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We’re up early at the crack of dawn to listen to Chris Parker, the weather guru. We see Woody head out putting on what looks like a ski jacket as he motors by. We both wave knowing this is the last time we will see him. He’s headed out to bring a freighter in to Harbor Island this morning. Woody stopped by again last night for one final visit before we left. What a nice guy, we’ll miss him.
SKIES ARE CLOUDY I don’t like the looks of the skies this morning. Dark clouds are everywhere and my instincts tell me “it doesn’t look like a good voyage”. Larry says “no, all the reports are good” but he did see on the TV, in the dock master’s office, to expect scattered showers in Nassau. I hate that when they “scattered showers” when we’re out at sea. Larry downloads the latest
updates for the website, which is up to Harbor Island at the dock masters
office. I start the engines up and get things ready as I see him heading back.
Broadwater, or at least that’s what it his name sounded like, the nice black
dock master, came out to give us a hand with the lines. I’m taking her out
today and we’ve run the course in the dinghy to check the depths so I think I
can do it easily. Its high tide and we should have plenty of depth if we go
where we are supposed to go. That’s the trick, go where we are supposed to go. We leave without a glitch and are now out past Royal Island where most boaters anchor after the crossing from the Abacos. We see a large boat in the distance. It must be big because it’s a big dot on the horizon. I somehow can’t believe we are actually going to Nassau, land of James Bond, 007, and the cold martini, shaken but not stirred. One boater said it’s nothing more than a dirty city but I hope not. I’m thinking we’ll find lots of interesting exciting things there. We are heading to Nassau to wait for our good friends Joe and Fran to come join us from Santa Barbara. We should have plenty of time to get the boat cleaned; laundry washed and get some provisioning done to make their journey with us as pleasant as possible. We are really looking forward to their arrival.
2” TO 6800 FEET BELOW US The wind is blowing 20 knots behind us and we are comfortable but wallowing around a bit. We’ve got everything in our favor today. If we were going in the opposite direction it would be a bit choppy and ugly. I glance at the depth finder and it’s flashing different erratic depths. It’s all over the map because it can’t read the depths now as we are well over 6800 feet below us. Imagine going from barely inches below us to 6800 feet and more. It seems amazing now to have so much depth below us when we’ve been sweating over the shallow depths for two months now. Well, we’re enjoying it while it lasts. We begin to hear a lot of Nassau radio chatter and slowly begin to realize that the weeks of quiet nights and days are probably gone for the next week and a half as we head to the busy city. Half way through our trip the seas begin to stir up and stir up badly. We have the winds and seas behind us but the seas are very confused. It must be because of that trough lying over our area which the weather guru says always add 5 to everything that NOAA reports when this situation occurs. Well, we forgot to add 5 before we left. I wouldn’t want to be heading the opposite direction that’s for sure.
About 20 miles out we see something projecting up into the horizon. Larry says he can’t believe it, “It must be the Atlantis”. I couldn’t believe the sight either after traveling these waters with nothing but flat islands and cays this was indeed a very strange sight. Sure enough though no matter how many times we wiped our eyes to clear them, it was the mega resort of Atlantis. It was surreal. We watched it get bigger and bigger for over two hours. As we got nearer to Nassau, about an hour out, we began to hear the radio traffic of Nassau Harbor Control. Every boat that enters Nassau must call in to Nassau Harbor Control for permission to enter. Larry said he wanted me to call in when it was time because the seas were so bad. He said he wanted to concentrate on getting in. Ah oh! I hate to get on the radio! Now I’m in a panic. I began to listen carefully to what the boats were saying.
Well, I practiced that over and over except interjecting our boat name instead. I kept stumbling on Nassau Harbor Control and kept saying Nassau Harbor Patrol. Larry would start to laugh and then I’d laugh. No matter how many times I repeated it I’d make some goofy mistake and Larry just kept laughing. He said he’d call in if I couldn’t do it but I’d say….”No way, I’m going to do it!” So I spent the next half hour repeating it over and over. Finally that “Nassau Harbor Patrol” came out as “Nassau Harbor Control” smooth as silk. Wow, the seas have been surprisingly rough. I think they were 6-8 feet and really confused. Thank goodness we had most of it behind us but it was swishing our backside like a fish tail. Then sometimes the waves were so high, we rode them like giant waves. White caps were everywhere and we had about 35 knot winds I think. OK, time for me to call the Harbor Control (Remember don’t say Nassau Harbor PATROL, or Nassau Harbor DOCK MASTER!...... just Nassau Harbor CONTROL!!!!) OK, I’m ready. I’m really nervous because everyone is listening in for miles around and I don’t want us to sound stupid. Here I go……
Whew, no glitches, it went smooth as silk. Guess all that silly practicing paid off. Wow, now, no time to gloat as we’re rounding the turn by the light house and suddenly have these huge waves on our beam. What a mess the sea is today. Suddenly around the lighthouse point, we reach the calm waters of the harbor and it’s like awakening from a nightmare, as it’s suddenly and pleasantly calm. We are taken back by the wondrous sight entering Nassau harbor. The huge cruise ships look un real, they’re like huge, megalithic monsters. We look and feel like a small insignificant fly next to these things. On our left is the science fiction like Atlantis Resort, it too huge and fairytale-like. Wow, what an amazing sight. I really wasn’t prepared for this. It could be the Emerald City. No messing around sight seeing now, we’ve got tour boats and ferries bulging at the seams of the harbor coming at us in all directions and we must prepare for our next docking adventure.
YACHT HAVEN We talked to several boaters that have been to Nassau and many have recommended Yacht Haven Marina which is on the Nassau side. Everyone at some time or other goes to Atlantis Resort just for the experience of it, but several boaters have said it’s a “zoo” and it’s very expensive. Since we’re here for several days we thought we’d spend the first part of it at Yacht Haven to get things done and then the last 3 days at Atlantis when our friends Joe and Fran fly in to have fun. We thought it would be an amazing experience for them to be there. Yacht Haven is conveniently located close to the marine stores, the main grocery store and other convenient things that boaters need when they’ve been away from civilization for awhile. It also has the notorious “Poop Deck Restaurant” that we’re anxious to try. There are two large bridges that cross the harbor from Nassau to Paradise Island (where Atlantis and other hotels are). Yacht Haven is just beyond the second bridge as we enter the harbor from the West side. Larry has me hail the Yacht Haven Marina. We had heard several boats a head of us hail them but sometimes the dock master was busy and didn’t answer back right away, probably busy getting boaters into their slips.
ANOTHER DOCKING ADVENTURE He answered us right away. We asked directions and he told us the marina was located just past the second bridge. He said to come down past the fishing boats to the marker and make a quick turn keeping that marker on our portside and come into the first set of docks. He said he was going to have us come way in to the horseshoe. We both looked at each other and did the gritting your teeth look. Sounds difficult. We see the fishing boats and we begin to slow down a bit as we come along side of them. They are big ships and block any view of the marina. We see the marker now as we come just past the bows of the fishing boats and the water is all churning and splashing in the area he wants us to come across. It doesn’t look right, maybe it’s rocky and shallow, stirring the waters. I call again on the radio to confirm what side he wants that marker on. He answers very slowly and very clearly…..“ON…THE….POORRRTSIDE”. Larry sits in the channel for a few seconds as we look at this situation and contemplate going over that churning water. We start gliding back past the fishing boats. I tell Larry to go forward as we’re being pulled back by the current and can’t see where we’re supposed to go. He suddenly realizes that the current was pulling us back. He thought that the fishing boat on our right was moving forward and he was waiting for him to get off the dock and out of our way. The current was so strong it was pulling us back with incredible force. We also had some good strong winds straight off our bow. Wow, this is going to be another scary dockage. Larry didn’t like it at all. We were very nervous about cutting in front of the bows of the fishing boats with the current and the winds and over these strange churning waters that almost looked like they were boiling. I called the dock master again and asked what the current was like in at the docks as it was very strong where we were. He said it was not as bad as where we were. OK, hold your breath, here we go. Larry gives her some power and we head in. I nagged as usual and said to give those fishing boat bows a wide berth because the strong current and winds were pulling us their way. He on the other hand was worried about the marker and the churning splashing waters and was trying to keep away from that. He turned wide in front of the boats and we got inside the marina area. No problem. Now to find out where this guy wants us….we suddenly see him and he’s waving at us and pointing to where he wants us. Thank goodness he doesn’t want us to come way in like it sounded when we first talked to him. It sounded much more complicated and tight than it was. This seemed too easy. We see the spot and Larry has to make a complete turn to back her in. He’s fighting the current and winds but manages to get her turned and backs her down. Once to the dock, the dock master wants to keep pulling us back in as far back as he can. He asks how long we’ll be here and I say a week. I’m thinking maybe I should have said a day and then he would put us in a place for a “good getaway”. He says “Fine let’s pull you way back here, this will put you out of the way.” I’m thinking, “Yeah, but will we ever be able to get the heck out of here?” After this, we may want to reanalyze how we’ll get out of here. For sure on slack tide. He asked how the heck it was out there. I’m assuming he meant in the ocean.
ALWAYS FUN WATCHING OTHERS DOCKING After we got settled, we watched two sailboats come in and it was hilarious to hear the dock master on the radio with them. They had a much more difficult docking destination as he guided them through a maze of docks, way into the back areas of the marina. I wish that I had had the tape recorder on to record the hilarious instructions from the black dock master. It was a lot of : “Come straight! Come straight! Now turn port. NO! Turn port! PORT! Yes, go dat way capt’n. Now turn starboard. Now! NOW!!!! NO starboard! NOW!!! Yes starboard capt’n. OK come this way. No, this way! No! NO!!! This way! OK now just go straight. Straight! Yes capt’n ya doin good. NO! NO!!!! This way, turn quick port! quick!!! OK, OK, come this way now. Here, I’m over here! This way, you see me? No, this way! OK, OK , you got it capt’n! OK, I got the line, now, stop, stop, STOP, STOP STOP, NOW, NOW STOPPPPP!!! "
"OK ,YOU DID IT, CAPT'N. You’re here. You made it!" And then he gives them a big smile and a big laugh. Same thing with the next guy. I think everybody here had an experience to write home about. Wow, what a current. Well, we’re here but too tired to do much. It will be dinner at the Poop Deck tonight.
EATIN’ AT THE POOP DECK Well, it’s not an intriguing name for dining but it’s a damn popular place. It’s a second story open-air restaurant that over looks the marina and all the boaters go there. The bar is a big meeting place and at happy hour everyone is there. If you’ve met someone along the way, you’re bound to meet up with them again in that bar. They have a big u-shaped bar and once you land a bar stool you just want to stay for hours and listen to the stories and experiences and where people’s next stop will be. The drinks were amazingly cheap, like $2.50 for a martini or margarita at happy hour. I can’t comment on the quality of booze going in the mixed drinks but everybody was happy. We saw several people we knew
from previous stops in the Abacos and Spanish Wells. That night we were tired
and hungry and got a quick drink at the bar and headed for the dining room. It
was a nice night and the food was good and fresh.
FIRST MORNING We had a pleasant sleep after a big day yesterday and decided to take a nice walk. I was interested in finding a place for coffee and once outside the Marina you could see that our best bet was heading over the bridge to Paradise Island. It’s rough and tough on our side of the channel and no where to go to sit out and sip some coffee and wake up in the morning. Wow, if you are ever heading to Nassau you must take a walk over the bridges. The view of everything is incredible and watching boats coming and going under the very high bridge, gliding along in water that is so clear that they look like they are floating in air is amazing.
HURRICANE HOLE We of course could see the amazing Atlantis Resort but closer to the bridge we could see another marina called Hurricane Hole, on Paradise Island. It looks like a good option for a place to stop as well. It’s well protected and if you wanted to be on the Paradise Island side without all the paparazzi that goes along with the Atlantis, this could be the place.
NEWS CAFÉ On the opposite side of the channel, is Paradise Island. It’s night and day compared to Providence Island where we were docked. Things are clean and pristine, landscaped, its peaceful, quiet and the air is fresh. We soon found a little strip mall and a coffee breakfast place called News Café and that became our home in the mornings. We could get lattes and American Breakfasts, and the newspaper if we even cared to see what was going on in the world. It had outside dining which was perfect because we could take Ziggy. We didn’t bother to explore further as we wanted to save exploration of Paradise Island to when we brought the boat to Atlantis Resort. It was hard to resist poking around to see what was here.
We headed back to the boat and washed it completely, did laundry and cleaned the inside of the boat too. We found the local grocery store and nearby marine shops and spent the next couple days getting things in order on the boat.
YACHT HAVEN or YACHT SMELL FROM HELL? It didn’t take long before we figured we were not going to get a breath of fresh air while we were at Yacht Haven Marina. The second night we were both awakened by a terrible smell. It smelled like diesel fumes and they were incredibly strong. At first we thought we had a leak but after a quick check we soon realized the smell was coming from somewhere outside. It was about 2:00AM and I saw the marina security officer walking the docks looking for the source and I asked him what he thought the smell was. He said he thought it could be a diesel spill. I said, “Does this happen often?” and he said “Yes, most every night but tonight it’s really bad.” I said, “Where is it coming from?” He said, “It could be from the fuel dock or sometimes the working boats clean out their bilges and just dump it overboard.” We closed all the windows since
it had not completely penetrated inside yet. We hoped we could keep the smell
and fumes from getting any worse inside. It was so strong below in our
stateroom that I couldn’t sleep in there at all. I finally found a patch of air
in the salon that still smelled free of the fumes and threw some pillows and
blankets on the floor expecting to spend the night there but even that space
soon became unbearable with the terrible fumes. It was horrible and my lungs
were hurting and I coughed all night. I asked Larry if we could get a taxi and
go over to Paradise Island for some air but he thought I was being ridiculous.
I was amazed at his and Ziggy’s ability to sleep through it all. They spent the
whole night down below in the worst part of the boat. I coughed the entire
night up in the salon.
The next morning, the smell was beginning to dissipate slightly, but still was lingering because the winds weren’t blowing. The water was covered in fuel. We thought that was surprising considering that there is quite a tidal current in the marina and channel so we thought where ever it was coming from it must still be leaking and it must be big. It was a terrible sight to see, this slimy oily film, swirling around, its evil being disguised by the beautiful colors of the rainbow, as it sneakily enveloped the boats, floating silently on top of the water weaving its way in and around all the docked boats like a snake. All this beautiful turquoise water covered in slimy smelly diesel. It would be an outrage in the states but we saw no officials checking it out. Many of the boaters around us were walking the docks and looking at the oily water, commenting to each other about the horrible night enduring the terrible fumes and then amazingly others who slept through the whole thing and didn’t know what we were talking about. In my mind they must have been in a drunken stupor from a late night at the Poop Deck Bar to not notice it. One good thing came out of the whole thing and that was meeting the nice family across the dock from us. They were on the sailboat named Scoter, from Maine. They said they spent an equally horrible night. We were discussing what a major fine this would be in the states but incredibly no one even comes to investigate here. I asked where in Maine they were from and they said the Isle of Haut. I said “Isn’t that where Linda Greenlaw (who was the female captain on the other boat from The Perfect Storm and has since written two books) is from?” And they said, “Yes, she’s our good friend.” So, I had a good time talking with them about lobstering in Maine. They were the nicest people.
SMELLS FROM HELL Well, that was the worst evening we had as far as the smells but there was no fresh air here even after the winds picked up. Just one dock down from us was where the tourist day cruise boats dock and the fishing boats are nearby. There was constant running of engines and some ran their generators all night to keep their freezers going. It was non-stop diesel smoke. The direction of the wind just blew it right into our boat the entire stay, well, except for the one day when the winds changed direction and then blew the stink in our face from the nearby sewage plant. I don’t know what was worse really, I think the diesel was worse because at least it didn’t make your lungs hurt like the diesel fumes. I was really having a hard time with it all and was about ready go crazy, as you may imagine. The only thing that kept me sane was knowing we were going to Atlantis soon. I knew there was fresh air over there on Paradise Island as each morning when we took our morning walk over the bridge we filled our lungs with it, nice big gulps of fresh air.
Yacht Haven, though close to the grocery store, marine shops and the Poop Deck Restaurant, left a lot to be desired. The location is on a busy street and it’s kind of hectic walking anywhere even though convenient compared to having to take a cab from other marinas. You kind of felt like you “walking on the edge” on this busy street as the roads are not designed for pedestrians. You just don’t want to walk anywhere as it’s not comfortable or safe. The traffic, though on a relatively small island is horrendous and when they aren’t in deadlock, they drive fast and sometimes recklessly. We didn’t feel like cabing it to other places at night after working all day as we were tired. The Poop Deck Bar became a little like the bar in Colon, Panama, you felt kind of trapped with no other options. It was a hang out and waiting point for boaters heading in all directions and waiting for weather or friends to fly in. You found boaters from all over there, some just becoming turning into bar flies. We soon got a little bored with the food at the Poop Deck, and even though the bar people were interesting we soon found we just preferred it staying on the boat at the end of the day and evening. We mostly went out during the day for lunch and breakfast and ate on the boat at night.
We explored the downtown area of Nassau. Having never been here before we were very curious about what it was like. All those James Bond movies I saw when I was young left an impression on me with surreal visions of Nassau and the Bahamas and I had images of martinis, “shaken not stirred”, rich life styles, fast and sophisticated. For some crazy reason the theme song from Goldfinger was constantly going through my mind. We knew it was also “cruise ship central” but we still wanted to see it. You had to take a taxi to get downtown as the walk was too far and would be an impossible journey without sidewalks on the old narrow highways, one going one way to downtown and one going one way in our direction.
RELIGIOUS BIBLE TOTING TAXI DRIVERS Taxi charges were variable, one time $8, another $10 and if they thought they could really take advantage it’d be $12 and that was usually with the black women drivers. They all had vans and it was all the same distance. The legit ones have a meter, but we got the cheaper prices from the un-legit guy who charged only 8 bucks. We heard that you have to ask first what the fare is before you get in so there is no problem later. We learned not to take the ones quoting the $12 fare, not that the extra 4 bucks would have killed us but it was just the principal of the thing and how much you would let them gouge you. Most all the taxi drivers, especially the men had their well worn bibles next to them on the seat. On Sundays you’d hear the word of God on their radio or some loud gospel music puttin’ the fear of God and shame of the Devil in you. In fact on Sunday, you could hear the gospel all over the island, as the blacks would turn their radios up and it penetrated the air more than the diesel fumes. One taxi driver, a big over weight black man, said as we climbed in the back, “Welcome, to Elmo Ferguson’s Zone of Entertainment.” He liked to entertain his passengers with his new portable DVD player that never played as he fiddled with it the entire hair raising drive. We finally asked what it was that he was trying to play for us and he it was Speed II. The taxi drivers are also notorious for picking up and dropping off another fare on your dime. Sometimes it might not be a fare but a cute girl or a friend. Sometimes these extra passengers required a slight detour on your route whether you mind or not.
7 CRUISE SHIPS AND THE WADDLING MANIA Downtown was pretty much what
you expected for a major cruise ship stop. The same old boring duty free shops
filled with stuff you don’t need and at prices that aren’t any better than back
in the states. I was mainly interested in the old architecture but was
immediately overwhelmed by the seven cruise ships that were in town. They
towered over the small colonial buildings of the downtown like huge
skyscrapers.
SURREY RIDE
PISS AND STRAW We decided to walk through the
famous straw market which is one big huge open air but covered structure filled
with tourist goods to sell, like baskets, t-shirts, wood carvings, cheap
jewelry, etc.
Ziggy loved the smells, and loved to poke his nose under the blanket covered tables and the old Bahamian ladies skirts. We had to constantly watch him to keep him from getting into trouble. I had no intention of buying anything, as we just merely wanted to walk through but the Bahamian ladies were so charming with their salesmanship techniques that they snagged me on a basket.
They brought the price down so
low I couldn’t resist it. It doesn’t look like it was made in the Bahamas but
it matched the color scheme of the boat and now is a nice memory.
LOST HORIZON or VANISHING ARCHITECTURE I was truly amazed at some of the beautiful architecture that is going to ruins in this old city. I hated to see the wonderful British Colonial West Indies buildings, decaying before your very eyes, forgotten and unappreciated. You wonder where all the money is going that is coming into this port from these cruise ships and masses of visitors and was it worth the impact of permanently changing the culture here? All we see are duty free shops, and bars, and native people whose charms we saw on the outer islands have now become distrustful and rude. Their culture and history is vanishing before our very eyes as the money funnels somewhere we are not sure. I hope someone wakes up and preserves the buildings and cultural history here before it’s too late. Instead we see the sterile, over the top, planned developments the likes of which are on Paradise Island, while the history and beauty of what was here is vanishing just as rapidly as greedy developers come in and scrape the reefs, and shorelines, bringing in the rude and flashy ugly Americans. No wonder the Bahamians are sick of us. What has it done for them individually?
We walk through Rawson Square and gaze at the wonderful government buildings painted bright pink with white trim and hunter green shutters. The buildings are large for island scale but majestic, some with enormous white Greek columns. These buildings left over from the British reign and all its glory are still a pride of the local people. I was especially charmed by the 18th century library built in a circular form with a bonnet hat verandah. It used to be the jail in the 1700s and still now is a structure of beauty.
Across from the police station is the most wonderful British West Indies building, maybe an old estate, which is in such bending broken down state that I’m sure it may not even be there next year. It’s stoically holding its ground as its beautiful shuttered in verandah, is peeling and broken and bent. I poked in and wondered at the history of the place and what stories could be told of this wonderful structure.
CITY MARKET and THE BOX BOYS A nice surprise was the market which had just about anything you’d ever need and more. The prices were very expensive though and I was glad I did a good provisioning job back in the states. My big concern at every port is finding fresh produce, fresh milk, eggs, and bread. I loved walking up and down the aisles looking at all the unusual foods that we don’t have. Strange beans, and spices and lots of Caribbean sauces, and lots more filled the shelves. There were all sorts of different kinds of root vegetables, and sweet potatoes. I was amazed to find fresh basil, cilantro and several varieties of fresh berries. What a treat. I would see chefs from restaurants in their black and white pin striped pants, chef shirts with clogs on their feet, picking over whatever looked fresh. You can’t plan menus ahead of time here. Instead you get what is fresh and looks good that day and create your menu around what you are lucky enough to find. It’s challenging but definitely can be fun and surprising at some of the delicious concoctions you dream up when you have don’t have the usual choices and ingredients. Since we left Spanish Wells, we could no longer find the wonderful Bahamian bread like we have been devouring all through the Abacos and Harbor Island. Even in the restaurants they serve that bland bread and rolls that we have become so accustomed to in the states. What a shame and a surprise. What I loved most about the market were the little black boys that would bag your groceries. They are so polite, hardworking and anxious to work. They do such a really good job of packing that they would put to shame any boxer in the states, hands down. They make their money solely by tips and it’s the best money you ever spent as you see their eyes light up and their kind and genuine “thank you very much mam.” I love those little guys so any boaters out there that don’t know this, don’t forget to give them their tips.
Matisse Café was
recommended to me by another boater on a beautiful blue hulled Fleming called
Pursuit that we met in Harbor Island. I’m very grateful for that recommendation
because it was the loveliest place that we went to in Nassau. It’s also beautifully not artificially decorated in a style that says old Nassau with a bit of West Indies style to it. As you enter it becomes obvious that indeed the theme is Matisse as many prints of the famous artist adorn the walls, many that I never had seen. The floors are wonderful old colored tiles warmly worn over the years and the rooms are divided by open walls and dark rich wood paneling. Outside is a wonderful garden with tables protected under the tropical hot sun by wild white umbrellas and you are cradled by beautiful lush tropical plantings. Occasionally a neighborhood cat may grace your leg in a slow lazy casual way and no one thinks a thing. The clientele varies from people dressed in suits, obviously lawyers and people coming from the nearby court and government buildings, some elegantly dressed women in tropical clothes, and casual tourists like us but not the crew ship crowd. So you felt like you got a little taste of the local life. The food was truly delicious and all freshly prepared, including homemade pasta and all was presented by well trained black waiters in crisp starched uniforms. It’s truly old Nassau at its best.
Aaah, I can’t wait for a breath of fresh air. I’m so looking forward to moving over there and away from this stinking diesel smoke. Larry by my side has me take it out of the marina and all goes well with the currents, winds, and boat traffic. I head under the two bridges that we walked daily to coffee. I see the two markers for the entrance to Atlantis and head in.
PRICES I have to admit we explored the Atlantis marina a few days ago to take a peak at the marina. I’m glad we did as we were able size up where we wanted to dock the boat and it does make a difference. The Atlantis is probably the most expensive place to dock outside of Nantucket. It’s where everyone wants to go at least once in their cruising experience if they make it to the Bahamas. The dockage prices range from $3.50 per foot to $6.00 per foot and that doesn’t include a thing, like water or power. Water is, I think, 20 or 30 cents a gallon which is a deal now when I compare to what we paid in the following weeks in the Exumas. I’m not sure what the power is, I think it was a flat rate, depending on your size, that may be $30. The $3.50 dockage price sticks you in the entry channel with no view but the helicopter port and it’s noisy as hell when those helicopters are running. If you pay the next range up, which jumps to $4.00 plus, you can get a spot just inside around the corner, and obviously the pricing goes up as you near the inner harbor. We decided we wanted to be located in the mid way section, not because of the cheaper price which was $4 per foot, but because we would have a great view of the Atlantis Resort and were away form the hustle and bustle of the little shopping village and noisy restaurants and the people looky-looing at you the whole time you were there. We made our reservation and told them what price range we wanted to make sure we got a close position to what we wanted.
NOT TAKING THE FIRST ASSIGNMENT As we entered the Atlantis
channel between the two markers, we hailed them on the radio. I’m still driving
the boat as we head in the channel. We are slowly passing the boats in the
cheaper area, overlooking the heliport as they give us our slip assignment and
sure enough it’s in this cheaper zone! I just kept right on going, passing the
slip that they wanted to give us as the dock guy is there waiting in his golf
cart. Larry called back and said we didn’t like that spot and wanted another
location. He said that we reserved for the $4 area and that’s what we wanted.
We were determined we were not going to stay there after our lousy experience at
Yacht Haven across the harbor no matter what it cost.
They hemmed and hawed a bit and finally gave us a perfect slip location. We could see the dock boy following us as we lead the way to the new more desirable location. Larry took over as we neared the slip. He put her bow in with our stern overlooking the huge Atlantis building. We got settled into our new home for the next three days. The dock boy with his snooty attitude to get the power and water hooked up and told he’d be back after he got us checked in and would give us our welcome packet and passes to enter the resort.
WAITIN' FOR A PUMP OUT Larry headed to the dock office to check in and once back we did the never ending wait for the pump out which never came. As we sat and waited we looked at all the junk on our side dock. The big flashy sports fisher called Shock Wave seemed to have taken over the dock to use it as a storage area. There were bicycles, a full size BBQ, big plastic crates containing two extra sets of propellers, and huge fender balls hanging over the end along with piles and piles of rope. We wondered how he was getting away with putting all this stuff on the dock as it clearly states in the marina booklet that nothing can be stored on the docks. I didn’t like it much but didn’t mind as long as I could breathe fresh air. That was my big priority after our stay across the channel at Yacht Haven. We waited and waited and still no pump out. We called back on the radio and the dock office said no one could do it now because they were all on “lunch break”. There’s no “Sorry sir for the inconvenience” or a call back to let us know when we might expect them so we decided to take our “lunch break” too.
BEST DARN TACOS IN PARADISE When we came back, we called
again, and they were “still on a lunch break” was the answer. We sat around a
waited some more and finally got to talking with the sport fishing captain that
had all the junk on the dock. He apologized about the “stuff” and hoped it
wasn’t bothering us and then accidentally kicked Larry’s shoes in the brink.
There was so much of his stuff on the dock that I guess he tripped over them.
Embarrassed, he quickly fished them out and hosed them off, and from there on,
he was unwaveringly humble, even offering us some grilled lobster tails for
dinner that night. I couldn’t believe that I turned down having lobster to
instead feast on some tacos that I had planned to make instead. I had happened
to find, to my surprise, some corn tortillas the day before at the City Market
that day (which are nonexistent in all the stores since we left Florida) and we
were so hungry for Mexican food that we wanted nothing but those tacos. Those
tacos, though pretty normal, tasted like the “best darn tacos in paradise”. Now
I know why Jimmy Buffet thought that bad hamburger was “the best hamburger in
paradise”. You get a hankering for the darnedest things when you are away from
home for long periods of time.
INSIGHT ON THE LIFESTYLE
HERE We finally we gave up on the poop pump for the day and thought we’ll try again first thing in the morning, well before their “all day lunch break”.
EXPLORING ATLANTIS We were given 4 “credit cards”
which were are like admission tickets to get in to places of the Atlantis Resort
that “others” couldn’t get in unless you were a marina or hotel guest. You can
also use them for gambling and charging anything. I think the thing that makes
this resort so unique is that for hundreds of miles around there is nothing like
this. We’ve all seen more amazing extravaganzas and equally as gaudy in Las
Vegas but its location make it so totally bizarre. After two months of little
remote towns and villages this was suddenly a cultural shock. The fabulous sea
theme makes this especially incredible.
We didn’t want to miss the
famous aquariums and they were amazing but yet sad as you gawked up close
at the poor fish behind the thick shields of glass. These beautiful displaced
fish, sharks, stingrays, and the thousands of colorful coral reef fish,
POOL OF PEE
RACE WITH THE SPOTS Though we gave the boat a thorough washing at Yacht Haven, it was dirty all over again with soot from the cruise ships and other boats. The water was 20 cents a gallon so we washed the boat very consciously trying not to waste any. Soon though, it became obvious, this water was hard as rocks and left ugly spots if not wiped up immediately off everything before it dried. So it became a major race to clean the boat. Many boats had all sorts of gimmicks to deal with the hard water. We just raced to keep up with each other with the shammies. I had to keep up with Larry, wiping dry everything that he soaped and rinsed. We had to coordinate precisely so he wouldn’t get too far ahead of me. You’d think at these prices they could afford soft water. After all that work, the next morning the boat was all wet with humidity and covered with soot again. We didn’t want to make water here either in the marina though it was turquoise it wasn’t as clean as you’d like and with the slow response around here for pump out, who knows what’s in it. The sports fishing captain has a gizmo that he uses to soften the water. He runs the water through big sacks of salt and offered to let us fill our water tanks using that which was greatly appreciated. We didn’t want to put that hard water into our tanks. We did get the tank pumped the next morning, no problem, but not without a sales pitch from the dock guy, trying to sell us cell phone service for the Bahamas, and a multitude of other services. In other wards, “anything you want or desire I can get for you or make arrangements for you, just let me personally know” and he gives us his personal card having nothing to do with Atlantis Resort. That happened more than once from another dock guy, so we guess they have multiple businesses on the side, whether it be getting you Cuban cigars, or well, you can imagine MEGA YACHTS ARE QUITE A SHOW At the Atlantis it was a daily parade of amazing yachts coming and going each day. No one stays very long because it’s so outrageously expensive and ridiculous. You’d think for all this expense and extravaganza you’d get special service or treated nicely but really everything is so impersonal and there’s no special treatment. Actually I think the service is less than normal because of its impersonal ness and kind of lack of consideration. For example, each morning, we were awakened at 5:30 AM by the noise of the dock boy driving up in the noisy golf cart and emptying each boat’s private trash can with a big slam. It was like clock work. .
The second morning, after being
awakened by the trash guy, I had just managed to get back to sleep again, when I
was then awakened by the sound of a large motor and wondered “What the *%#@ is
going on now?” Then I smelled a terrible smell and thought “For God’s sake is
someone getting their tank pumped at this time of the morning? What kind of
place is this?” I ran up the stairs and looked out to see a guy just off our
bow, covered head to toe in a white jump suit with a gas mask on. He had a
long stick with spray coming out the end of it and I realized he was spraying
pesticides all over the place and the wind was blowing it all on and in our
boat! I immediately ran below and woke our guests in the forward stateroom. A
big cloud of pesticide was blowing right in their hatch right above where they
were sleeping. They quickly closed their windows and hatch and I as quickly
closed the rest in our stateroom. A few others boaters were stirred out of their
boats to see what was going on. A few were walking the docks to see. I
couldn’t believe it! I just guess they don’t know the dangers of doing
something like that here.
It’s another world that the rest of us don’t experience but here we have a glance at what it must be like. At night the boats are all in competition with their night lighting, some lighting the entire turquoise waters of the marina like an indoor swimming pool. At night too, you can get a glimpse inside the yachts to see their finely framed artwork, dramatic fresh flower arrangements perched on their glossy rosined wood tables set on thick luxurious carpets. Flat screen TVs are in every room and are on even though no one is watching them, all this surrounded by lush over stuffed leather sofas. It’s all too amazing and the show changes daily as they come and go. There’s a minimum length boat allowed here, nothing smaller than 40 foot can dock in this “privileged place” and I think the biggest they can accommodate is about 200 feet, which if you can imagine the dock fees, at $1200 plus per day, plus water and plus power to light up these floating mansions, not to mention the catered food and other services, well its beyond my comprehension. Let’s not forget most importantly, and that is the expense of maintaining a full time crew. This is an army of people, some professionals that must be on boats, full time, polishing, shining, cooking, cleaning, washing the linens, and waiting on the masters hand and foot. That would include a licensed captain, an engineer, a chef, a maid or two, and a couple dock hands at least. Well…. it adds up, as you can imagine but I’m sure they can easily afford it.
One yacht, who stood out from
the rest, in that it was a long term docker, and at these prices that’s quite
incredible, had its own customized golf cart with it’s very own stenciled boat
logo on its polished color coordinated body that perfectly matched the
magnificent yacht. The crew, being in one port so long, even had time to have
all the lines meticulously braided and not a speck of dock muck on them. It was funny, in a way, watching all these boats and their owners parading what they had, paying through the nose to do it while the smells from the sewage plant across the harbor would frequently waif through marina where they all were. It was comical, us all here paying these fees, being awakened at 5:30 AM to the sound of the trash collector and pesticide sprayers, and even the smell of sewage. It didn’t make any sense at all. It’s a strange place, so many rules and regulations, but yet no rules and regulations depending on how much dow you press into the dock guy’s palms. It was a contradiction of attitude. It a mix of people, many snotty snobby captains, owners many with big fat long Cuban cigars (or turds as Larry likes to call them) hanging out of their mouths, pressing $100 bills into open palms of the rude dock people and big sports fishing boats, idling their engines, asphyxiating surrounding boating neighbors and other people at the docks with their fumes, while waiting for their rich owners who expect the boat to be hot and ready when they arrive by golf cart from their hotel room, with spoilt children in the back, heading out to hunt the poor fish, like they really needed to catch some. Many of the smaller boats or regular cruisers like us come here at least once, just for the experience. We probably won’t come back, most likely we’ll stay at Hurricane Hole, which is just enough on the fringe to be away from the fumes, and city but close enough to the comforts of Paradise Island. We were content to just sit back and be wowed by the show.
DOCK BOYS The dock boys deserve a special mention. They must lead an interesting life with all these big high rollers. The boat on the other side of us was named CRAPSHOOTER and another was NIPPLES UP, so it might give you an idea of some of the kind activity that goes on around here. They offer to get you anything you need and that I think means “anything” so we’ll leave that to all our imaginations. Their mode of getting around serving all these boats is golf carts. The docks are long and far apart and the paths zig zag around the walls that line the hotel rooms. The dock boys are somewhat like bellmen for the boaters, running errands, picking up and transporting boaters to the resort and shuffling their guests back and forth. These guys race these golf carts along the docks sometimes like a race track with great abandon to others safety as they whip back and forth at high speeds, narrowly missing people walking. You quickly learn that if you hear a cart coming you had better get out of their way as fast as you can. They were like unrulely teenagers let lose with a motorbike for the first time. The big spenders have corrupted the dock people so many have a bit of an attitude probably expecting to get their palms greased at every duty but we can only blame ourselves, the ugly Americans.
We heard the food at the Atlantis and surrounding restaurants was pretty terrible and overly expensive. The captain on the sports fisher next to us said “For sure don’t go to Johnny Rockets as it cost us $50 for two hamburgers!” I guess they ordered two hamburgers and were talked into the "meal deal" with drink and fries included and that’s what it was. We had a small individual pizza at one place that was $24. The captain said he went to the Fathoms restaurant inside the resort with walls of aquariums surrounding his girlfriend and himself. When he finally got out of there the bill was over $500. I’d hate to be staying at the resort and stuck to eating at their restaurants. I think I’d feel a bit trapped.
FRIENDS ARRIVE Fran and Joe arrived in Nassau,
loaded with fins, snorkels, boat parts, head sets to replace our presently now
defunct ones, $1000 cash for us, champagne, wine, chicken strips for Ziggy, some
mail were requested and who knows what else we asked them to bring to us, plus
various types of clothes for heat and humidity and cold fronts, swim suits,
walking shoes, sea shoes, and big smiles on their faces, glad to be away from
their hectic work life and cold weather. Their trip from the airport was not
complete without the taxi driver picking up several other passengers along the
NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU’RE SORRY Larry went up to the dock office to meet them when they arrived but their taxi delivered them to the front door of the resort instead of the dock office and then they were shuttled by golf cart to the boat. They didn’t see Larry at all. I welcomed them with the traditional Goombay Smash that Larry had made and the wonderful view of the Atlantis while I called the dock office to have them let Larry, who was sitting just outside, know our friends had arrived so he could get a ride back to the boat. Several minutes later and still no Larry, I made another call to the dock office, with another plea to have them be sure and check outside for Larry. They assured me they would and still Larry didn’t come to the boat. Finally 45 minutes later, we all headed down to the dock office to see where Larry was. Once we got to the dock office we could see in plain sight where the taxi drop off was, just outside the office, on their own bench, was Larry, waiting. No one had bothered to go outside to let him know. I guess that’s one final testimony to the questionable service around here and no matter how much they inconvenience you or tell you they will do something and don’t, they never, never, say, they are “sorry”. Now let’s pray for good weather and lots of fun for friends.
TAKING IN THE SIGHTS WITH JOE AND FRAN We had one day to show them the
sights and then off for the Exumas the following day. We took a morning walk on
Paradise Island down to the One and Only Resort which was formerly owned and
developed by Huntington Hartford which really changed the look of this island
from what they used to refer to as Hog Island to Paradise Island.
He bought several acres and transformed this scrub of an island into a living paradise. I wanted to show them the lovely gardens that he left for all to enjoy. It was called the cloisters and is open to everyone to enjoy. Hartford purchased the cloisters from William Hearst. They are French cloisters, 12th century and were left in a warehouse in Florida until he purchased them and brought them to hog Island and used them as the centerpiece for his formal 35 acres of gardens. We saw old Nassau mid-day and lunched on the patio at Matisse and then in the afternoon, Joe and Fran had spent several hours exploring the Atlantis Resort. By evening, we were all ready to head out in the morning for the peaceful and beautiful Exumas.
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ATLANTIS APPEARS FROM THE
DEEP
OLD TOWN OF DOWNTOWN
On the way back to Yacht Haven,
we stopped at an old church. It was so beautiful with its gothic windows,
painted green shutters, and concrete buttresses, surrounded by sandy weathered
blackish concrete graves scattered throughout its several acres of surrounding
cemetery sprinkled with huge old towering casuina trees and palm trees bending
in the wind. It’s so much beauty. As we catch a cab back and race down the
main one-way highway back, we pass by in a flash, several scattered old broken
down, but once grand mansions, now sadly scattered with trash and broken pieces
and that no longer can stand proudly as they once did. 
AAAAH,
FINALLY IT’S TIME TO MOVE THE BOAT TO ATLANTIS
WHERE TO GO TO EAT
