Cruising the Bahamas – Press Pubs

THE MANUFACTURER OF our 30 year old motor yacht, Ocean Alexander, has an annual rendezvous. This year it was held at Dunsmore Town on Harbor Island, Eluethera, Bahamas.

Long time boating friends, George and Jeanne Richter of North Fort Myers, agreed to join us on the month long cruise. It is essential to have an experienced crew along.

In late March we provisioned and Kathy prepared several menu items to put in the small freezer on the back deck. Preparation includes removing boxes from cereal, crackers, pizzas, and anything else that takes up extra room. A boat mechanic was summoned for last minute repairs and mechanical inspections.

It takes 2-3 days to cross the state of Florida on the Caloosahatchee Waterway through Lake Okeechobee. Then it was weather watch time for crossing the Atlantic, 94 miles from Lake Worth to Bimini. We fueled in Alicetown, Bimini at $4.35 a gallon and took on water at 75 cents a gallon. It is a prime location for deep sea fishing. The 143 mile trip to Nassau was uneventful except for the beauty of nature. After three days there we departed for Spanish Wells where we connected with Jock Morgan who would captain our vessel across Devils Backbone, a dangerous area of coral reefs around the north end of the island of Eluethera. The rendezvous was held at Valentines Resort and Marina and provided us with three days of planned activities and visiting eight yachts that were there.

Our daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Chuck flew into Nassau and took the fast ferry to meet us. After a couple more days of exploring Harbour Island we were ready to cruise to the Staniel Cay area of the Exumas.

On the way we enjoyed the 49 mile jaunt to the DECCA station on Pipe Cay near Staniel Cay. It felt like we were getting home as we tied onto the 150 foot concrete wall built by the British government as a Loran tracking station. The station has been abandoned for more than 20 years, since GPS replaced Loran. We have created many wonderful memories on that tiny island over the years. The only sounds are of the birds, the waves, the wind and the hum of our generator twice a day. When it was time for Stephanie and Chuck to go back to Minnesota we left the DECCA station and anchored near Big Majors, where the swimming pigs reside.

Steve and Cynthia Hibbard, my niece, of Ocala, Florida arrived next and we were able to get dock space at Staniel Cay. One of the highlights the following morning was snorkeling at Thunderball Grotto where the James Bond movie, Thunderball, was filmed. The Staniel Cay Yacht Club harbormaster, Chubby, said this winter was the busiest in history with a record number of chartered mega yachts in the Exumas. Some of these yachts rent for over $50,000 for one week plus expenses.

The Bahamas, especially the Exumas, have long been a favorite area to explore and relax. We noticed several differences this year that we had not experienced before. With little dock space available the anchorages were all full. The numbers of people aboard the large yachts caused the beaches where we formerly could find multitudes sea biscuits, shells, sand dollars and sea glass were all picked clean. We found several baby conch shells that had been taken out of the water and left to die. We were disturbed by the lack of respect for nature.

The cost of food, dockage, water, electricity and supplies had increased dramatically. The Bahamas had instituted a VAT tax and most restaurants now include a 20% gratuity in their bill. Parts which have to be shipped in have high duty. There are great mechanics and workers there and the people are still friendly and courteous. After a few repair challenges we returned to our Ft. Myers Marina to prepare for the summer in Minnesota.

Gene Johnson is publisher emeritus of Press Publications.

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Cruising the Bahamas - Press Pubs