 At
0900 the next day, Bob dressed in his Sunday best to check into
customs. Tony, the Harbormaster, gave us all the necessary
paperwork to fill out for our customs visit. The customs official
was polite and walked Bob through the process. We thought our
canon may have been an issue, but he took it in stride. Once Bob
got back from Customs, he and Ann replaced the Q flag with the
Bahamian ensign. We were legal! Our marina is on the western tip
of the Grand Bahamas Island. The closest community is West End
Settlement is about 3 miles to the East. The marina provided free
use of bicycles to explore the surroundings.
 Our
first bicycle voyage took us to the settlement of West End, a
rather poor community of 200-300 people. The folks were friendly,
but there wasn't too much to do. We found the two churches in the
community; an Anglican and Roman Catholic. There was one
restaurant, a liquor store, and not much else. Conch (pronounced
conk) is a favorite food of the locals. They drill a hole in the
shell, stick a straw in it, and start sucking. No thank you! I
would rather eat our macaroni and cheese on the boat.
 The
marina was quite nice. The area near the inlet is reserved mostly
for sailboats while the slips near the unfinished restaurant are
used by the motor boats. They even had cable through we chose to
use our satellite dish instead. The cost was $ .70/ft plus
optional water and electricity. Right after we left, the rates
were raised to $1.65/ft plus $.30/ft for water and $.40/ft for
electricity. We may have to bypass Old Bahama Bay next time or at
least limit our stay.
 Bob
enjoyed the loaner bikes. We rode every day exploring the area
around the marina. We read that bringing bikes into the Bahamas
can be a pain. You have to register them and obtain liability
insurance. Glad we left ours at home. The roads outside the
marina were a bit 'rough'. We drove between the potholes.
Fortunately, the folks in cars were courteous and gave us a wide
berth. Ann was less adventurous and only rode the bike to town.
 Here
it comes! A major storm has developed off the east coast of the
US followed by a large high pressure ridge which promises winds
and waves for at least 4 days. Our weather window to the Abacos
has vanished. Winds of 25-35 knots were predicted with waves of
6-9 feet (12-15 feet in the Stream). Everyone stayed in the
marina waiting for a break. Oh well, can't think of a better
place to wait out a storm. Our only immediate danger is running
out of booze.
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