we have finally come to the last day of our summer stay at Compass Cay ... the marina is unusually quiet today with only 3 boats in the marina ... the crew and guests from Seven D' s stopped by for lunch and used the time to paint a signboard to leave ... we decided to move our sign from the trees along the walkway and instead attached it to the wall next to the office/store door ... and after one last cheeseburger which we ate with at the picnic table with Cleo and her husband Taylor we took one last walk to the Crescent Beach for a late afternoon stroll ...  David on Outpost suggested we have a "going-away party" so we brought up a gourmet pizza with Brie, caramelized onions and walnuts and a botlle of red wine to finish off the evening ...

... before retiring for the night we enjoyed watching the full moon rise over the island hills and light up tje surrounding water ... Ahhh - truly a beautiful sight!  

Christopher Bowe  ( Complete Marine Repairs 242-556-0728 or 242-341-2533 ) was at the boat this morning to finish up our repairs ... he also delivered and installed 2 new batteries for the generator ... the work was finished up before noon so we left the boat and took a taxi to do some shopping in downtown Nassau ...   with four cruise ships in port today ( 2 NCL and 2 Royal Caribbean )  the downtown streets were really busy!!!

... our first stop was the Straw Market where we found exactly what we came for and then headed for the Ice Cream Shack to grab a little energy for the rest of our shopping excursion ... our last stop was on the east end of the downtown area with a visit to Lorene's Fashions for Ladies, Men and Children ... as we left the store we noticed a brand new development directly across the street called Elizabeth On The Bay / Marketplace and Marina .. one shop was already open and the proprietor told us the rest of it will probably open in the fall (Oct) with shops, restaurants and a brand new marina which overlooks the Prince Edward Wharf  ... it all looks to be first class and very nice when it is  finished ... in fact, the entire street looked to be much cleaner and we noticed more construction projects since our visit last year to the area ...

went back to the boat to walk Autumn and drop off our packages and went back over to Nassau to meet Clay and Rita-Kay for dinner on the patio overlooking the harbour at Luciano's of Chicago ..  

enjoyed a leisurely morning and savoring the last of our time in the Bahamian waters  ... it is nice not to have a schedule and still enjoy the sunrise! 

now that the Big Game Club has reopened several new shops have opened for business also  ... we noticed a little bakery right across the street and picked up fresh baked bread, parmesan garlic rolls, and a yummy gooey Guava-filled Danish with orange frosting which we immediately devoured ... everything was right out of the oven!  ... we also ordered a rum cake which we will pick up in the morning ...  we noticed some good looking tee shirts yesterday at the Guy Harvey gift shop and stopped in there and bought a bottle of Nassau Royale from the nice man at the new liquor store across the street ... 

we made the choice to have an early dinner on the deck at the Big Game Club and watched a steady parade of boats pass by ... it looked like it was going to be a busy weekend in Bimini!  ... we were glad we  finished our meal before 7:30 PM as the restaurant was already packed with diners as we left for the evening ...

as we were getting ready to leave Bimini in the morning we made one more trip to the bakery to pick up the Rum Cake we had ordered - fresh from the oven the aroma was DIVINE! ... we quickly wrapped it up and stowed it in the freezer so we wouldn't be tempted to cut into it for a taste ...

left the marina dock at 8:30 AM ... skies were partly cloudy, with a slight breeze on our nose and smooth seas all the way ... we had a great cruise over the Florida Straits and saw quite a few boats as it was a perfect day for cruising and fishing in the Gulf Stream ... 

we arrived at Miami Beach Marina just after noon and as soon as we were tied up it was a whirlwind of activity ...  first order of business was a couple of "restoration jobs" for the crew at the SoFi Salon and Spa  located right here in the Marina Complex ... next we shared a cab with a Miami couple to the Apple Store on Lincoln Road Mall ... glad to have made an online appointment as the store was mobbed with people!  ... they cheerfully replaced our "dead iPad" with a brand new one and we walked out to explore the rest of the SoBe shopping district ... it is a great great place to window shop as all the latest fashions and bling-bling can be found here - "if you can't find it here - it doesn't exist!" and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting the studio and galley of the Brazilian artist Romero Britto  ( www.britto.com ) and were given a personal tour by Dawn Stone, one the gallery art consultants ... this is a great stop as the work of this young talented artist just makes you smile ear to ear!

we walked back south to Espanola Way to the Hosteria Romana "where Italians go for Italian" for dinner on the sidewalk cafe  ...  skipped dessert at the restaurant and instead walked up to the stately Lowes Royal Palm Hotel and stopped in the lobby bar where we had coffee and Raisin Bread Pudding with Mango Banana Ice Cream! ... and after a very full day we grabbed a cab back to the Marina and had a night cap at the pool bar at Monty's ...    

got an fairly early start and left the dock at 07:45 AM ... the weather is perfect for cruising with just a light breeze and waves less than one foot ...  after great day on the water we pulled up to the dock at Pancho's at Boot Key in Marathon at 1:30 PM ... since we were early we intended to move around the corner for the night ... UUFFFDAAAA !!!!  ... AGAIN the Port Engine would not fire up! ... back down to the engine room but to no avail!!???  ... will keep you posted ... in the meantime we have been entertained by the constant  parade of crab/lobster boats going out with stacks of traps on the deck of their boats and coming back empty to get more ... this is the time of year to begin to keep a sharp eye out for crap traps again ..

after putting in a call to our mechanic we showered and had dinner at Castaways ... Caesar Salad and a generous plate of Pasta  ... real comfort food ...

a little before 09:00 AM we had finished having breakfast however still had not heard back from the local engine mechanic that was recommended to us ... as we were mulling over Plan B for the day - what the heck let's try pushing the big black Start Engine button on the dash? ... EUREKA!  she started right up!  Took us less than 15 minutes to walk Autumn, straighten up the engine room, unplug shore power, etc.  ... we were off the dock by 09:23and on our way back north to our home port in Fort Myers ...

after dodging numerous lobster pots (many of them right in the channel) and weathering a couple of isolated coastal rain showers as we left Marathon and Florida Bay we had smooth seas and blue skies all the way up the coast ... we were through the Sanibel Causeway Bridge at 4:30 PM and docked at our slip at Legacy Marina before 6:00 PM with 2 spare containers of ice cream in our freezer!  

this morning the Man engine mechanic from Marathon gave us a call (he had been in the Bahamas working  which is why we could not reach him while we were there ) ... gave him an update on the "mystery engine problem" and told him we would let him know the eventual outcome ... Captain has a tentative theory that the problem may be related to some sort of safety cut-off with the rear cockpit control station??? ... will keep you posted ...

in the meantime we are glad to be back in our home slip safe and sound but will sorely miss the aqua and turquoise waters, white sugar-sand beaches, the tropical breezes and friendly people we met during our visit to the Exuma Islands ... until hopefully next year! ...   to be continued ...