Eleuthera...with a few new twists!

Our time in Eleuthera has admittedly been a bit more subdued this year. While we love so much about the island, we are excited to visit new places still before our cruising season is over so we sort of marched on up the island, stopping in Rock Sound and Governor's Harbour before shooting through Current Cut to the northern end of the island. 

Rock Sounds was perfect for a mix of chores and treats--there is a new ice cream spot! This is also where we spent our 105th consecutive day away from a dock (and still going)!

We had good southerly protection and easy access to town at Governor's Harbour.

We spent a few days bouncing around Meeks Patch and Russel Island anchorages as the winds went from westerly to northerly to easterly. We were surprised to be all alone as we anchored off of the Sandbar Bar & Grill for a few nights (and a few good meals), then equally surprised to be one of only a few boats to enjoy the protection of Meeks Patch in easterlies. Honestly the main anchorage off of Spanish Wells looked like a washing machine when we transited it the other day! Meeks is only 15 mins away...I don't really get it. And throw in Current and Royal Island and this area has all-around protection all within easy reach. 

"X" marks the three anchorages we hit before heading into Spanish Wells for a mooring. We actually never anchored in the "main" anchorage while we were there.

Our "solo" spot on Russel Island was right off of the Sandbar Bar & Grill. This place has a beach you can dink to, amazing cocktails, a little happy hour action, good eats, and BRUNCH! Ah, so nice for the northerly winds!

Our sweet spot on the west side of Meeks Patch had a cute little beach for sundowners and even some piggy neighbors (not our thing, but they looked well-cared for!).

NEW THINGS! We switched up our roles a bit while bouncing around anchorages, with the Skipper taking a turn on the bow and Swab and the 1st Mate covering helm duties once each! It's good practice every now and then (but I like my spot on the bow!).

Anyway, we headed into Spanish Wells proper and took one of Bandit's mooring balls for a few days so that we could have easy access to town and an easy northbound departure. At $25/day it's really a steal for easy access to town in any conditions (just be ready for close neighbors and maybe even closer commercial traffic!). 

The moorings are close together which can make snagging them a little challenging depending on the wind/current. We had an early wake-up when the East Wind freight boat had to turn around pretty darn close to us!

The mission for Spanish Wells was easy--drop a bag of trash, get two gallons of gas, get some fresh food, goof off in a golf cart, and eat and drink WAY too much at Budda's. We accomplished it all easily in a day and a half! We even had a fun dinghy cruise and chatted with fellow cruisers, too! It's a cute, fun little area and I'm happy we got a few days here before moving on.

We love some Budda's! Also love the ease of provisioning here and the fact that the "big" grocery store has this whole "locally made" bread/hot sauce/jam/pickles section.

By far this was the main attraction for the boy!

~Jo, 1st Mate

Spanish Wells...a quaint end to the season

We have reached the end of our permit and the last point we can get to in the Bahamas without taking another PCR COVID test and it's really been a great little stop! Frank had been here before for a few hours as part of a boat delivery, but it was the first visit for the rest of us. We had a nice sail over from Royal Island, navigated the skinny western channel into Spanish Wells, and picked up one of Bandit's mooring balls. At first, they look really close together and you can see shallow water all around the tiny field, but it was actually quite roomy given that we were surrounded by other 40-ish foot monohulls (and we all had connections to the PACNORWEST!). 

Love the moorings in SW!

While I took stock of what we needed in town, the guys ran in with our trash and cash to pay Bandit. Their very first contact ashore set the tone for the whole visit! As they scaled the concrete wall with our trash, a woman invited them drop it in her bin. I mean, we had LOTS of trash at that point...hadn't dropped it off in weeks so we had two big bags and two small bags of bottles and cans (always hoping for recycling), but she didn't seem to mind. Come to find out she and her husband were former cruisers who had settled in Spanish Wells. They shared their trash bins, porch, book collection, and access to the local museum with cruisers passing through. So sweet!

We spent the first afternoon on an epic field trip to the northern tip of Eleuthera. I didn't want to leave without a visit to the Sapphire Blue Hole and Preacher's Cave. It was fairly calm so we opted to take the dinghy and tried to head around the north side of the island to the cave first--no go! It was pretty rough so we enjoyed the sites and blue water and headed back to the protected ferry dock beach on Eleuthera. And like many of our Bahamas land adventures, the 35-minute walk to get to the blue hole was a bit of a death march, exposed to the midday sun on hot pavement and dirt roads. But the reward was AMAZING! This blue hole is truly sapphire blue! The local rotary club has built a nice railing around it and picnic tables nearby so you can really enjoy it. A few local guys were there when we arrived and gave us some encouragement to jump before they left and we had this entire place to ourselves. It was just stunning. The drop in was a little higher than at Hoffman's Blue Hole, maybe 30' here, and it took a few minutes for us to get jumping. The cool water was a welcome relief after the walk there and we soaked in the peaceful beauty for a bit before heading back. Oh, and the only way out of the hole is to scale the wall! Thankfully there is a rope to help, but it's definitely not a trip for non adventurous, out-of-shape folks.

This water is so blue!

Sapphire Blue Hole...so much fun!

3/4 of the crew didn't want to continue on to Preacher's Cave so we headed back to Spanish Wells and got ready for an evening ashore! That nice lady the guys met invited us over for happy hour and we enjoyed talking with Jean and her husband, Tom, and Tom's brother, Bob, at their home, "Done Reach." We shared cruising tales, reminisced about New England (their old home), and they gave the kids hamburger beans to polish and make into necklaces. It was such a nice time. From there we headed to Budda's for a less-refined happy hour--drinks and tons of food!

"I got dizzy at Budda's!"

The next day we rented a golf cart and just roamed all over. We hit the beach, stocked up on food for the transit, hit a beach bar for really good cocktails, and had a little fun on some deserted roads. And then we got to close the day with another night at Budda’s and ice cream with our kid boat friends (and met another awesome kid boat!). This was absolutely the most amazing way to end our time in the Bahamas.

One last beach day in the Bahamas

Golf cart fun!

Love all of these boat kids! Really hope to share more anchorages with them in the future. And why do the adults never remember to take photos when we are together???

So after two nights in Spanish Wells, we are off! Our departure was a little exciting as a freighter was coming in and we needed to sneak past or get stuck for a while—we opted for the “hug the edge of the channel and deal with being mere feet from a 200+ foot vessel” option! All good! And since I was having so much fun yesterday, time to finally work on prepping our transit food—Jollof rice, hummus, potato salad, and cut-up meats and cheeses. Farewell, Bahamas!

Underway!

A Window into Northern Eleuthera

NEW PLACES! Sorry, I love to explore so I was a little excited to get to check out places in Eleuthera that we didn't make it to last year. Based on a glowing recommendation from S/V Yemaya we dropped the hook at Mutton Fish Point. Ah-mazing! It was a quick trip from Hatchet Bay so we set the hook and got to work on laundry, watermaking, and school, and the boys even got fresh haircuts before we started playing in the crystal clear water here. First up--the swing! The only way to get to this swing is from the water. No clue who put it here, but I'm glad they did! It was awesome to get to swing over this beautiful water.

We dropped our artist back at the boat so she could paint and the rest of us went snorkeling along the point. We saw a huge ray, a cowfish, and plenty of colorful coral before we even left the cove. Then around the point we saw a huge Loggerhead Sea Turtle! We had never been in the water next to such a big turtle before...very cool experience. A big lion fish and angel fish rounded out the "cool fish" for this snorkel trip and we were very impressed with all there was to see along the wall.

This morning we decided to leave our delightful anchorage and shift a mile and a half north to Twin Sisters Beach, an anchorage that would allow us to check out the Glass Window Bridge and the Queen's Bath sites. Anchoring here was a little challenging as much of the bottom is hard, but we finally found some sand and got a set we were happy with. We took the dinghy over to Glass Window and climbed onto the rock underneath the bridge to check it out. It's a start contrast between the sometimes fierce, rich blue waters of the Atlantic on one side and the tranquil, turquoise waters of Eleuthera Bights on the other. 

Next up...the Queen's Baths! The natural pools left when the tide recedes are so inviting and we spent a good chunk of the afternoon lounging in the various baths and watching the waves break against the rocks. This was definitely an Eleuthera highlight for us.

And then we moved again! We shifted to Gaulding Cay for better holding and dinner at Daddy Joe's. I'd read about this place on a travel forum and it did not disappoint! We had drinks, a spread of appetizers, and an amazing dinner on a serene screened-in porch. Everyone loved it!

And then we moved again! We decided to tuck back in at Mutton Fish Point for a little more protection. So if you're keeping track, we dropped the hook three times today over a 1.5nm stretch of shoreline, all so we could go sightseeing and eat. It was a great cruising day!

Hatchet Bay, Take 2 (we get off the boat!)

Once the wind chilled out a little we were able to goof off on a nearby sandbar have a relaxing Easter. 

Happy Easter!

We started the next day by shifting our anchorage to southern Alabaster Bay and taking a morning walk over to the abandoned Navy base. After those days on the boat we were ready for a nice, long walk! The beach was just as glorious as we remember from last year!

We LOVE the beach at the old base!

Lehe Paine looking good in Alabaster Bay

That night we headed to Hatchet Bay, our COVID quarantine spot from last year! That was the last place that Frank went ashore last year (we were minimizing our contact by only sending one person in) before the lockdowns started. We spent weeks there, just on our boat, so this visit was a bit of a re-do!

The narrow (but deep!) entrance to Hatchet Bay Pond

We got up early Tuesday morning for a big breakfast and a 1-hour walk along Queen's Highway to the Hatchet Bay Cave. This is the most extensive cave system on Eleuthera, extending about 1100 feet underground with over a mile of twisting passages. The crew was starting to lose their sense of humor when we finally made it to the access road. Then we just had to survive a 5-minute walk through some guard and stray dogs to get to the access steps at the "front" of the cave. Shortly after entering our world went completely dark and we descended a ladder to the next level of the cave. The air was warm and water dripped from the forming stalagmites. And no bats that we could see! And a thin string ran through most of the cave...just in case your light goes out! And there is graffiti pretty much all throughout the cave, some dating back to the 1800's. At the "back" of the cave is a square cut out of the overhead rock with a rope ladder to climb out. While it was a haul to get there on foot, we liked it! We spent the afternoon recovering, doing school, and getting a few groceries in town.

Very cool cave!

The next day, we hit the road again! This time, the walk was only about 40-minutes each way to Sweetings Pond! This inland lagoon is believed to have been closed off from the sea for 6000 years. Seawater seeps in through the limestone, but there is little-to-no recruitment of animals from the outside. The result is a unique, yet fragile, environment that is known for its seahorses! While we did end up seeing one pregnant male seahorse, we saw so much more! Harry Clinging Crabs, a Striped Burrfish, Brittle Stars, Red Fireclams, Fringeback Dondice, needlefish, mussels, barnacles...tons of life! Visibility was 10-15' and we were pretty cold after about an hour in the pond, but it was such a great experience!

Tons of life in Sweetings Pond

We hit the store on our way back to check out their fresh produce delivery (awesome!) and were excited to see S/V Yemaya anchored in the harbor when we got back to the dock! We immediately ditched our plan to get underway and stayed another night. I met Ian when we were both stationed in Washington, D.C. and now we are both retired and cruising. The adults shared a lovely evening and sundowners on Yemaya...such a great way to close out our return to Hatchet Bay!

A fabulous spot to wait for our take-away lunch in town.

Frank, Jo, and Ian together again after over a year! 

COVID UPDATE: If you haven't figured it out by now, given the new COVID orders that apply to travel from Eleuthera to any other island, we have decided that we will slowly enjoy Eleuthera and close out our cruising season here. While we again feel like COVID has robbed us of our visit to the Abacos we are thoroughly enjoying taking our time here in Eleuthera. We will get to the Abacos someday!

Southern Eleuthera

We are back! Last year we got stuck on the boat in northern Eleuthera due to COVID so we are giving it another go this year. After a rolly night at Little San Salvador Island (Half Moon Bay to the cruise ships) we had a spectacular sail to Rock Sound. We only spent a few nights here, but got a good haul of groceries and revisited Cathedral Cave, a favorite spot from last year. 

Sailing siblings

Cathedral Cave...lots of bats!

From there we had another great day of sailing up to South Palmetto Point. This was again a peaceful stop with good holding...we ended up being all alone there. While we were determined to have pizza at Mate & Jenny's again, this year we really wanted to check out Eleuthera Island Farm. We accessed shore via an abandoned marina and walked to the farm where we got a fantastic haul of veggies, fresh bread, and kimchi! We also had a rain shower move through that was substantial enough to allow me to scrub the deck really quickly...aaaahhhhh! 

South Palmetto Point

With winds shifting to more southerly we moved back south a few miles to Ten Bay for tonight. Once we edged in close to the beach we found good sand and are sharing the anchorage with two other boats. I did get a little jelly sting while I was cleaning the waterline, but a stunning sunset and sundowners have made it all better! G'night, sailors!