Port #55: It’s the Bahamas MON!

Great Loop II Date: 04/15/2015

Day #257 (Wednesday)  81.4 miles (3433 total miles)

Locks: 0 (30 total locks)

Bridges: 0 (4 total bridges)

Port #55: West End, Freeport, BS

Marina: Old Bahama Bay Marina and Resort

The alarm clock went off at 4:45AM.  The first pot of coffee was made and the second perking.  Today would take up deep out into the Atlantic Ocean into an adventure we’d planned four years ago and never realized.

The morning broke with building clouds on the horizon that dissipated as we moved southeast on our route.  We were met with 2 to 3 foot rolling waves that bobbed us around like a cork in the water.  We both were comfortable with the conditions and decided to continue.

Leaving the USA through the Port St. Lucie Inlet in Florida.

As we moved farther out into the ocean, the color of blue became almost indigo.  Absolutely beautiful and indescribable.  The rollers continued throughout the day.

The big blue Atlantic Ocean...so hard to capture in pictures.

We saw a few sport fishing boats, two sailboats, two cruisers like us and a freighter all going in different directions from our own course.  We were alone much like our crossing from Apalachacola, FL to Clearwater Beach, FL. It wasn’t frightening, just sobering to be alone with the sea.

Notice anything different with Charlie?  Me neither.

As we got closer to West End, the rolling waves became ‘confused’ and were coming at us from both sides.  OB was pitching and rolling more, making life uncomfortable.  Todd took OB up on plane for the last 50 minutes of the trip.

When we came into the Little Bahama Bank, our depth sounder started measuring again.  While we were in the Gulf Stream, the ocean floor was so deep the depth sounder couldn’t find it (around 2000 feet).  That part of the trip, the sounder stayed at its’ last measureable reading (496 feet).

Todd had called Old Bahama Bay Marina before we left Stuart.  No one was in the office at that hour so he left a message requesting dockage for the night…and hoped we’d have a dock when we arrived.  The dockmaster had picked up the message and had a dock ready for us, much to our relief!

As we entered the harbor, I hung the yellow Quarantine flag from one of our VHF antennas.  This is a signal to Customs that we have not formally checked in to their country.  Todd had completed forms that were provided online, took them as well as Charlie’s documents and checked in to Customs without a problem.

OB becomes Bahamian...

...she sported the Bahamian Courtesy Flag throughout our time in the Bahamas.

West End Marina and Resort in the far outskirts of Freeport, Grand Bahama

We headed straight for the Beach Bar to test out Bahamian rum and Bahamian beer (Kalik).  The folks were very friendly both behind the bar and customers at the bar.  We found the same atmosphere at the restaurant later in the evening, although it took a couple of hours to get our food.  My conch salad was excellent but Todd’s personal pizza was mediocre at best.

All in all, our first day of our Bahamian adventure was a success!