Day 70 - Stuart to West End, Grand Bahama - Pardise Found!

Captain Randy was up extra early, checking the weather and wave sites one last time before venturing across the Atlantic.  Betsy came out to see us off at 8am.  First stop was Sailfish Marina for fuel and a pump-out.  We left Sailfish at 9:03 am and went through the St. Lucie Inlet with several fishing boats at 9:20 am.  There was not a cloud in the sky and the seas were calm with maybe three foot rollers.  By 10:05 am we were 12 miles off the coast of Florida, in international waters.  At this point, I can still see the tallest buildings on the Florida coast.  White, puffy clouds are on the horizon now.  We believed we were in the Gulf Stream at this point, as the water was choppier, but still not bad.  We noticed a couple other boats that we assumed are making the crossing.

At about 11:25 am we thought we were out of the Gulf Stream as the water was almost flat.  We were in Bahamian waters now.  We passed a few boats that were also headed to West End on Grand Bahama Island.  As we got close, Captain Randy slowed down so I could hang the yellow “Quarantine Flag” from the bow.  You must display this flag until you have cleared Customs at West End.

 

We pulled into Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina at 12:30 pm.  Marina staff met us and brought out the Customs paperwork for us to fill out.  We checked in with Customs in a small blue building on shore; then checked into the marina in a small red building next door.  We returned to Kristin Says and took down our Quarantine Flag and put up the Bahama Courtesy Flag.

This place truly is a paradise.  The water is clear and multi-colored, reflecting the different depths.  Old Bahama Bay Resort has a lovely pool, tiki bar, and beach with kayaks and paddle boards to use.  We had a fish wrap and conch salad at the tiki bar and settled in beach chairs.  I took one of the paddle boards out in the bay.  On the way back, I found a conch shell that had been drilled open to capture the live conch inside.  When we got back to the dock, there were probably a dozen more boats than had been there when we arrived.  It seemed that everyone had been waiting for a good day to cross over, and this was the day.

We cleaned up and walked to the dockside restaurant for dinner.  Although the people were very nice, the service was very slow.  We were clearly on island time.  Finally we were served conch chowder and grouper and it was delicious.  We were happy for the good crossing and ready to begin our adventures in the Bahamas.