Monday
1539- Land ho, its Nassau! A 0100 rousing, anchor up and the compass pointed due south for 60 nm. The hustle and bustle of the capital city quite evident upon landfall here on New Providence Island, the home to 250,000 out of the 350,000 total Bahamian population. For a country where 50% of the GDP is derived from tourism it is no wonder they have an area called Paradise Island that is themed after the Lost City of Atlantis, (looks sweet in that tourist type of way though!!). A wild, breezy (30 knot plus) sail today as we
managed to cruise along at 6-7 knots under less than 25% sail for most of the day. Nassau game plan: Provisioning/exploring/preparation and not getting our boat stolen (as this is supposedly the worst crime scene in a country that thus far has proved to be an extremely friendly, clean and safe country)
Sunday
0317 – Thorny instead of thornless…motoring instead of sailing…through the night exhaustion…damn we must be amateurs! It sure does feel good to be back at it though as I suspect the algae growth on the keel from lack of movement is surely impeding our speed over ground (SOG). With a course over ground of (COG) of 90 degrees and currently in the lee of the eastern side of Grand Bahama Island we pound forth through the night. Note: When you can’t successfully catch a fish, just wait and one will catch you as 2 flying fish decided to land aboard the Audax this past evening!!!!!
1851- Lights out at 7:00??? For the 1 am departure tomorrow morning Team Audax institutes “the early to bed, early to rise” mantra. Today was a THORNLESS voyage finally (after the initial 4-6 hours written about above). The anchor was down at Sandy Point on the far
southern end of Great Abaco Island by 1400 leaving us time for exploration and SG& T’s at 1700. In the quest for buried treasure we did stumble past a pirate ship on Gorda Cay aka Castaway Island, an island that was Disneyafied into a themed “fun under the sun” resort experience!! (Fact: Johnny Depp after his triumphant performance in Pirates of the Caribbean decided to buy his own island here in the Bahamas…if you have 20 million you can join him!
Notable shots:
Jordi’s first loaf of bread!!!; Keith – our excellent guide on Grand Bahama; The ladies we “picked-up” at Sandy Point.
January 7th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Good job with the gritty sailing details I requested. Now I know what COG and SOG refer to… and it sounds like you had a heck of a sail to Nassau!
Flying fish sound funny… are they big/edible?
January 7th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Glad to hear the progress and I echo your concern for the safety of your gear.
January 7th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Love the “ladies” you picked up - those are perhaps your best kind of pick ups?!
Just reading about the “flying fish” landing on the deck in Phil and “Amy’s book - don’t think you can eat them, can you - Jordis bread looks delicious - impressive that was made on board!
I was glad to hear from “you guys”
L Jillian/Mom
January 7th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Whats happening fellahs. Glad to hear that progress is being made and that the sunnier southern climes are drawing nearer and nearer. Just got your message John and tried calling you back to no avail. So if you check this out, hit me up up here where the snow is beginning to melt and one is once more able to leave their house without the precautionary assistance of multiple layering. Yeeha!
Oh yea, I’m happy that you found some girls (I myself am a great friend of the canine species) but cmon, where are the ones like in the pictures from Junkanoo!?!! You are in a climate of a rather permanent Spring and Summer, and we all know what sorts of feelings those seasons are prone to illicit….. Not to mention the expedience of the resulting fashion necessities as well.
Keep on Rockin in the Free World,
Faulker out.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Your “ladies” are pretty cute - I think you need one for a permanent resident!
Nice bread Jordi, I’d like to see what you can make on land!
Glad to see you made it safely - XOXO Erin
January 7th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Looks like you got in over your heads in Freeport on New Year’s eve!!
Wish you had kept going North and East from Sandy Point - Marsh Harbour, Treasure Cay, Elbow Cay, Guana Cay, Man-of-War Cay and Green Turtle Cay are great sailing spots. I was in Treasure until 1/4. 1/2 and 1/3 were incredibly windy. Patricia is still in Treasure Cay until 1/25 and she’ll give you a good meal and we’ve got two extra villas for you to sleep on a comfy bed. Her phone is 242.365.2414. Good luck and don’t assume that the people in Nassau are like all Bahamians - kinda like assuming that all Americans are like those in Manhattan. We’ve never met more lovely people than those in the Abacos.
Good luck
Vic
January 8th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Guys–Glad to hear you are watchful of your gear—the Brits left long ago so rule of law is sort of who you know–lunch again today with “the boys” (Tansey and your Pop) and then south to Sanibel til May–will be watching you guys–can’t wait to hear about your experiences in BVI–Hank