Not So Happy Ending

     It all started yesterday, Saturday, as I was killing time on the boat.  Our number one source of entertainment, as boaters, is checking and keeping an eye on the weather.  After checking windfinder.com and passageweather.com and a few of the noaa.gov pages, it was confirmed that our weather window to leave the Bahamas and head back to Florida was going to be Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.  It was time, our immigration permit (visa) expires in 3 weeks on May 6th.  Imagine, over 5 months in the Bahamas, what an adventure. As this was a sudden decision to depart on Sunday morning, we were not able to depart until the news was dropped like an atomic bomb on a few friends.  After we said our goodbyes over the VHF to some dear friends, the anchor was up and stowed by 8:15 am.  Late by Big Run standards, but still early.  Our original plan was to run up the Exuma chain to Highbourne Cay to an anchorage we used last year for the same purpose, heading "home".  After fours hours of cruising the decision was to forgo the Highbourne anchorage and head to Nassau.   The weather forecast was for the winds to be in the low teens (knots) out of the southeast.  This would be a following sea as we crossed the Yellow Bank to Nassau and provide a little push to get us there before sunset.  By 6:30 we made it to the Porgees Rock waypoint at the east entrance to the harbor.  Just 5 miles to the anchorage at the west end of Nassau harbor.  At 7:30 as we were deploying the anchor, the anchor chain got jammed in the pipe leading from the anchor locker to the foredeck and the windlass.  Thanks to a 5lb. persuader (read sledgehammer), the problem was remedied in under 5 minutes.  Time to kick back before dinner and unwind as we waited for Sharon's world famous Stromboli's to come out of the oven.  After a long day, the dinner was perfect, well almost perfect.  As we sat at the table discussing our plans for an overnight passage to Florida on Monday night, there was the sound of a police siren next to the boat.  When I went out onto the cockpit, there was a Bahamian Defense Task Force boat on the port side of Big Run.  We never heard them approach Big Run.  Then, to what was almost a perfect day, came the words "Prepare to be boarded".  Fortunately, our cruising permit and immigration papers were in order and the officers left after an uneventful "inspection".  Now, if it would have been 3 weeks later and our permits had expired, well, that would have been another story with an not so happy ending.