Port Lucaya Marina is clearly slowing down. The Grand Bahama Yacht Club still has not re opened. We stayed there in luxury in 2011. It went bankrupt, and we are now at the Port Lucaya Marina for the past two years. The marina is adjacent to the Port Lucaya Market which is a loud collection of shops and restaurants designed to service the cruise ship trade out of nearby Freeport. The crowds seem thinner this year. Even the bands are less loud and less obnoxious. We get a good monthly rate for dockage, but the shower and toilet facilities are degraded. Wi fi is intermittent except in the middle of the Market.
We have had wonderful fun with our Bahamian friends, Paula von Hamm, her husband Don Maples, and Paula's brother Randy. I have played golf and watched football playoffs with them. Our regular partners at Port Lucaya Marina, Leslie and Mitch, of m/v Absolutely have been great. We enjoy the excellent shops and restaurants that Port Lucaya and Freeport offer. We lounge by the pool and walk the beach. The weather in port is excellent although one cold front after another passes by . Freeport has two fully stocked hardware stores so I can keep up with the endless maintenance chores.
However, this year we have met few fellow cruisers. Most of the boats here are empty being on long term storage due to the good rates. Most are power boats. The sailors that come in are French or French/Canadians. They are wonderful. But true to their nature they usually anchor out in the numerous holes that the local residential development provides. Then they quickly move on South or East.
Jan and I will pull up stakes here after only 17 days. We paid for 30 days. We will grab a weather window and move to Bullock's Harbor on Great Harbor Cay in the northern Berry Islands. Things will be quieter there for sure, and it will still be winter in the Bahamas. However, Port Lucaya has lost its charm for us. It will have to become just another wonderful memory. I do not believe that we will come here next year.
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