So Long Compass Cay

So, here we are in Nassau… we left Compass Cay on Friday and made an overnight stop at the Exuma Land Sea Park, at Warderick Wells. We beat the high winds predicted, but not the rain. We have been surrounded by thunderheads, although not as much rain as I expected.

On Saturday, we got up early (6:30 am) and listened to the weather. More wind is predicted and there is now a tropical storm (Arthur) in the western Caribbean. This storm is supposed to increase the winds and bring in more rain from the southeast. All of the available data and information said we should head toward Nassau as soon as possible and get to a sheltered harbor.

With this new information in hand, we cast off from our mooring at 7:30 am and headed for the east side of Nassau Harbour. Our crossing from Exuma to Nassau was fairly uneventful and Schooner and I did a lot of sleeping while Gordon read his book during most of the trip! The last hour, however, was fairly rough, as the wind had picked up and the swells were coming at us on the starboard beam. Once we entered Nassau Harbour, though, the swells came at us from the stern and it wasn’t too bad.

We called into the Nassau Yacht Haven and got our slip assignment, which was on the east end of the marina (Sailboat Row.) Upon entering the marina, we found there was a pretty stiff current, due to the tide having turned and it was now going out. Gordon went to back the boat into our slip and, as luck would have it, we blew the fuse on the bow thruster and we lost all of the precision steering on the boat. We ended up getting in without incident, however, as Gordon was able to maneuver the boat close enough to the dock for me to toss lines to two other boaters that had come out to lend us a helping hand. After a few scary moments, we finally made it in and were secure in our slip.

Sunday was spent inventorying our food stock and making a shopping list to be filled here during the next week. A load of laundry to catch up on before we started the major cleaning topped off our day. It is surprising how dusty it can get on the boat along with the dog hair, which isn’t surprising!! I will wait until this weekend to do the major below deck cleaning. Mostly, I am happy chillin’ in the AC for a couple days…the heat is pretty bad here with not much of a breeze in the harbor. Oh Yeah! I almost forgot, the darn rain that was forecast never did show up! Yes, there have been lots of stormy looking clouds, but only a sprinkle of rain so far.

Anyway, here are some pictures to catch you up with from Compass Cay, hope you enjoy them as much as we did being there in person.