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We headed to the West End because there appeared to be a channel dug into the island that didn't have any buildings within it. When we got there, we had Joe and Chelsey watch from the bow of the boat incase any obstructions were in the channel, but it was a solid 15 feet deep, which is what it was dredged at originally. We found a good spot to anchor and were there alone. It is apparently an abandoned development. On some of the islands, they dredge out channels and then build marinas and homes along it. This one had concrete roads poured, utilities put in and a few houses had been started. Something must have happened and work on the project stopped. It made for a peaceful place to stay. Fully protected from waves.
It was a short dinghy ride to head out to the beach. We could either get dropped off down a nearby channel and walk there, or take the dinghy back out through the channel and beach it there. Jesse and Rick managed to get a few lobsters while snorkeling. The boys loved digging in the sand and playing in the water. The water was a great depth for them. Ben also tried snorkeling for the first time and is completely obsessed.
Another sailboat showed up yesterday and anchored nearby. Today, it completely poured and a rainbow showed up. That was fun to show the kids. While here they got a lot of great time on the beach and got to see crabs, a huge conch and lots of shells.
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Today was a day to get some things done and let the kids burn off energy. We washed all the sheets that needed it from the leaky pull-up and throwup of the previous couple days. We had the kids run around in the grass. They tried to catch butterflies. We took the water taxi over towards a market that's nearby in order to find some lunch. Chelsey spent the morning organizing and cleaning some of the boat, which was awesome. We showed back up to the boat around naptime and the person we were waiting for that had the part we needed for the dinghy's motor came. Rick got it installed quickly, so we'll test that out tomorrow, but it should be good now.
Eli has decided that naps are optional. The last few days we've managed to get him to still nap, but today was not one of those days. During that time, Rick, Chelsey and Jesse took the 2pm van ride to the grocery store that the marina offered. They stocked back up on some produce. Once they were back and Ash was awake, we all took the water taxi back to the market for dinner and some fro-yo. Unfortunately, we found out the water taxi stopped at 6pm when it was already 7pm. The woman that was running the fro-yo place helped us get a taxi that fortunately fit all 8 of us.
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We woke up early and decided to sail north to Freeport on Grand Bahama. That city is larger than what's on Bimini and we were hoping to get the engine on the dinghy fixed since we weren't having luck with what we had tried so far. Also, by leaving this morning, we were able to sail because the wind was favorable instead of having to motor the whole way.
Pretty early on, there were flying fish jumping out in front of us constantly. It was amazing. It wasn't quite as rough as the crossing from Miami. Everyone handled it better. Unfortunately, that morning, Eli had thrown up water all over the bed. The night had been pretty wavey so our assumption was the combination of water in his tummy (he asked for and drank a bunch of water just before throwing up) and a bit of motion sickness. He seemed fine the rest of the day.
We made good time and made it to Freeport around 5pm. We decided to stay at Grand Bahama Yacht Club so that we could do laundry, get rid of garbage, take proper showers and, most importantly, get the dinghy motor fixed.
For my birthday dinner, I noticed an indian restaurant nearby. I failed to notice that it said "takeout" before we took a water taxi and then walked the rest of the way. We couldn't find the restaurant and Joe noticed a few Indian people standing at the address where it claimed to be. Turns out the guy's wife does the cooking and then they deliver the food. We did a general order and then they kindly gave us a ride back to the marina instead of us walking a little over a mile back. The kids went swimming in the pool while we waited for our food (Jesse and Chelsey fed them while we were gone.) The food definitely took quite a while, but it was very good and clearly fresh. The samosas were handmade fresh, which is what took the longest, from the sounds of it. Joe even ordered a piece of cake from the marina's restaurant for my birthday dessert.
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We decided to head to the Sapona Shipwreck to check it out. It would definitely be an adventure for the adults as the kiddos wouldn't be able to explore it, but reading online made it sound worth it. The trip over didn't take too long and the hulk of metal popping out of the water was impressive as we approached.
There was only one boat there as we pulled up, and it was a dive boat collecting their divers. Rick and Joe went first. Once they were done, Chelsey, Jesse and I all jumped in and snorkeled around. It was very neat. It's an old concrete ship that ran aground in 1926 during a hurricane. A boat full of snorkelers showed up as we were swimming to the wreck, so we finished before they were getting in. Our timing was pretty perfect.
We went back to anchor and just spent the remainder of the day on the boat since we weren't trusting the dinghy.
;)
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