January 11
I woke up to one Big Cheesecake! A beautiful 53-foot Selene named ‘Kasekuchen’, which in German means cheesecake. They arrived into the dock slip next to us, and we assisted them with grabbing lines. However, when they were about to disembark from the boat to the dock, they couldn’t. The door was on the starboard side, meaning they needed to go back out, turn around and reverse into their slip. So, quickly I offered to come aboard and help them swap all their lines onto the other side. Bob was very grateful for the assistance. Cheryl and I quickly transferred all the lines from the Port side to the Starboard side. (Left to right). Then we secured the boat… adjusted some of the lines, and then we were officially thanked for our services with some amazing ‘passage cookies’ that Cheryl threw into the oven. They were baking while we got a wonderful tour of their Selene! Instant friends!!! I little older than me, but who cares? Went for my usual visit to Starbucks. We had an amazing dinner party that night!!! While Bob was cooking the meal, we started talking about various places they had travelled and they have spent two summers exploring British Columbia and up to Alaska. They knew exactly what I was saying when I said Nootka Island and Cortes Island. I was in disbelief when they had informed me that they had already circumnavigated Vancouver Island in 2006 or 2007. For dinner we had beautiful cuts of beef, broccoli salad, baked potatoes that were mashed and then re-baked in a casserole and toped with cheese, the greatest sauce in the world “sauce Robert”, carrot cake and loads of wine! The best meal I have eaten in my entire life. I’m being very honest when I say this…
You can follow Kasekuchen on their blog. Enjoy. 
January 12
Our wonderful neighbours have left for Florida for some medical reasons. We are left to babysitting their boat. I didn’t get a chance to visit the new Straw Market, since the old one caught fire in 2001. The local market has hundreds if not thousands of crafts, baskets, bags, jewelry, and clothing made here in the Bahamas. It was a different adventure. We had to go searching for an welder to extend the dinghy davits. We took bus #19 and then took another bus who brought us downtown. Along the way we met a very friendly bus driver, we talked about the amount of cars on the island and how sickening it is to see so many vehicles on one tiny island. The traffic jams are INSANE! For those of you in Canada, and you think Toronto is bad… come to Nassau and you’ll consider yourself lucky. It takes 35-40 minutes to drive from one of the island to the other, during rush hour(s) it can more than 2 hours to get across. We hear the horns being honked constantly… I’ve also noticed that most of the cars are either Toyota or Honda. Many other brands… and that lead us to talking about the Volvo’s.
Just as we were approaching the core of downtown we noticed prisoners, finishing a work of service in the city. You’ll notice that they are wearing striped pants and shirts. The bus driver said “Look, those are the good bad guys.” After browsing at the market, we walked back the boat. Borrowed a movie from the yacht next door, called “Everybody Wants to be an Italian” 
Diane made some foccacia bread, fresh salsa and papaya salsa. I took pictures of the dough before going in the convection oven. We brought some of the scrumptious bread to Shergar, they really enjoyed the little pieces we gave them. Went to starbucks for internet and did a quick call to Canada via Skype. Lost track of time and missed dinner back on the boat. Papaya salsa served with red snapper and mashed yams.
A jog across to Paradise Island and over the two bridges. Jumped in the pool for a nice dip after a boiling run. Fresh salsa and nachos for lunch. In the afternoon we took the bus to Marathon Mall, looking for computer parts a wireless mouse, and keyboard. I found a really good pair of jeans for $29. On our bus ride back into the city we noticed prisoners. After dinner Wade and I watched the new movie AVATAR.
An invitation to go snorkeling near Salt Cay, with Fabrizio and Wade came along too. It was quite funny, because I received a second invitation from the Italians to go dancing at the disco over at the Atlantis Resort. We asked Fabrizio to come over for dinner for a BBQ. He offered us some Spanish wine, very fancy! Went to the casino for a little bit, went to the disco for some fun dancing… it was slightly quieter compared to last week. Still loads of fun.
Today would be my grandmothers 94th birthday if she was still with us. Our boating neighbors came back from Florida, bright and early in the morning. We decided combine foods for dinner, however we wanted some seafood. Which meant that we need to go to Fort Montague to check the local Bahamian fish market. The walk was nice, we found some exquisite lobsters for tonight. Bob cooked us a wonderful meal, lobsters cooked in a white sherry sauce with peppers served with asparagus, foccacia and a salad. It was another heavenly dining event aboard Kasekuchen.
Another day of snorkeling. Had a great time with Fabrizio. Checked one of the local beaches and found loads of shells and some “nurdles”. I also learnt to play dominos for the first time today… the game entitled “Mexican Train”. It was such a fun game, a little long but very enjoyable…
Went for a short jog to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force harbor base to find transportation for my STCW course taking place next week. A great conversation with one of the Captains about getting a ride to Coral Harbor for the following week. They were very accepting and willing to work something with me. I think I’ll be able to manage something great. The hydraulic steering pump has finally arrived in the Bahamas, that’s good news for heading to the Exuma’s.
Talking with the chef aboard Shergar named Manuel he’s very interested in ecological education. I usually speak to him in French, since he’s most comfortable in Spanish and French. I’ll try adding a link to show you his wonderful dishes. Greg from Sagamar came over to ask for some work visa advice and stopped in to say ‘hello’. The captain Marco, Fabrizio and I went to Crystal Palace to learn how to play some professional Black Jack. Let's just say it was a successful night of learning.
It was an interesting evening at the bar named 'Crazy Johnny’s' for some karaoke singing, which I clearly did not participate in any... However, all the boys did… Arnt, Max, Peter, Fabri and myself. Some really fun and crazy folks who owned this bar in the Bahamas were great to talk to. Good fun in Nassau.
Friends of Wade and Diane from SV Witchcraft, Mark and Ruth have arrived in Nassau and staying at the same marina. We had a great dinner with neighbors [Dwayne and Diane & Mark and Ruth]. We barbequed some mahi-mahi fish! Delicious dinner!
