Leaving Nassau

February 7, 2021

Originally we had planned to arrive in Nassau on Friday around lunch time, however after a brief call to the local testing organization (Doctor’s Hospital) we discovered that our expectations for when the results would be available may have been overly optimistic. The hospital where the tests are run only works until lunch on Saturday, making a test on Friday afternoon super risky for a test result before a flight on Sunday.

Jinhee was still participating in conference calls when I untied from the dock and started moving toward Nassau. Because of our reliance on cell service for phone calls and internet, I moved quite slowly until meetings were completed…there was no turning back. We were lucky to have amazing tidal currents pushing us, sometimes as fast as 7.7 knots, without pushing the engine hard at all. The water was also smooth as silk.

The testing was completed early on Friday morning and the waiting begins again.

After spending the last three nights at Nassau Yacht Haven, Jinhee made it to the airport this morning (Sunday) and has begun her travels home. There haven’t been many public posts lately due to the public shaming of people who are not in Canada. While it makes sense to have issues with people jetting off for a week in a COVID infested destination and then racing home to spread it around, those of us who live a slightly alternative lifestyle don’t really fit that mold but the feedback is the same.

The Bahamas are one of the least affected COVID countries due to excellent regulations, a population that largely follows those regulations and a very dispersed population. Further, we are mostly living on the water (anchoring most of the time), we don’t eat at restaurants and mask up/sanitize when we are near others.

Alas, that’s all done now. Jinhee is negative (still), she is on a plane home and I have untied from the dock and am headed back to the Exumas to drop anchor and work on a variety of personal projects for a few weeks. Perhaps I will enjoy the water some more, some cycling (on deck) and practice a bit more cooking, but largely I will be trying to figure out how to get home regularly without breaking rules.

I am sorry there are no pictures. The only picture that has been taken over the past few days is that of the Charmin price tag at Solomon’s market, where you can get 8 rolls of Charmin for a very modest $41. Next year, we will stock up on even more toilet paper than what I brought along this time!

So I guess that brings up a lot of things, life is never dull on a boat . . . we did do some shopping and some boat maintenance stuff. The grocery store was visited a number of times to carry jugs of water, some fresh vegetables and junk food that will sustain me for another month. Jinhee also stashed away some Chili and Bolognese sauce for my inevitable spaghetti. We also enjoyed the last of the lobster acquired at Long Island as there is a very, very small chance of me cooking that alone.

Meanwhile, the boat got a modest wash down. There is a lot more cleaning required and it will get some attention in the weeks to come. I practiced my splicing skills with a nice clasp for the dinghy, on one of the long lines. That will make it easier to put on/take off the ‘safety’ line when we tie the dinghy up at nights.

The engine room needed a bit of attention as well, and so I spent some time cleaning up the minor fluids under the engine and also devoted a few minutes to tightening the bolts on my oil pan. I am afraid my gasket may not be providing the best barrier to oil coming out, but perhaps a little tightening will reduce the flow. (For those who think about these things, I have 22L of oil and I was down about 1 litre over the past three months, so it’s nothing to worry about, just annoying to have to clean it up.)

Now that Jinhee has returned to Canada the posting shall begin again . . . So I can keep everyone updated on the sights and activities aboard Home Free.