Emerald Bay Marina, Great Exuma — 12•10•21
A bit of weather was coming in, so I called the marina and was able to get in early to beat the weather. I had spent some time at Emerald Bay before, so I was familiar with it and its notorious nerve-wracking entrance.
We got the anchor up and headed out the cut. The wind was up, so we put one reef in the main and had the full genoa out. It was an upwind sail, but we tried to make the most of it by getting a fishing line out. We also made water (Desalinate Seawater to Freshwater) as we were running low on freshwater.
The sails came down, engines on and heading into the marina cut before 1300 hours (1:00 pm). We cleared the cut in a bit of swell with breaking water off both the port and starboard sides of the boat. We hailed the dockmaster, and with the fuel dock empty, I wanted to fill up as the mega-yachts are known to come in here and take all the fuel. With Pete aboard this was an easy docking even in the strong wind. I topped of Troubles fuel tanks. We used 40 gals since leaving the US, which was pretty good. The fuel bill was a little over $200 USD. This might seem like a lot, but the other yachts around me here had $10,000 USD fuel bills!
We backed Trouble into here slip after leaving the fuel dock. Trouble was the smallest boat on this dock. But most of the other captains were very friendly and even invited us aboard for a showing and cocktails.
Port of Call Habits
A cheeseburger and a beer were on my mind as always after making port. We had to settle for some awesome pork and ribs at the Sandy Toes tiki hut on the beach, along with a “few” Kaliks (Bahama Beer).
Bumming around in Bahamas
We had a few days till Pete left to go back to the states and I had family coming in. The agenda was bumming around the marina, taking up a few other captains in a game of pool, watching the Navy beat Army football, and giving Trouble a good washdown along with a few beers. We also straightened out Trouble and made room in the forward stateroom for family, which is usually the closet. A provisioning run into town to get SIM cards, food, and “drinks” was in order. The use of the free laundromat at the marina also came in handy.
Crew Change
After a Neg Test from the testing facility across the street, Pete was off the boat and on his way back to the US. Having him aboard really made my trip from Florida to the Exumas a piece of cake, and also a lot of fun. Thanks, Pete!
I had 1 day till my family started to come in for Christmas (We had an early Christmas). Most of my chores to get ready were done, just a quick load of laundry was all that was needed.
I picked my son up from the airport the next day. My brother and sister-in-law also came in also but were staying at a VRBO “down the road”. My daughter came in a couple of days later.
Weather Lockdown
Unfortunately, the wind locked us down in the marina most of the time they were here. We got one day out on Trouble for a full day of boating, snorkeling, and enjoying the 50 shades of the blue waters of the Bahamas. We drove all over the island and spent an afternoon out at Chat & Chill via Elvis Water Taxi (Just found out it burned up the other day… Just another day in the Bahamas…). There is not much to do on the island, but we had fun hanging out with each other and catching up.
Car Rentals In The Bahamas
A quick take on renting a car in the Bahamas. I rented a 2 door, Jeep Wrangler the week my family was here. You get used to driving on the left side of the road pretty quickly. But the rental cars here are always interesting. This Jeep had ALL the check lights on and a slow leaking tire that the company eventually just replaced for me. The VBRO my brother and sister-in-law were staying at was a 20 min drive.
The roads here are narrow and the edges have huge potholes. Not too bad for a Wrangler, but at night with blinding lights of the oncoming cars and locals behind you wanting you to go faster than the speed limit, it was always a white knuckle ride. We called it running the “Blinding Road of Death”. One of the many things broken on the Jeep was the traction control and ABS brakes. I didn’t think it would be a problem, but after a strong rainfall, a section of the road became like ice. The incident, my daughter describes as, seeing her life flash before her eyes. I finally got the Jeep straightened out, without running off the road, or hitting and oncoming cars.
Trouble All To Myself
After a week I had Trouble all to myself again. No schedules, timelines, or issues. I cleaned her up, did some laundry, and got her ready to get out of the marina. Trouble and I were tired of marina life and wanted to get moving. There was a great weather window for next week to get out and move on.
