Nanseann: Day 144 Mar 7 Old Bahama Bay Marina West End Bahamas

Better today.....but we will stay in port and let the seas calm down....winds N 10-17 kts.....seas 2-4 ft...swells NE 1-4 ft with a small craft advisory.....It's the N that we really do not like....as we head directly North for a short distances before turning into the Indian Cay Channel to head East....

Captain working on a Gourmet Breakfast

Poached Eggs with lobster

We decide to ride to the Settlement. They loan bicycles at the Resort so off we go to make our choice.

Smooth Rides

The West End use to be a very busy community. The Jack Tar Resort located here drew thousands of people each month. But when gambling casinos were permitted in Lucaya and not West End, it was the end for the Jack Tar Resort. In 1998 a new group bought the land at West End, demolished the old Jack Tar Resort, renovated the Marina and renamed it the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Yacht Harbour. This is a class A harbor with free Wi-Fi (thank goodness) and you can clear customs (which you know we did)

But when you ride your bicycles to the Settlement......there is nothing.....little more than a ghost town......nothing was open the day we were there. The last hurricane hit has left the water front in ruins.

Neat Church

Water Front

Harbour Hotel...closed

Loved their Re-cycling Sign

Short Rest before we head back

Lunch but not today

West End had a colorful and rich history as a base for smugglers during the rum running years of Prohibition. During the years from 1920-1934, huge tin warehouses lined the shoreline and housed nothing but liquor. Bootleggers would stop here, either by boat or plane, load their wares, and then set off across the Gulf Stream to America. After the Prohibition years, West End's history is a tale of feast and famine periods. Today it is a fishing village with Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina being the main source of employment.