The Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas, horray!  We spent 5 nights in Fort Lauderdale at the Las Olas Marina which is right next to Las Olas Blvd.  The marina is very nice and there were some mighty big boats docked there.  It is amazing how many big boats are in Lauderdale and how small my boat looks.  There were 4 other Looper boats in the marina waiting to cross to the Bahamas ("Something Special", "Algonquin", "Passport" and "Brandy IV").  We got in contact with a couple we boated with in Lake Erie and they picked us up for dinner one night.  Roy and Sue are a great couple and a lot of fun.  It was great to reconnect with them over a perfect night of wine, good food and good company.  

Sid from "Something Special" and I went on a long dingy ride one day down the New River.  Unfortunately Sid was stopped by the water police for going too fast in a no wake zone.  Getting a ticket was a bummer but Sid didn't let it stop him from having a good time cruising around the big boats.  We even stopped along the river and went into town to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  

All of the boaters talked each day about the weather and what day would be good for the crossing.  We all agreed that Thursday would be the best so we got ready and waited for Thursday morning.  "Brandy IV" left at 5:30 and "Passport" left at 5:45.  The rest of us were just about to leave when "Brandy IV" called and said they were coming back because it was rough.  Passport called and we said we were going to give it a go and he said he would wait for us in the Atlantic.  Going out of the Port Everglades Inlet was very rough but it got a little better once we were in the Ocean.  Even though I agree that it was by far the best day to travel, it was rough the whole way and not very much fun.  We ran at about 12MPH and arrived at West End about 3:00 P.M. after 8 hours on the water.  We all got docked, cleared customs and checked in with the dockmaster.  Once we got settled "Sweet Pea" came in from Stuart.  It was great to see them again and we all had happy hour together.  A local fisherman came into the marina and was selling fresh lobster caught that day.  Sid invited us over to cook our lobster on his grill.  Neither of us had ever cooked lobster so we winged it and it was great.  

We decided that we would leave the next day and head for Great Sale Cay for an anchorage.  The marina was pretty empty when we got there but it filled up quite quickly with many sailboats and power boats and they all had the same idea to leave the next day.  We waited until all of the sailboats were out of the harbor and then we left about 9:15.  The wind was brisk and the sailboats were moving pretty good so it took some time for us to pass them.  We got to Great Sale Cay around 3:30 and anchored on the North side of the island because the wind was out of the South.  As soon as we anchored, Kathy on "Algonquin" called on the radio and said drinks on the beach in 15 minutes.  We got in our dinghy's and went to the beach for a nice get together.  We went back to the boat and had a good dinner and then settled in for the night on the hook.  Ginny and I don't really like to anchor so we didn't sleep very well but the boat did not move even though there were strong winds all night.  We got up early and left by 6:15 heading for Green Turtle Cay.  The wind was blowing very strong all day and it was a little rocky.  We had not make docking reservations by phone because we don't have phone service so I was a little nervous about getting into the marina.  Kathy from "Algonquin" had sent the marina an email when we were at West End and it turned out the they received it  so we were good to go (Thanks Kathy).  We got docked about 12:30 P.M.  The marina staff at the Green Turtle Club were fantastic.  They were on the radio the whole time and kept us informed about the docks and how to get in.  We will probably be here at least 5 days because of the winds (up to gale force for a short time today) so we will get to see all of Green Turtle.

Las Olas Marina in Lauderdale

Many large boats

One of the many bridges in Lauderdale

I don't know the story behind this but it was cute.

The boats are so large they need to be towed in the New River

Cruise Ship docking while we were leaving Lauderdale

Leaving Port Everglades

West End, Bahamas from the water

Nice beach at West End

Docked at last

Cooking lobster on the grill

After

Leaving West End

Kathy on "Algonquin"

One of the many islands in the Bahama Bank

Pretty blue water

Follow the leader

The anchorage at Great Sale Cay

White Harbor in Green Turtle Cay

Green Turtle Club and Marina