By Kevin

We arrived at Rose Island around 4:30 PM. There were two catamarans and a sailboat already sitting in the small, protected cove, so we wove our way around until we found a good, sandy spot for our anchor.

We backed down on the anchor to get it buried deep into the sand and then we established a range on shore to check our position periodically. After monitoring the range for 15 minutes, we headed down below to prepare dinner and relax.

About 8:30, with our bellies full of grilled hamburgers, we heard someone in the cove blowing their emergency air horn! We rushed into the cockpit to see who was in trouble. Would we need to render assistance?

Then we noticed that we were very close to the large rocks at the edge of the cove. The rocks with the waves crashing against them. We were much closer than when we had dropped the anchor a few hours before.

Looking at our range, it clearly showed that we had dragged our anchor. We dragged it for at least a hundred feet across the sandy bottom. The boat next to us had noticed that we were drifting ever closer to the dangerous lee shore and its rocks and had blown their air horn to alert us. (Thanks, Steve!)

This was our first anchor dragging experience and now we know that even a 60 pound Manson Supreme will drag when not properly set. And, we realized just how difficult it is to feel an anchor dragging across a sandy bottom. So, monitoring those ranges is important. Better, once we anchor, we’ll be putting on a snorkel and mask and diving overboard to check the anchor (well, sometimes).

By Kevin

From Wikipedia:

Fort Charlotte is a British-colonial era fort built on a hill over-looking the harbor of Nassau, The Bahamas. The fort sits a short walk west of downtown Nassau and the cruise ship terminal. The fort was constructed in the late 18th century by British colonial governor Lord Dunmore after the end of the American Revolutionary war. The fort has never been used in battle.

By Kevin

By Kevin

It may be a white Christmas in Wheaton but in Nassau, the only white powder is found on the beaches.

That doesn’t dampen the Christmas spirit here. We had a wonderful time Christmas shopping with the locals at the Mall at Marathon, including taking pictures of the giant decorated tree and Santa.

We also managed to do a bit of window shopping at the Atlantis resort, just a short walk from where our boat is docked. But, the prices there are a bit chichi for us–and we weren’t really in the market for a Rolex or a pair of Jimmy Choo.

For Christmas Eve, we invited a fellow cruiser to dinner on our boat. Charley is a solo skipper aboard a Freedom 32 called SV Sparrow. The boat we keep on Lake Michigan is also a Freedom 32, so when we saw Sparrow sitting at the dock back in Bimini, we had to go met the captain and compare notes. Since meeting Charley way back then, we keep running into him.

Finally, no Nassau Christmas would be complete without Mrs. Snyder Christmas cookies. Thank you, Jackie!

By Kevin

Zach and I had gone too long without a haircut. But, on a boat in the the middle of paradise, haircuts just don’t seem all that important. Our last were probably in New Smyrna Beach, Florida way back in August.

Jennifer gave Zach a “boat cut” while tied to the docks here in Nassau.

I wasn’t so brave so decided to walk down to one of the local Bahamian salons to get mine done (though I’ll probably go with a boat cut next time too.)