still here

Palm Cay, Nassau, Bahamas
25° 01.232′ N
077° 16.428′ W

FedEx overnight has turned out to be anything but. Belts shipped overnight from Florida on Wednesday were promised by 6pm the following day. – Thursday They got to Bahamas Customs, then nothing. We called FedEx international support Fri. They needed an invoice with the company logo and a scan of the cruising permit emailed to their Bahamas Clearance email. We did that. Still no action. So Friday afternoon we went to the FedEx physical location. Nice lady said they had received the information we emailed earlier in the day and now had what they needed to process the package. They will probably get to it Monday so we could likely pick it up Monday afternoon.

The Bahamas has recently implemented a new online customs registration system. Because of all the online purchases, the volume (and hassles) of stuff coming into the Bahamas has soared. Of course the government wants to ensure that they are getting all the duty owed. So everyone receiving stuff needs to be “known” before packages can be received. Fortunately we had given the Palm Cay Marina office manager as the recipient and she is registered in the Customs system, at least eliminating one more potential level of hassle. Several people at FedEx when we were there had not registered so they couldn’t pick up their packages until they completed the forms online. Then and only then would their packages be processed for pickup.

There are much worse places to be stuck. The Palm Cay marina is very nice. The staff are great. We did boat work this morning. Then bought the day pass for the pool. beach and beach bar and spent a very pleasant afternoon swimming in the gorgeous lap pool – adults only and sitting at the beach bar watching the boats come into the harbor and chatting with other guests and staff.

Palm Cay is a new and relatively expensive marina. In addition to the usual fuels, ice and slips, they have showers and laundry. There is a cafe and restaurant. It is also a big residential complex with “members” facilities for residents and guest – beach, adult lap pool, kids pool, volleyball, and the beach bar. For $10 per person per day, we could use the facilities.

The marina also provides a couple of courtesy cars that can be used without charge for 2 hour blocks. We made a trip to Harbourside Marine for parts. We did a provisioning run to Solomon’s – a huge grocery store not far from the Marina. There is a big liquor store there too . And the first trip to FedEx which is out by the airport. Right hand drive, narrow roads. Traffic circles and roundabouts. Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. Pretty exciting just getting there.

We have arranged for a couple to join us as professional delivery captain and crew arriving Nassau Dec 27. After two separate overnight passages with just the two of us we decided that having others to share the watches is a good idea. We haven’t finalized the route and stops between here and the USVI. Weather will be a factor. Until then, we will cruise the Exumas.

Hurricane Dorian necessitated changes to lots of bareboat cruising vacations. Dream Yachts moved all their boats and charters from the Abacos to here in Palm Cay. No cancellations apparently. Nassau is much easier to get to and the amenities are rather better than Marsh Harbour in the Abacos. The sailing is a bit more demanding than the Abacos. Lots to see and do in the Exumas as well. We are looking forward to checking it out.

Now if we could just get the darn belt and get it installed, we would be good to go.