OK, you can practice later. Right now we need to update this blog. We left the Land and Sea Park in Warderick Wells early, at first light.
The next day, we went to shore, and found a great couple that agreed to take us to the store. They refused any money, and showed us where the bank was, and the nicest grocery we saw in the Bahamas, a huge Fresh Market! We got some groceries and ice, and some fresh veggies too. Thanks Calvin and Lynnette for the ride, sometimes nice people just do things for others because they are nice people. It turned out that Lynnette spent a great deal of time as a youth, living on Long Island Bahamas with her aunt! What a small world, and no wonder she was so nice.
We spent 2 days in Nassau, and with the wind across the beam, we headed Northeast across the Tongue of the Ocean and into the Northwest Channel. This is a cut that we went through on our way east, and it is where the 10,000 foot deep Tongue of the Ocean meets the shallow Bahamas Bank. We could see the entrance to the cut a mile away, because the 20 knot wind that was pushing us along, was blowing right into the rushing tide in the cut, and there was a huge, mile long rip current with crashing waves that we could see. We decided to take down the sails, and motor through the narrow cut with the best maneuverability using the engines alone. This proved to be a wise decision, because as we entered the cut, we realized that there was a huge current that was also going sideways. This tried to turn the boat to the left, and if the sails had been up, we would have probably lost control. There was another sailboat several miles behind us, that had been following us across the passage, and we looked back to see them completely sideways, and very close, if not on, the hard bank. They had entered the cut under full sails, and probably got caught in the side current we experienced. The sails were quickly dropped, and the boat was re-centered in the cut quickly, and they resumed course. A good thing, as we did not want to turn around to assist them, but were prepared to do so if needed. We would because that is what sailors do, we are ready to help if needed. We will Reverse, Reverse- and we will Take It Back Now Ya'll, if we need to! Just ask. Seriously.
On to Mackey Shoal we went, for another anchor out night on the rolly Bahamas Bank. As the night passed, so did the wind and waves, and by morning light, the wind was down to 12 knots and the waves had subsided too. Oh yeah, just in case you followed the link to the video above, the Bahamians know how to dance too ya' know. Check this out, a great song and video, although the resolution is low.
