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Three days of mild south to southwest winds gave us
the opportunity to make a big jump from Lake Worth to Chubb Cay. This is a
144 nm slog that involves running the Bahamas North Channel at night. This
is not recommended for the faint of heart. Radar helps reduce the jitters. |
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Entry onto the Banks at night was complicated by the fact
that Great Isaac light was extinguished. Aids to navigation are a joke!
They're usually unlighted, not where charted and nearly invisible. |
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We intended to check-in with Customs at Chubb Cay, but they
weren't at the marina. We also couldn't find the Harbour Master. We left
the
Q-flag up and anchored in the basin for the night. |
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At 0600 we hoisted anchor and exited Chubb for Nassau. The
run across the North Providence Channels was a non-event. This 38 nm. trip
can feature punishing seas, but we had dead calm and fog in places. |
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We travelled quite alone for most of the crossing. It wasn't
until the Nassau Harbour entrance that traffic became an issue. |
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Before entering Nassau Harbour, you have to call Harbour
Control (tall building) and request permission to transition. After
the formalities, they may direct you to Customs at Prince Georges Wharf. |
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Prince Georges Wharf is too commercial and rough for
pleasure craft. We noted one sailboat sunk at the dock face. Nope -
moving on! |
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Even the downtown bustles with traffic. We requested
transit to a marina for check-in. |
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Boats of all descriptions ply the harbour. Here are
three fine beauties patiently waiting dockside. |
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As we came past the outer cruise liner, we were jostled with
water jets from bow thrusters. Even 200 ft. off, we were tossed around. Good
thing we weren't examining the paint job. |
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We wended our way down through anchored boats & landing
seaplanes (Sorry - too busy
here for pictures!) |
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- around cargo boats & barges, |
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- past pleasure craft of all sizes, |
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- under and through congested bridges, |
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- then dodged sightseeing party boats, |
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- finally into refuge at Nassau Yacht Haven. Although not
the cheapest place, the facilities are very good and the marina staff very
friendly. Customs and immigration is another story. |
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The Customs procedures in the Bahamas are an exercise in
paperwork tedium. More onerous is that the Bahamas is charging a $300 USD
entry fee for cruising boats. This is 3 times what any other nation
has set. On top of this they charged us a $10 USD fee for each cat,
payable for each entry into the country. Didn't even look at the vaccination
certificates! For those persons with a ham license wishing to operate
their station in the Bahamas, more grief! You have to apply months
ahead of time and pay a $25 USD fee. If you come back in a few years, you
will have to pay all intervening years for renewal. Absolutely nuts!
Use the ITU channels and ignore the silly twerps.
The Bahamian Government exudes contempt for boaters and gouges them with
inane revenue schemes. Every place you go the locals are whining that
tourist business is down, so they've had to raise fees. They just don't get
it at all! I would suggest to other Canadians (Americans verboten)
that you seriously consider going to Cuba instead of the Bahamas. Cubans are
very appreciative of your patronage. |
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Well, if you're like us and you got sucked into the Bahamas
hype, you can go over to the Atlantis Casino and try to win back your fees. |
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A safer respite is Crocodiles Bar and Grill. |
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You're a safe distance from the Casino. |
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The view of the harbour is great! You can anchor (with care)
out front and dinghy in for happy hour. |
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Any exotic drink that you can dream up, the bar can mix.
Prices are reasonable and that's saying something in this "Land of Gouge." |
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The bar overlooks a secluded garden were you can munch on
platters of nachos and click off photos from your chair. |
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Yes waiter - two more beers please. |