Bahamas Bound, Part IV—Welcome To The Memory Factory

With 3,805 rooms covering its 154-acre, under-the-sea-themed property, the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas would not be out place in Las Vegas. The place is that over-the-top. Filled with sea life from lionfish to Goliath groupers, its 14 lagoons hold eight million gallons of saltwater. It is the only facility where the endangered smalltooth sawfish species been successfully bred in captivity.

Nothing says Vegas like smalltooth sawfish sex.

For powerboat owners and water-lovers of all kinds, the Bahamas are a memory factory. Photos by Megan Smith copyright of the Florida Powerboat Club.

And if that isn’t enough for you to think Vegas, the Atlantis has its own casino that delivers all the sensory overload needed to send you running for the exit.

No doubt, the juxtaposition between the humble haunts of North Bimini and the audacious Nassau resort, where 15 Florida Powerboat Club members and their guests have parked themselves and their boats for the past two nights, is as radical and bizarre as it gets. One day you’re scarfing on fried mahi fingers at the Big Game Club, an authentically funky Bimini institution, the next your savoring A5 Wagyu beef and miso cod at Nassau Nobu.

What North Bimini and Nassau share, however, is their Bahamian culture and some of the most beautiful water in the world. It’s a potent combo.

Just two full-days remain in the weeklong 34th annual Florida Powerboat Club Bahamas Poker Run, which is a shame because just as you’re starting to get into the Bahamas groove you sense reality encroaching.

If your swimming pool water were this clear you’d have the world’s best pool-man.

Unsolicited advice to fellow travelers? Ignore it. Because if you fixate on the end you’ll miss the best parts of the journey.

And from Ohio’s Joe and Jen Greulich to Miami-based Chris Richards and his Angle of Attack Marine crew, the Florida Powerboat Club members in the Bahamas right now are far too smart and appreciative to get caught in that glass-almost-empty trap. They are savoring every moment here and living in it.

Regardless of where they’re from or what happens during their daily stateside lives, they’re all walking and wading around with the identical, “Can you believe this place?” expression on their faces.

The author and his new best friend Dave Smith express their feeling about departing Rose Cay.

Yesterday, the wading part happened at Rose Island, where a dozen boats rafted off in cartoon-clear water just a few feet from a pristine beach where—if the mood struck—you could feed sweet potatoes to pigs or simply stand in the water and socialize. Pretty much everyone went with socializing.

The fleet departs for Spanish Wells and Harbour Island this morning. There are more adventures to be had, of course. The Bahamas are a memory-factory.

Time to go make some more.