Bahamas Part One - Bimini to Nassau

Leaving Cuba, we had planned our passage with an easterly breeze blowing in the mid-teens and a hope that the gulf stream crossing would be kind. As we left the shores of Cuba, we crossed several groups of fishing lines all tied to plastic coke bottles, making them difficult to spot and almost impossible to avoid. We picked one up about 5 miles offshore, but luck was on our side as it popped off the keel on a change of tack, phew!

The breeze kept steadily blowing and we had a glorious sail on a north-eastern course aiming to cross the busy shipping lanes and gulf stream off the east coast of the US as smoothly as possible. We hadn’t seen this much boat traffic in some time, but the main thoroughfare of large ships and cruiser liners, along with pleasure craft, kept the AIS pretty full for the entire crossing. All in all it was pretty straightforward, we dodged a few big ships and called a few on the radio to ensure they could see us as we crossed paths quite closely. By early morning we were closing in on Bimini and still sailing happily along. Tired but happy that we’d finally been able to make a passage under sail.

The entrance into Bimini is via a tight dog leg of a turn, through the reef line and along the shoreline. Having a 7ft draft we already knew our Bahamas adventures would be spent constantly tracking our depth as we’re on the limit of many of the anchorages and pathways across the banks and islands that make up this beautiful area. We made slow progress through the channel, I stood on the bow watching for rocks and coral heads and we kept holding our breath as the depth gauge steadily rose. By the time we were on the dock at the Blue Waters Marina, we’d crossed through some very shallow water with as little as a couple of inches below the keel at times and had to deal with the fast powerboats who didn’t seem to appreciate the issues their wake could cause as they sped past bouncing us around.

Having arrived, we checked into the marina and then made our way to the various customs and immigration offices to fulfil the official arrival processes that would enable us to travel all across the islands for the next few months. Having already completed the online forms and having a check in number to reference, the processes were quick but we were $US300 lighter by the time we left the offices. Back at the boat, it was low tide and as we climbed back on board we realized we were now sitting on the bottom and being rocked/bounced with every wave and wake of passing vessels. There was no way we could stay in this spot and after a quick conversation with the marina, as soon as the tide had risen enough for us to move, we dropped the lines and moved to the end of the pontoon and enough depth of water for the tidal changes. Another lesson to learn, especially here in the Bahamas, as we’d been very clear when booking the berth that we were deep keeled, but they either hadn’t listened or simply didn’t know the depth of their various berths when we radioed in upon arrival. I’d been told to request the hammerhead to ensure our depth was sufficient, but didn’t push the dockmaster when we radioed in, assuming (yes, I know you really shouldn’t) that they would take this into account.

There were lots of other cruising boats on the docks and we grabbed a beer, heading to the pool which appeared to be the unofficial meeting place, where everyone met and got to know each other. It was here we met Bridget and Nicholas on SY Serendipity for the first time and we would find ourselves buddy boating directly or indirectly with them for most of our time in the Bahamas.

There had been several squalls and weather systems crossing the area and finding a weather window to cross the Bank would be a challenge, whilst we waited we explored Bimini. The island isn’t very big, so we walked the entire length in a few hours, checking out a few spots that looked good for lunch, the local stores (supermarket would be a strong description) and in search of a Bahamian sim card so we could get data and internet access for the next few months. Sim card achieved and having tested the local beers, Kalik and Sands, we found ourselves like most early evenings enjoying a cooling dip in the pool with the rest of the cruisers.

When we entered Bimini we passed a lovely beach and anchorage, which was exposed to the prevailing winds and swell, it would have been a good overnight spot in the right weather and we discussed using it as an overnight anchorage the night before we crossed the bank as it would mean we could exit the tight channel in good daylight and at a good height of tide.

In the meantime it would be a lovely spot to swim and snorkel, spotting rays and keeping an eye out for sharks which are meant to be relatively abundant in this area. We did see nurse sharks on a regular basis swim under the boat on the dock and at the marina next door we could see the frenzy of sharks where the fishing charters were gutting their catches. You can go on Hammerhead shark experiences from this very marina as they congregate in certain spots on or near the bank, I suspect there are fed as well meaning they’ve unfortunately associated food with people and boats which it not a great mix and there have been shark attacks throughout the Bahamas so it was something we were conscious of when in the water.

After about a week a weather window came into forecast and we prepared to cross the bank, nervous of the crossing as we’d now be entering shallow waters and needed to make a good 90NM in a day to reach Chub Cay. The wind was meant to be light and pretty flat calm, our secondary plan was to anchor on the bank overnight, if we weren’t making enough time, but the wind was stronger and whilst the waves weren’t high there was enough lump to mean that anchoring overnight wouldn’t be a comfortable option. In the end it was a pretty lumpy upwind motor into 15-25 knots of wind, the forecast a little off but luckily the depth of water never went below 4 meters on our route and we got used to different shades of blues, greens and blacks representing the various depths and patches of coral, sand and grass.

The one real positive of the day was the fishing. From the moment we had the rods out we were catching fish and by the end of the day we’d had 10 catches which were edible and a couple of barracuda that went back into the ocean. At the end of the day the freezer was full of Tuna, Spanish and Cero Mackerel, and a Yellow Jack which had put up a real fight. With 30NM to go to reach Chub Cay, as were we passing the charted anchorage point on the bank, it was still lumpy and after some discussion, we made the call to carry on as we’d make it through the cut by sunset (just) and the anchorage looked relatively easy for a night-time arrival on the charts.

We made it through the cut just at dusk, there were several boats converging on the pass so we had company as we transited our first tidal cut of the Bahamas. As darkness fell the wind had dropped slightly and now in much deeper water the surface was calm and pretty flat. On our approach to Chub Cay, we were looking for the channel buoys to give an indication of where the anchorage and channel stopped and started, but it was almost impossible to see them. In fact, we had a very close call with a starboard channel marker as the 6ft of stick poking out the water had the weakest light I have ever seen on it and it was only when I caught it with the torchlight and an immediate port turn that we didn’t run right into it.

We did a few circles looking for a good anchoring spot near a larger group of boats, but we didn’t feel comfortable with the swing room so crossed over to the other side of the channel, which reportedly didn’t have as good a holding but did at least have space. The anchor wouldn’t set on our first try so we pulled her up and dropped again a little further forward, I was using a torch to try and spot a clear sand patch in the 3meters of water below us but it was difficult in the darkness even though the water was crystal clear. On our second attempt she set and hoping we were not too close to any coral head which we simply couldn’t see, we settled into the cockpit finally just before midnight, it had been a long day.

The next morning we woke to a sunny and bright day, we got up and headed straight into the cockpit, eager to finally see the anchorage clearly and inspect the surrounding area we’d finally settled in on anchor. Darkness is a funny thing as in full daylight it was clear to see there was plenty of space where we’d first looked the night before, but luckily we’d settled in a pretty clear patch of sand. There were a few low lying rock patches below us and around us, but we didn’t feel the need to move as there was nothing that would cause a major issue in any change of wind direction.

Checking the weather as there was an approaching low pressure system that we ideally needed to find shelter from, we agreed to only stay one more night in Chub Cay as there wasn’t a huge amount of shelter from the predicted wind and as it would last several days, we felt it was better to move on quickly to Nassau. It appeared everyone was thinking the same thing as I’d been trying to get a spot in a marina in Nassau for several days as a precaution to the weather, we were starting to feel a little like Mary and Joseph until we finally secured a place in the Bay Street Marina.

We didn’t go onto land at Chub Cay for a couple of reasons, one being that the dinghy was still secured to the foredeck and as we were going into a marina in Nassau to hide from the coming storm we didn’t want to move her for such a short time. Also, Chub Cay has decided that to even land your dinghy you must pay $100 US per person, which we didn’t think was worth it. It is such a shame that even if you eat in the restaurant or have drinks they still want you to pay this as well, we spoke to so many cruisers who didn’t go near the place because of the cost. I’m sure it keeps the clientele very “exclusive” which may be their goal.

The next morning we woke early and picked up the anchor about an hour before dawn, it was a short 40ish NM to Nassau and we wanted to get into the marina as early as possible ahead of the winds picking up. As dawn broke there was not a breath of air or a ripple on the flat calm and glass like ocean. It was a stunning morning. All across the water we could see small pods of pilot whales all sleeping on the surface, as we passed by some would wake and move away, whilst others would simply raise their heads and then drift back to sleep.

As the morning progressed we saw more and more vessels of all shapes and sizes, all heading for safe harbour ahead of the coming low pressure system. As we got closer to Nassau and more and more vessels appeared we noticed on AIS a motorboat doing about 20 knots boat speed catching us quickly almost on our exact heading. We kept an eye, but as it got closer we radioed up to ensure they had seen us ahead of them as we were keen not to make too much of a course deviation as there were other vessels all around us too. We got zero response on the radio, as they got closer and closer we continued to hail them but to no response, so we adjusted our course slightly but they seemed to follow our track. Continuing to try and raise them on channel 16, we could now see them visually approaching fast on our stern, we adjusted our course again and finally with less than ½ a NM to go, they changed course quite abruptly and skimmed past our stern within about 25 metres causing a huge wake. They had clearly finally heard us on the radio, as once they were passing our starboard side, they steered right and left causing even more wake and shot off now doing around 25 knots.

This was one of the most irresponsible actions of another boat we have ever experienced in our time on the water and was extremely unnerving. As we got even closer to Nassau we could hear other vessels calling them on the radio, either asking them to slow down or their intentions, to which we heard not a single response. The only time we heard them on the radio, was their request to a marina, luckily well away from Nassau, to ask for their berth assignment.

As per the cruising guide we contacted the harbour control a few miles out to request permission to enter the harbour and transit through to our Marina. This is also the main cruise ship entry and exit point and they asked us to hold off until the current cruise liner had completed their entry, turn and was tied to a berth. We could clearly see 7 cruise ships all lined up on the docks when we finally received our permission to enter.

Having made our way past the cruise ships we waited for confirmation of our berth at the marina and tried to figure out how we got past the reef line in the harbour, as the waypoints provided by the marina were clearly wrong, as the first one would have had us crashed into a cruise ship. Making our way to our assigned berth, we had to back out of our approach, not easy in the growing wind and tide, as we found a mega yacht tender was tied up in our berth. To be fair the marina was as annoyed as we were, but it took them a while to get out of the berth and out of the way so we could moor up.

Ross did an amazing job of reversing us straight into the berth and luckily there were several people on hand to assist with lines as this was only our second time tying up using these main dock posts, no cleats on the docks at all. Mission accomplished we were now secure ahead of the approaching weather which would hold us in port for the next 5 days at least.