Day To Day Life in the Bahamas
I have gotten a couple questions about what we do every day living in the Bahamas. So I thought I would provide a brief portrayal of what life is like for us in the Bahamas.
I cannot speak for all areas of the Bahamas. We are based out of Hopetown on Elbow Cay and our cruising area is the Sea of Abaco so we can only describe our experiences in this area.
Hopetown Harbour, Elbow Cay
When we arrived in mid-December we stayed in the marina for about 10 days to take care of a few boat repairs from the trip over the Gulf Stream and the Bahamas Bank, to re-provision, and to relax after several 8 to 10 hour days of moving the boat. After these tasks were completed, our intention was to spend the majority of our time cruising the remote Cays, but most of the time thus far we have been holed up in the marina. Whether it’s due to the weather, socializing with others living on boats and Hopetown Harbour, or participating in the Hopetown activities, it is sometimes difficult to get out of the marina. However, we have been out of the marina a couple times to spend a few days on the hook swimming and snorkeling when the weather was amenable. So what is a typical day like for us? There really is not a typical day as much of what we do is spontaneous, sometimes due to weather and other times due to last minute invitations.
Junkanoo Parade on Elbow Cay
The only thing we do regularly every day is we get up about 0800 hours to listen to the Abaco Cruisers Net to see what the weather is going to be for that day and the next couple days. We also listen to see what activities are going on around the islands, especially those scheduled on Elbow Cay, where we are located. Here is a sampling of some of the recent activities that we have attended:
- Several Christmas parties around town,
- A Christmas play put on at a church by the local school children,
- Two Junkanoo parades (one by children and one by adults) between Christmas day and New Year’s day (these are like small Mardi-Gras parades),
- A New Year’s Eve party at our marina,
- Several impromptu gatherings at the marina bar to watch the college and professional football post season games,
- A big birthday party for a well-known cruising couple (both happen to have the same birth day) where everyone in the marina and many people from the town attended,
- An art festival where local and out of town artists show their wares,
- A fundraiser softball game for a local charity,
- A “women’s only” luncheon where one of the very experienced cruising women gave a presentation on how to provision and prepare meals on a boat,
- Several ”film” nights on boats and in Hopetown.
Most of the events are either local fund raisers or special events put on by the local restaurants and hotels. These social events provide a platform where everyone can meet old friends and make new ones. Making new friends and acquaintances is not a problem around here. Unless you never leave your boat, you will meet plenty of people all the time. Most of the people we meet are Americans, but there are quite a few Canadians, Brits, and Europeans.
Hanging out with Marina friends
We have a group of friends at our marina that we regularly bike ride to south Elbow Cay or walk the beach for exercise. Often times we cross the harbor and either sit on the beach or go snorkeling in the nearby reef when the weather is right, i.e., when the wind is not blowing from the east. If the wind is blowing from the east, we just walk about 100 yards to the shoreline on our side of the harbor where the marina is located (the western side) and swim on the leeward side of the island.
Odyssey layin low in the Abaco at the Hopetown Marina
I have to make a few comments about our marina facilities. This whole situation turned out to be much better than I had expected. First of all, marina slip fees are very inexpensive here compared to major popular boating areas in the US such as Newport, RI, Annapolis, MD, and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. This is due to the special arrangements we made months prior to our arrival for a long term stay and because the winter months are the slow season here. Slip fees aside, the setup here has made life very easy. We are staying at the Hopetown Marinaacross the harbor from the Hopetown Settlement. The marina is brand new and has very nice baths, laundry area, pools, and a restaurant/bar. It is like living at a resort. You don’t need to carry any cash around. All charges for dockage, water, electricity, the bar, the restaurant, ice, even laundry tokens are all “put on your tab” which we settle up once per month by credit card. Also the local Bahamian people who work in the office, restaurant, and marina are extremely friendly and are willing to help you with any problem you may have.
Water Taxi to downtown Hopetown
My biggest fear in staying here was that it would be too hot in the marina. Hopetown is protected from the weather from all directions. But this marina is located on the west side of the harbor (about 150 yards wide), and the prevailing wind is from the east, so, even though the marina is protected from the wave action, it does get some breeze as the wind passes over the east coast of the Cay and across the harbor. The temperature is comfortable all the time.
The other thing that makes for very easy living in this marina is they provide a free water taxi back and forth from the marina to the Hopetown settlement. We were expecting to use our dinghy for this purpose, but this free water taxi has made that unnecessary. The water taxi is available from 9 A.M. until 9 P.M. and will go anywhere in Hopetown upon request. This has made grocery shopping and doing other errands in town much easier.
Now there’s something you don’t see everyday; your shadow on the seabed. This photo was taken in about 10 feet of water.
I have to say one could easily become a real “Bum” around here. We are doing our best not to be bums, but to keep involved in all the town events as well as all the water-based activities such as sailing, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, etc.
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