March 17th - We wanted to go to the Rainbow Inn for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations with the favourite leprechaun costume but that would set us back a few days. And plus I don’t really think there are a lot of true Irish Bahamians, but then on St. Patty’s Day everyone is Irish. We are anchored near the Glass Window and in the morning as we are leaving I regretted not taking the dinghy to get pictures from the west side of the island. The wind had settled and the seas were flat to our next destination, our very favourite anchorage near Nassau at Rose Island.
We had read about “Current Cut” which can project you through an opening between the two island at warp speed and is not recommended for slow trawlers like us so we decide to take the safe big boat route and dodge coral heads instead. By two pm we are anchored at Rose. I dive to check the anchor and we decide to lift and reposition because we didn’t like the set and there was lots of fluffy white sand 25 feet away. Second time was a charm and we have a good set. We go out to the reef in the afternoon in search of lobster. This will likely be our last chance to spear before heading into Nassau. The lobsters remain elusive but the reef is healthy and gorgeous. Back at the boat we shower to get the salt off us and start making dinner. We look out and see that Marsha and Chris from Endorphins have just anchored behind us. We hail them and they invite us over for freshly caught Mahi-Mahi Tacos. A pleasant evening of story telling and we head back to the boat at midnight way past the usual cruiser’s midnight (nine pm).
Nassau and Paradise Island (Atlantis Resort) at sunset from Rose Island
March 18, 2011 We have many fond memories (and one nightmare but that’s another story) of Rose Island from our first year in the Bahamas. This is the first anchorage in the Bahamas where we started meeting other cruisers in 2004. Rose is about 7 miles Northeast of Nassau and is a protected anchorage from North and Northeast winds which are the prevailing winds during the winter. We are also able to spearfish here but Nassau is a no spear zone also it is away from the crowds and noise of Nassau. We would rather be here at anchor rather than Nassau except for the internet access which is non-existent. Also there is a large resident Spotted Eagle Ray that likes to jump out of the water and make himself known. It is said they do this to scare off fisherman.
We had planned to go spearing with Chris on Endorphins at “first light” but first light turned out to be around 09:00 am. Chris laughed when we stopped by his boat to discover that we were just going out. They headed to Nassau for a few nights at a marina. We found nothing in our morning outing and head out after lunch for round two. This time we caught a Nassau Grouper (our first this year since the season has been closed for Nassau Grouper until Feb 28th) and a lobster. On the way back to the boat we stop at our neighbouring trawler to say hello. Within seconds we are invited in for a drink with Rita Kay and Clay aboard their 34 foot American Tug named Carleigh from Houston Texas. Giddy-up – more Texan friends! Over a beer we get a tour and get to know each other. I purchase some earrings which Rita Kay designs. We watch the sunset and the moon rise and are blessed once again with another amazing full moon and star-filled night.
March 19, 2011 The plans were to spear in the morning and go to Nassau in the afternoon. We went out spearing and caught spiny lobsters and one slipper lobster. Slipper lobsters are not that common and kind of look like prehistoric creatures but taste good. This was our first one we caught. We had to work hard to get these lobsters. The first lobster we spotted Ted missed his shot and the lobster went deeper into his hole. Unwilling to give up we both keep diving and looking through the holes in the coral to find him. We can see the tip of his antennae but that’s it and we can’t get a good shot. Ted finally sticks his spear on the backside of the hole enough to tickle the lobster into moving so that we can spear him from the entrance. It worked but took us about 15 minutes. The next lobster I spotted from the top of the water (which is unusual) in fact there were two lobsters in one hole, we call this a “lobster hotel”. Big lobsters are called “lobzillas”. I signalled to Ted, he took and look and planned his strategy trying to get both lobsters. He went down and got one and while I went to the boat to drop off the lobster in our pail, he chased the other one. You have to be careful to carry the lobster up and out of the water or else a barracuda may come along from out of nowhere and grab it off your spear. Barracudas are obvious not stupid, they know a free lunch when they see one. Unfortunately the second lobster backed away deeper into the hole never to be seen again by us. I must have loosen the stainless steel tip off of the end of my spear when I was fighting to get the creature off because the next thing I noticed I was missing my spear tip. The final slipper lobster I need saw, the next thing I noticed is Ted fighting to get the lobster out of the hole. All in all it was a successful outing.
Spiny and slipper lobsters
Back at the boat we invite Clay and Rita Kay over for lunch. They arrive around 12:15 and the next thing we end up spending the afternoon talking. By then it’s cocktail time so they go home to change and pick up drinks and come back for some fresh lobster (caught this morning) dip. So much for our plan to go to Nassau, oh well as they say, plans set in Jello. Tomorrow is another day.
Next blog ...."evicted from Nassau"
Leaving Rose Island - Nassau here we come
March 20, 2011
We had plan to go to Nassau today but our good friends on the Margaret Lee pulled into the anchorage last night and invited us to go spearing in this morning. This is our last chance to go spearing with them. Ted is off at 08:00 with Ed and their guest. I beg off because my body is tired and sore from the last few days spearing. Ed got one lobster but Ted passed up spearing a lobster that was too small. Sadly he returned with an empty pail, no catch today but he does find my missing spear tip. There are hundreds, even thousands of coral heads around this anchorage and the chances of Ted going back to exact the same one and finding my tip is amazing. Marge and Ed drop over afterwards with their guests and with a tray of Marge’s heavenly cinnamon sticky buns. We visit for awhile and when they leave we pull up anchor and cruise to Nassau.
We cruise into the eastern entrance of Nassau and through the harbour looking at the lovely homes along the waterway and the mega-yachts parked in-front of them. The traffic is always busy in Nassau but particularly busy on a weekend with local traffic and lots of cruise ship in port for March Break. We cruise past the western anchorage and take a look at how the cruising boats are sitting with the wind and the current. We turn and come into the anchorage but run into some shallow water and circle around again. On our third past we decide to forgo the usual anchorage and anchor across from the big ship terminal. We drop the hook and are happy that we have a good hold especially since the current changes every six hours. For six hours you are pointed one way and then at slack tide you are half way in between and then pointed the other way for another six hours. Having the anchor properly set is very important here. We don’t leave the boat in the afternoon but rather monitor to make sure we are holding with the current change. The winds are not strong enough to oppose the current so wind matter less than current. We watch as the boat moves and we are pleased with our positioning and the fact that our stern is positioned toward shore and we are well out of the way of main channel, for now! The afternoon local boat traffic with the booze cruises is non-stop but we know it will settle down after dark. Ted gets up a few times during the night to check the anchor watch on our navigation computer but everything is good , until.....
Next blog ...."evicted from Nassau"
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