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Nassau, Bahamas

sailawayblog
Feb 16, 2016
3 min read

To bring in the new year, Ben, Ruca and I made our way to Nassau, Bahamas!

Arriving on New Year’s Eve this year in Nassau, the S/V Wanderlust crew were completely drained. We had just crossed the Little Bahama Bank on an all day trip, motoring due to lack of wind. We were worn-out, overheated, salty, and our ears were still rattling from running the Yanmar all day.

For the past several weeks, we had been traveling through the quiet, serene, mostly uninhibited Berry Islands of the Bahamas, and had only seen a handful of people. Our crew gets along great, but conversation between two people and a dog can get monotonous. So though we were exhausted and likely didn’t look fit for public, it was New Year’s Eve and we couldn’t resist heading into town for some cold brews, TV, and WiFi, and other people to talk to! Obviously, like good sailors, we dropped anchor and immediately headed in to the closest bar.

After having caught up on the Chiefs, enjoying some ice cold Bahamian Kalik beers, and forcing the bartender to socialize with us, we made our way back to the anchorage where our exhaustion caught up with us. We slept, until midnight rolled around and were awoken by a gorgeous fireworks display, bursting right above our boat in Nassau Harbor. Ben and I sat on deck (Ruca wasn’t interested) watched the beautiful show, had a New Year’s kiss, and went back to sleep. Party animals, we know :) .

We spent several more days in Nassau completing some important errands. We found a laundromat and washed everything we own, did some provisioning at the local grocery store, and purchased some replacement parts.

We walked around the tourist shops, and watched the massive cruise ships load and unload every day in the harbor. We made friends with other cruisers in the anchorage, and exchanged tips and advice on the best dinghy docks in town, or whose wifi was easiest to steal.

Beaching wasn’t a frequent activity for us in Nassau due to a cold front which had moved through the area, bringing lower temperatures, squalls, and clouds. But we did have one good beach day at Juncanoo, just near the cruise ship dock. While we had to share it with a boat load of cruise ship guests, the beach was colorful and lively, and we enjoyed ourselves.

We browsed the beach bars at Junkanoo, let Ruca chase coconuts, and stole a freshwater shower from the public restrooms.

Having completed our important errands in Nassau, we were beginning to reach our fill of social interaction. We were growing tired of the busy harbor, the loud city, and the high prices. We had heard horror stories about crime in the anchorage, and had barely seen the sunshine through the cold front. It was time to make our way back into the islands, for a more peaceful environment, some quiet beaches, and hopefully, better weather.

We visited the fuel dock as our last stop on the way out of Nassau, where we filled our diesel, gas and freshwater tanks, knowing we may not see another marina for some time. We said goodbye to the city, and set our sails southeast, towards the Exuma Islands of the Bahamas.