Alone. How often do you get to feel truly alone? We awoke to an amazing sunrise and the sense
of being the only people on the planet.
Spinning 360⁰ around and to the horizons all that can be seen is water
and sky. Wonderful!
Eventually a distant line of
sailboats beginning their trek westward across the banks ruptured our sphere of
solitude. By 08:00 we were again
underway. Proximity and necessity
dictated that we clear customs on Chub Cay. Having heard from a couple different sailors
and from one on-line resource that Chub Cay Marina was pretentious and not welcoming
to sailing vessels, we were a bit nervous on approach.
Hailing the marina as we entered
the channel, Tito quickly replied and directed us to the fuel dock. The floating docks were in excellent
condition. Tito arrived with the necessary customs and immigration paperwork in
hand and assisted us with our lines. So
far so good.
Paperwork completed. Tito gave me a lift to meet the marina’s
shuttle bus. The customs office is at
the airport so transportation is required.
Hmmm. Ok here is where they are
going to squeeze me for some extra $$.
Nope. Typically the bus ride is
$5 each way dock to airport ($10 round trip), but Scottie the bus driver requested
that I do him a favor in exchange for a free trip. The favor?
Drive one of the marinas golf carts back to the marina when I complete
customs. Ok if you insist.
Customs went smoothly. When I arrived back at the boat Tito was at
the ready to assist us with fuel and water.
The prices- $6.80 for diesel and
.25 cents/gallon for water are not bad for the Bahamas. We also dropped off trash from the boat, used
the docks to pump up the dinghy, and logged onto the marina’s free Wi-Fi. There seemed no rush to evict us from the
fuel dock and everyone we dealt with was pleasant and welcoming. Dockage was $4.35/foot ouch – no thanks. After July 15th the price drops to
$2.50/foot. We chose to push on an anchor off nearby Bird
Cay.
Chub Cay Marina – thanks for the hospitality
and good service.
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