Watching Traffic

Nassau     

The current switched just before midnight and, before all the boats settled into place, we ended up uncomfortably close to a catamaran. Barry woke me and seconds later I was on deck to raise the anchor so we could relocate to a new spot several feet away. No harm, no foul. That's just part of cruising. The worst part was not being able to fall back asleep. Eventually we did, but turned off the morning alarm and ended up starting our day much later than usual. The sun was already high in the sky when I made it upstairs. Overnight, a new collection of cruise ships had arrived on the dock. Carnival, Disney, Margaritaville, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean (with two) were all represented. Voyager of the Seas (foreground right) was the world's largest cruise ship when it was commissioned in 1999. Today, it is tied for 19th largest -- in the Royal Caribbean fleet. By 11:00 I had already found my spot on Fiberglass Beach with my latest book. It was a "Chamber of Commerce Day" -- a gorgeous day photographed for all the marketing materials.    

In between turning pages, I was turning my head as I watched all the activity in the harbour. I laughed to myself as I compared my actions to that of my grandfather. One of his favorite activities was sitting on the side porch watching the traffic travel and down South Main Street. He always came up with a comment or a story to go along with everything he saw. Before noon the excursion boats began to depart with loads of cruise ship guests. There were dive boats, fast boats heading to see the swimming pigs, and then calmer options like the glass bottom boat. Barry and I attempted to figure out how everyone on the upper deck could take advantage of the glass bottom feature. The Bahamian Queen Booze & Cruise touted itself as the "World's #1 Party Boat." It was pretty quiet. Meanwhile vessels of all sizes were coming into the harbour. Some were definitely larger than others. 

Mail boats came in and out, sometimes at the same time. The most puzzling passage was made by a jet ski towing a "car." We even spotted a fellow Selene passing through. Barry contacted Next Chapter on the radio to say hello. We plan to see them at our Selene gathering next month in Staniel Cay.  

The excursion boats began returning in late afternoon. One by one, the cruise ships backed away from the dock bound for their next destination. The afternoon was chilly and I reluctantly moved out of the breeze and into the pilot house. The harbour was quiet as the sun set so we went out on the bow and worked on our anchor roller. The evening ended on a good note as I watched the UVA women play their best game of the year. Wahoowa!