As soon as we arrived at the Moorings/Sunsail base we went to work. You see chartering is a delicate balance. It involves coordinating with the company, making sure that everyone arrives at the boat and that all personalities mesh. First step to getting personalities meshed is rum. Getting drinks from Curly Tails Bar quickly delivers the right impact. Curly Tails over looks the marina docks at near the south eastern end of Marsh Harbor’s harbor. They have some good food at the bar, but the best dining can be had at the restaurant below the bar, area.
While we waited to store our things on the boat, we had a few Kaliks and a couple of Mango Daiquiris. The bar staff is not always as friendly as their stateside equivalent, but relax, tip well and see the improvement take place in both their and your attitude.
The boat was ready well before the 6pm target time suggested by the Tui Marine office (Sunsail/Moorings). The provisions we ordered were on board so we went through our check list, making sure everything was there. You would hate to have to pay for something that you did not get the chance to lose yourself. During this check list we sent some of the crew on an errand to get some essentials that had not made it to the boat. Tip: Don’t check luggage to the Bahamas. More important than the toothpaste were the few items we didn’t want to pay extra to have provisioned.
It is important to note that a large modern grocery store, Maxwell’s is within walking distance from the charter base. On the way there some locals gave us a ride in their Ford Explorer. After purchasing everything and then some we took a cab back, with a short stop at the liquor store. Maxwell’s has many brands that US citizens will recognize, so they will feel comfortable. Strangely, there are several items that were made in the US but aren’t available in the US; weird. Maxwell’s prices were reasonable so we stocked up on mixers for drinks.
Now beer in the Bahamas is very expensive, but rum, that’s cheap. The variety can delay one at the liquor store for some time, too. I liked the “Fire in De Hole” rum and mixed it with just about everything. A great crew member, Dacia, made the strongest, tastiest rum drinks and at one point I just had to abstain; but we will leave that for another time.
Once the all the provisions are on board, we had our chart briefing. I have had this briefing in the bahamas a few times. So the temptation has been to sleep through it. But storms that come through the Abacos can change the bottom more than you believe and so knowledge of where shoaling has occurred can be beneficial.
With all provisions aboard and briefings done we exited the base, and Marsh Harbor just as quickly as we could. There are two anchorages close to Marsh Harbor, but we decided to get to Elbow Cay for the night and take the next day in Hopetown.