Arrived Nassau !!

Had a great sail from Chub Cay to Nassau.....FINALLY !!  We left Chub Cay around 8:30 am yesterday morning for the 36 mile jump over to Nassau.  We put up both sails as soon as we cleared the harbor and took them down at the enterance to Nassau harbor, not once turning on the engine.  AND, we did a passage in daylight.....a real treat for us lately (as the last 2 trips were overnighters).  Very nice to see where you are going for a change.  We arrived at Nassau Harbor at around 2:30 pm (made pretty good time) and anchored just across the harbor from Atlantis on Paradise Island.  WOW, what an operation......you can see the pink building from 15+ miles at sea.  (Antlantis is the second largest employer in the Bahamas behind only the Bahamian government).   If we get a chance, we may go over and check it out, especially the aquarium which is supposed to the spectacular....

We went into our marina this morning to get some boat maintenance done, and check out Nassau.  What a shock from being isolated to being right in the middle of a noisy city.  You walk out of the marina right onto a major downtown street.....WITH CARS and TRUCK traffic.  We haven't seen/heard  that since Florida.  CULTURE SHOCK !!!!

Let me explain "boat maintenance".......  Well,  THE CAPTAIN decided last week to cut a 2' piece of chain to secure the outboard engine to the dinghy to prevent theft.   I had an extra piece of chain aboard, so out came the hacksaw and up to the bow I went where a nice breeze was blowing.....didn't want to get over-heated, you know.   But, not being stupid, I took a large bucket with me to catch the filings. (I was smiling and very proud of myself.....for the bucket idea....old dave was really using his head on this one!!)  The chain project went well and took only about 10 minutes.....great, time for a cold one.    One thing your fearless captain forgot to figure was the breeze.....yup, the filing blew onto the white deck  in a 5' radiius.  About two days later, (in the salt air/water)  the little filing rusted leaving rust spots which looked like huge freckles all over the foredeck.....an absolute unsightly mess !!!!  Holy S&%+@!!!!   Rust stains everywhere......Nice job, Captain "DH" Sawblade. 

So, there I am today, muric acid in hand, cleaning the foredeck for a couple of hours trying to remove  the rust stains.  ( And of course, Captain Reflex lost his balance, and stepped in the acid...burning the bottom of his feet.....some of the skin on the bottom of my feet  is still left)  Got most of the rust spots,  but Captain Acid will be back at work trying to get some more tomorrow.  This could be a very lengthy boat maintenance project requiring at least a case of cold beer to rehydrate me after my toil.

See, it really can be hell in paradise.....all in the shadow of Paradise Island......go figure !  Captain Tenderfoot