  We stayed at the Atlantis Resort Marina located at Latitude: 25.08200 &  Longitude:-77.32028.  We paid $4.50 per foot per day dockage for our approximately 50-foot boat plus electric and water.  They also have wi-fi available to purchase for just over $21.00 per day.  On this visit, we had our friends, Ken and Jackie, with us on the boat.  We spent several days enjoying the water park, called Aquaventure.

We floated down the mile-long river ride with high intensity rapids and wave surges between the Mandara Spa and Cove Beach and slid down a few water slides as well as relaxing on lounge chairs by the pool listening to music and sipping on cold drinks.  Entrance to this park was one of the amenities we received as guests in the marina.  Every person staying on your boat is allowed entry for as many days as you are there.  If you are not staying at Atlantis, for $110 adults or $80 for children, day-trippers can purchase an Atlantis Aquaventure package that provides all day access to pools, beaches and Aquaventure, the 141-acre waterscape containing over 20 million gallons of water.  We were at the Atlantis Marina for about a week due to high winds.  While here, we ate at the nearby Johnny Rockets Old Fashioned Hamburger Diner several times and enjoyed it each time.  FYI – the least expensive hamburger was $12.95.  We spent a Sunday afternoon just down the beach from the marina at Viola’s Bar and Grille at the Sunset Beach Resort where we watched NFL Football on their big screen TVs.  Monday, October 13th was our 42^nd wedding anniversary.  Loan Rolle and his friend drove us, along with Ken and Jackie, to the west end of New Providence Island to a restaurant that we had been to once before.  Mahogany House is an elegant restaurant that is nestled in the woods near Lyford Cay.   All six of us were very impressed with our dinners and drinks.

On our final night in Nassau, we walked across the street from the marina and had a nice supper at Anthony’s Grill.  From their website: 

“While most restaurants on Paradise Island are located in busy hotels, Anthony’s is found in a charming shopping area across from the Atlantis Marina Village. Many Paradise Island restaurants lack Anthony’s unique atmosphere; we take pride in delivering a casual, fun and lively environment, paired with affordable meals. Open daily from 8:00am to 10:30pm, we serve a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, as well as a pizza and pasta take-out menu available from 10:00am to 10:30pm. Breakfast selections include freshly made waffles and French toast and our enormous breakfast sampler. Lunch and dinner provide just as many delectable options, from our famous conch chowder to fresh Bahamian seafood options, as well as our world-famous baby-back ribs. A full breakfast, lunch and dinner kids menu is also offered. Tropical drinks, beer, wine, and traditional cocktails are available at our full bar, and Anthony’s Gift Certificates are also available for purchase. No reservations or jackets needed; we welcome all who walk through our doors.”

Of course the Atlantis Resort has a lot of very good restaurants as well.  But, we were there in October which is one of the slowest times of the year for the Bahamas Tourism Industry.  Most establishments take advantage of that by refurbishing or remodeling during this time.  We found that about half of the restaurants and water park attractions were closed. 

Special Days during November include:  November 2 – Vanessa’s Birthday; November 6 – Tucker’s Birthday; November 14 – JP’s Birthday; November 22 – Rick’s Birthday and November 27 – Thanksgiving (Kellie’s favorite holiday)

Saturday, November 1 (BD2-0030) – Arrivals:  Monica’s luggage!  CMS Marine Construction dock builders boat “Final Frontier”; Seas the Moment (an 85 foot Pacific Mariner, similar to Sea Clef)  Departures:  The dock builders said that it was going to be too windy for them to get any work done for about a week, so Rick took the three of them to Staniel Cay to catch a flight back to their homes in Eleuthera/Spanish Wells.

Sunday (BD2-0031) – Arrivals:  Mano, the Haitian handyman who works on the island, returned after a two-month visit home with his family. Also returning to the island was Tyrone Rolle, aka “Terrible”.  He got sick just before we arrived and had to go to the hospital in Nassau.  He is obviously doing better.

Monday (BD2-0032) – Projects:  Rick finally gave up on fixing the boat’s icemaker and just replaced the ice-making mechanism.

Tuesday (BD2-0033) – Weather:  Still windy.  Problem:  I live on this approximately 50 foot boat.  Since it is my home, I tend to use non-nautical terms when I describe it.  For example, we have a living room (salon), kitchen (galley), three bedrooms (staterooms), two bathrooms (heads), an office (pilot house), and a back porch (aft deck).  But my terminology is not the problem!  Our master bathroom is a little different from most (on a boat) because it has a tub with a hand-held shower.  When Rick tried to take his shower, he discovered that when he pulled the “button” to divert the water from the spigot to the shower head, very little was diverted and most of that was the cold water leaving the hot water pouring out on his feet.  This was the problem.  He spent a couple of hours researching how to solve it via the internet and finally was given the name of someone to contact.  Looks like it will take a while to solve this problem, but we do have a shower in the guest bathroom as well as one on the back porch with both hot and cold water (you just have to keep your clothes on when you use that one.)

Wednesday (BD2-0034) – Rick and Monica took one of Tucker’s small boats up to Staniel Cay to meet a plane bringing 30 pounds of ribs and a birthday cake from Nassau.  This was a special order that Jamaal had his girlfriend, Lisa, arrange.  We plan to have a group supper tomorrow night.  We have had one each Thursday since we’ve been here, with the exception of last Thursday (Halloween).  Anyway, it just so happens that it also falls on Tucker’s birthday, hence the cake.  Tucker went to Staniel Cay in the afternoon to pick up the dock builders who were returning from Eleuthera.  Weather:  At times it was very windy and we got some showers in the later afternoon.

Thursday (BD2-0035) – Departure:  Seas the Moment.  Projects:  The dock builders worked on the “walk bridge”.  Rick and Marino helped on various projects at the Boaters Grille.  Fourteen of us had dinner at the Lodge to celebrate Tucker’s birthday.  Rick grilled ribs, Marino made peas and rice, Bonnie made dinner rolls and pasta salad, I made baked beans, the dock builders brought a pasta dish and Jamaal had a birthday cake for Tucker.  Unfortunately, Tucker said he wasn’t feeling good and did not attend.  Jamaal said that his Dad was celebrating his 69^th birthday for the third time.  But then he told us that Tucker was born in 1945 – so that would actually make him 69 years old. (Although, I’m sure he told me he was 69 last year.) At any rate, he has never wanted to “celebrate” his birthday with others, so we were all hoping that his illness was a little fib.

Friday (BD2-0036) – Departures:  Monica.  Arrivals:  Temptation, a 123  foot Palmer-Johnson with a dark bottom; Equinox, an 81 foot Cheoy Lee Motor Yacht.  Projects:  Rick worked on replacing a fuel filter on one of Tucker’s small boats.  Dock Project:  The marine construction crew put down additional pilings on most of the Docks to give them more stability.  I have attempted to draw the marina layout as it now exists.  The picture below is definitely not to scale.

Saturday (BD2-0037) – Departures:  Rick took four women from the M/Y Kristina in the skiff to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club where they had lunch before going to the airport.  Three of the women flew out on Watermaker Air and the owner’s wife waited for additional guests to arrive on the same plane.  Tucker went back in the afternoon to pick her and her new guests up.  Boat arrivals:  Amitié, a 130 foot Westport which charters out of Nassau.  Weather:  It was dead calm today.  The water was like glass.  The bugs were out early!  We watched FSU play Virginia in the ‘Noles homecoming game on ESPN.  FSU won again.

Sunday (BD2-0038) – Departures:  Equinox, Temptation and Amitié.  Also, Rick took Tucker along with Pinkie and some others from nearby Chicken Cay to the airport on Staniel.  Tucker is headed to Florida.  Arrivals:  Ubiquitous, a 112 foot Westport Motor Yacht and a new puppy dog for Jamaal.  He has named her Bella.

Monday (BD2-0039) – Departures:  Ubiquitous.  Arrivals:  Amitié (with Captain and crew only).

Tuesday (BD2-0040) – A salute to veterans today.  Rick, his birth father, my father and his brother all served in the Navy.   My parents met in Sebring, Florida.  My mother’s father helped to build the runways at the base and my father’s stepfather was a Sargent in the Army/Air Corps stationed at the base during World War II.  Those runways are now used for the 24-hour race at Sebring.  Arrivals:  Top Dog, a 2014 Westport Motor Yacht which is 96.1 feet long.  Projects:  Rick ordered the parts needed to fix the shower in the master bath.  Since we’ve had so many days of wind, with very little rain, the windows were covered with salt, so he washed all of the outside windows.  What a difference!  Daytrippers:  Every day I mention the boats that arrived or departed, but I don’t mention the many daytrippers that come to the cay.  Compass Cay is known as the place where you go to “swimming with the sharks”- in a good way.  The sharks are nurse sharks and are very used to sharing their water with people.  The marina has a special dock which is lower than the other docks.  I call this the shark dock because at high tide, the sharks congregate on top of it.  This dock gives visitors a great place to interact with the sharks before getting into the water with them.  You can click on the picture below to enlarge it.

Tour boats come from as far as George Town on Great Exuma Island so that people can have this experience.  Tenders also come in from yachts that are at anchorages in the area, like Big Majors Spot (just to the south of us) and the Exuma Land and Sea Park (just to the north of us).  In addition, people staying at nearby Fowl Cay Resort and Staniel Cay Yacht Club come to swim with the sharks and many also come to have one of the famous “Tucker Burgers” that whichever Rolle on the dock that day will cook on the grill.  Burgers, hotdogs and an occasional fish sandwich is all that is served here.  Everything must be cooked on the grill.  Today, there were at least 50 daytrippers here at the same time.  Compass Cay charges a $10 per person landing fee to help offset the maintenance that comes along with daytrippers.  Once you pay your landing fee, you are free to swim with the sharks, snorkel anywhere in the marina or hike over to Crescent Beach to swim and enjoy the several pavilions or picnic table as well as explore Hester’s Ruins.  Hamburgers are $15, hotdogs are $12.  They also have soft drinks and beer for sale.  Beer is $5 a bottle and wine is $25 a bottle.

Wednesday (BD2-0041) – Departures:  Top Dog.   Arrivals:  Lady D – carrying the captain of Kristina.  Weather:  Although the Windfinder website says that it is blowing between 10 and 15 mph out of the northwest, all of the flags on the boats are standing straight out and the boat is rocking and rolling.  The morning was sunny but some clouds appeared in the afternoon.  Project:  When our friends, Ken and Jackie were here with us in October, he found an old plastic fishing float on the beach which was filled with water.  He brought it back with him to the boat and plans to use it for a remembrance token to hang along the concrete path that leads up onto the cay from the marina.  So,  Rick’s project today was to drill a couple of holes in the bottom of the ball to let all of the water drain out.

Thursday, November 13, 2014 (BD2-0042) – Departures:  Kristina and Amitié.  Arrivals:  Tucker returned via Watermaker Air’s afternoon flight.  Rick and I made an occasion of the trip to pick him up by going to lunch at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club and then walking up to Burke’s Blue Store to buy milk, eggs, lunchmeat, fresh vegetables and Off.  The locals say that this is the worst mosquito infestation that they can remember.  In fact, we had to spray some of the Off we had just purchased on me just to get back to the boat.   I took some pictures of the remodeling which is still in progress at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  David Hocker, the owner, told us that he hopes to have the new dining room open by Thanksgiving.  They have enclosed the back dining room, making it into the new kitchen, and the new dining room will be glassed in and overlook the water where diners will be able to see Thunderball Grotto (made famous by the 007 movie.)

Friday, November 14, 2014 (BD2-0043) – Arrivals:  After dark a 60+ foot Horizon catamaran motor yacht La Manguita came into the marina.  Happy birthday to our son, JP, who turned 35 today.

Saturday (BD2-0044) – Departures: M/Y La Manguita.  Dock Project:  The marine construction crew put down additional pilings across the basin near His and Hers Cay.  Tucker says he intends to use them during a storm to allow a boat or two to tie up there when the marina is full.  Departures:  Charlie and “Boo”, Jamaal and Bella left the island today to return to Nassau where they have homes.  Their various building projects around the cay have been completed.  Jamaal plans to return in a few weeks.  He will spend some of his time away, visiting his mother, Winnie, who is recuperating from eye surgery in Florida.  College Football:  We didn’t get to watch the game, but got up in the middle of the night to see that FSU beat Miami, in Miami, and remains undefeated this season.

Sunday (BD2-0045) – Arrivals:  a Sailing Vessel with 4 couples on board; the motor yacht Kristina returned; and, the lumber needed to complete the walk bridge.  Also arriving were the winds and some rain.
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Monday (BD2-0046) – Weather:  The wind was blowing around 20 mph all morning, but died down some in the afternoon.  It is predicted to be over 20 both Saturday and Sunday.  Projects:  The marine construction crew worked on the walk bridge.

and toward the end of the day, they added boards to the structure I am calling the “port in a storm”.

These pilings will be used to tie up boats when there is a weather emergency and the marina is already full

Mano and others worked on installing electrical conduit on A dock.  They hope to have all of the wiring completed on that dock by the first of the year.

Mano running conduit and wire

Also, folding doors have been installed at the two main openings into the Boaters Grille.  A lot of progress was made today.

Bi-fold doors on the entrance to the Boaters Grille

Arrivals/Departures:  In the afternoon, Captain Andrew of the 4-C’s tour group brought Mat and Kate to see the Cay.  They are family to Captain Dave who spends every winter here on his motor yacht, Living Large.  Kate and Mat are spending their honeymoon in George Town on Great Exuma Island.  Dave is due here around the first of the year.

Tuesday (BD2-0047) – Arrival:  85’ Celsa Gongora.  Projects:  Work continues electrifying Dock A.  Announcement:  JP sent us a short video clip of our granddaughter, Emma, walking!

Wednesday (BD2-0048) – Departures:  M/Y Lady D and the tender for Mustang Sally, called Ride Sally Ride.  The tender was damaged when Mustang Sally came in last month.  They left it here expecting an insurance adjuster to come and inspect it, but today the crew came and are taking it up to Nassau for an inspection.  Arrival:  Ride Sally Ride – This tender has four engines but only two were running when they left.  Shortly after leaving one of the two quit working, so they decided to bring the boat back here and make arrangements to have it towed to Nassau.

Thursday November 20, 2014 (BD2-0049) – Thursday (BD2-0049) – Departures:  M/Y Celsa Gongora ; the two men that came to the Cay to take Mustang Sally’s tender, Ride Sally Ride, have decided to move to Staniel Cay until the mail boat can tow the tender to Nassau.  Rick and I took them up to the Isles General Store (which also has rooms for rent) and then we had a late breakfast at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club before returning to Compass.   Projects:  The marine construction crew continues working on the walk bridge.

Friday (BD2-0050) – Arrivals/Departures:  Brand New 100’motor yacht Sha Sha Sha.  Adventure: Tyrone Rolle aka “Terrible” went to Black Point this morning to pick up his sister and another lady to prepare the rentals for expected guests.  Rick and I, along with Bonnie and Marino, took the cleaning ladies back to Black Point on Great Guana Cay.  On the way, we stopped at the government dock on Staniel Cay where the freight boat, Captain C, was unloading cargo.  We picked up some fresh vegetables; chicken feed and some building supplies for Tucker and then continued to Black Point.  The four of us had lunch at DeShamon’s Restaurant in Black Point, then headed back north, stopping at the beach where there is a marine iguana sanctuary.  Then, we returned to Staniel Cay to do some grocery shopping at the blue store.  They were still trying to restock their shelves with items that came in on the morning freight boat, but we were able to find what we needed.  After that, we walked down to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, where the boat was docked, and had a drink before returning back to Compass Cay.  We noted dark clouds around as we started back and were sure we were going to get wet, but, thankfully, it didn’t start pouring until about 5 minutes after we arrived.  Bruce, of the marine construction crew helped us tie up the boat and he said that it had already rained a couple of times during the afternoon.

Saturday (BD2-0051) – Today is Rick’s 65^th birthday, November 22.  It rained off and the winds picked up as the day went on, gusting over 30 mph.  The wind is predicted to stay over 20 mph until next Tuesday.  Departures:  Sha Sha Sha.  Projects:  With the rain came, once again, our leaks.  Rick went up top during the rain last night to investigate the source of the water and he believes that some of it is coming through the wiring chase.  So, as soon as it stops raining, he will see if he can fix it.  Arrivals:  Equinox.  Of Interest:  Thanks to friends and family for the happy birthday wishes.  FSU beat Boston College by 3 points remaining undefeated.  It is said that we have the best college football kicker in the nation and he won the game for us today.

Sunday (BD2-0052) – Arrivals/Departures:  Rick went down to Staniel Cay to pick up the crew for Ride Sally Ride.  They will be meeting the Captain C freight boat later today with the tender and will be towed to Nassau. Also arriving the motor yacht Contigo and Sweet Escape .   Projects:  The marine construction crew laid down decking on the “port in the storm” dock as well as an extension to Dock F at the end of the “main” dock.  It is windy, but dry today.

Monday (BD2-0053) – Departures/arrivals:  Rick took Tucker to catch a plane in the morning.  He went to Nassau to learn some more about the recently passed VAT which will go into effect January 1.  I believe that VAT stands for Value Added Tax.  All businesses will now have to start collecting an extra 7.5 percent on the price of what they sell (similar to a sales tax in the States).   From what we hear, there will be a boatload of complicated paperwork to go along with it.  He returned at dusk along with Trevon.  Trevon will stay here to help his grandfather run the marina until his Uncle Jamaal returns.    Equinox left in some very windy conditions.  And, the construction crew flew back to Spanish Wells.  They expect to return in about 10 days.  Before leaving, they cut off the tops of pilings (to even out the heights) along the new walk way and the existing Dock G, which used to be called the storage dock.

Tuesday (BD2-0054) – Departures:  Contingo and Sweet Escape.  Arrivals:  Amité and a Lazzaro named Rise Above.  Project:  While cooking supper, I discovered that my stove top was not working.

Wednesday (BD2-0055) – Departures:  Kristina and Amité and Rise Above.  Arrivals:  A sailboat tied up to Dock A with a husband, wife and two daughters from Hilton Head, South Carolina, and another one came in and tied up directly across the main dock from us with about eight people on it from Montreal.  Projects:  Rick fixed the stove top.  Believe me, that is a very good thing on the day before Thanksgiving.  My project for today is to bake a pumpkin pie for our gathering tomorrow.  I have found a recipe, using Bisquick, which is supposed to create its own pie crust.  I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Thursday (BD2-0056) – Departures:  The sailboat with the folks from Montreal left around noon headed to Shroud Cay in the Exuma Land and Sea Park.  It rained all morning but cleared in the afternoon.  Arrivals:  Sabiha, a 40-foot Mainship.  Around 6 p.m. fourteen of us shared a Thanksgiving dinner in the Boaters’ Grille.  Bonnie baked the turkey and made gravy; Marino made peas and rice; I cooked yams in the crock pot, made green bean casserole in the oven and fixed a double-big batch of stove top stuffing.  Others staying on the island contributed a fruit salad and a pot of lentils.  The whole meal was topped off with what I called my pumpkin pecan pie cake.  It turned out to be really good.  I got the recipe from www.bisquick.com

Friday (BD2-0057) November 28, 2014 – Departures:  Sabiha. Arrivals:  104-foot Redosada.  Projects:  Supplies for connecting electricity on Dock A have arrived, so more work is continuing on that project.

Saturday (BD2-0058) 11/29/14 – Today’s weather is sunny and breezy.  Arrivals:  Equinox, Gypsy Spirit.  Departures:  Sumo, the sailboat with the family from Hilton Head.  They are moving down to Big Majors Spot until the wind lays down and then will head to Eleuthera, where they are meeting friends for the holidays.  We watched the Florida State University vs University of Florida football game.  FSU is now the only undefeated college football team this season.

Sunday (BD2-0059) 11/30/14 – Weather:  The wind is blowing steadily over 25 mph, gusting over 30 (and there are a lot of gusts).  The bright sunshine is interspersed with heavy rain showers.  The weather prediction is for winds like this for an entire week!  Departures:  Redosada.  Arrivals:  A Defever, named Atlantic Ranger and a motor yacht named Domino which we have seen here many times before.  We had an impromptu pot luck on the dock in the evening.  Jeff and Leigh arrived here about a week ago in their 33-foot intrepid.  They have been staying in the Lilly House.  She provided the “fixins” for crab cakes and a lovely big salad.  I brought some appetizers.  We joined them, Bonnie and Marino, Tucker and Trevon for a delightful, light supper.