WIND, WIND AND MORE WIND

March 5, 2012  Dateline Nassau, Bahamas

The wind continued to blow today and I just rocked and rolled in my slip.  A local in Bimini told Rich that when the wind begins to blow like this, it blows for three days, in Bimini he was correct. I hope that the rule also applies to Nassau.  The 20-25 mile hour winds coming from the north brought with them falling temperatures and it cooled off quite a bit.  While I don’t know for sure why the large mega yacht Golden Odyssey is no longer anchored off of Paradise Island, she has moved to the town dock---I guess the wind forced her to seek the shelter.

This picture is of the stern of the boat, BANDIDO, docked behind me.  You can see the waves breaking on her stern.  These waves are not created by passing boats pushing out wakes, but by the wind.  By the way BANDIDO is about 125 feet long and she is handling the waves quite well.

Rich and Carol went off exploring by bus (jitney) again.  The first day they rode a jitney they went to the expensive side of the island, the second day they went through the inner city and this time they went through the middle class area.  The jitney ride took them to an area called Fox Hill and passed the prison.  The homes were generally well maintained and clean.  They encountered a street named MAJOR SUB ^DIVISION .  They thought this was a very strange and interesting name for a street.  Looking down the street, it did appear to lead to a major sub division.  The jitney ride probably covered the eastern side of the island. 

Carol wanted to go for a horse and carriage ride which they did in the afternoon.  The horse periodically was chased by unleashed free-roaming dogs. On one particular street the horse must have known that there were a number of dogs that would chase him as he automatically sped up hoping to avoid them.  The horse’s plan did not work.  The carriage tour took them though the downtown area, along the edge of the harbor and to a place called Potter’s Cay.  Potter’s Cay is an island full of stalls where the local fishermen “hang out”, sell their fresh fish or serve it cooked at a window in front of their stall.  There must be close to 100 of these stalls.  While Rich was sure the food must be good the stalls didn’t look like an American Board of Health would ever give their approval.  When the carriage ride was over Carol told me that she and Rich asked each other what was better the $60 carriage ride or the $2.50 jitney ride, the jitney ride won out. Tomorrow they’ll probably try another jitney route.   

In yesterday’s posting, I mention that the Golden Odyssey has several shadow boats. One of those shadow boats carries all of the water toys that are “required”.  Here is a picture of GOLDEN SHADOW, the toy carrying boat.  Some of the tenders that she carries are almost as long as me.