After three nights and three days in the Atlantic, it was a joy to shout “land ho” when we saw Grand Bahama Island. We arrived just after 7am on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, and were so grateful to have made it safely to our destination. We were all exhausted from a lack of sleep, but were giddy at the same time. By God’s grace, we made it!
As is typical on boat life, as soon as we anchored, there were two items that required attention. First, the water maker was shutting down every 15 minutes of run-time. Something was wrong. Was it overheating? The guys installed a fan near it to keep it cool, as we had done last season. But nope, that didn’t solve the problem. Electrical issue? Probably so. They spent our fist day working on a fix and finally discovered a short in a wire that Kory was able to repair. Way to go guys!
To top that off, our black water tank in the owner’s head was full to the brim and starting to smell. Our through-valves were wide open during our passage, so the tank should have been empty. This indicated that there was a blockage preventing the raw waste from going into the ocean. We tried to get a pump out at the Old Bahama Bay Marina at West End, but they didn’t have that service available. We called Bradford Marine in Freeport, Grand Bahamas, and they said they could do the job. So, our plans demanded that we leave West End in the morning and sail 4.5 hours east to Freeport where we could get the sewage pumped out. It turned out to be beneficial for all of us because Rick and Maryalice’s boat was on the hard at the Bradford boat yard, so we could drop them off with all of their belongings, and stay on a dock while the black water tank was pumped dry.
After lunch, Kory rode the dinghy into Old Bahama Bay where the customs office was located. In The Bahamas, it is customary for only one person from each boat to leave the vessel and go to customs. Kory got all of the paperwork filled out at customs, and we were cleared with a 90-day visa. It was time to lower the yellow quarantine flag and raise the Bahamian flag.
We made burgers for dinner and enjoyed lounging around the table while at anchor. Because we were all worn out from the long passage, we went to bed around 7pm. As Kory and I laid our heads on our pillows, we thanked The Lord for keeping us safe through the nights at sea, and for awakening us each morning to a beautiful new day, full of opportunity! “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits” (Psalm 68:19).