February 25. Eleuthera Road Trip

On Saturday, February 25th we shared a rental car with Bev and Allan from DAGNY.  Allan braved the challenge of driving on the left side of the road in a car with the steering wheel on the right.  Our first stop was Tarpum Bay where we saw a dog enjoying the view from a comfortable chair.

Most of the islands in the Bahamas have very little soil and limited amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables. Eleuthera is an exception, this island has great soil and a long history of agriculture. The sign for fresh produce at the Island Farm made us turn the car around to go back for  a visit.  After shopping at the farm stand we went for a brief tour of the fields.

Hatchet Bay Pond is an interesting harbor.  The entrance is a 90 foot wide cut blasted through rock. From the land side it looks even narrower than it does from the water.  On the north side of town there is an extensive cave system.  We did not have enough flashlights to explore so we stayed in the first part of the cave.  With flashlights, sturdy shoes, and a guide it is possible to walk a mile underground.

The Glass Window is a geological formation where the island is very narrow.  There was once a natural rock bridge 85 feet above sea level. This was washed away by a hurricane in 1926 and replaced by a bridge. A rogue wave picked up the bridge and moved it 7 feet westward in 1991. The current bridge is quite substantial looking.  Standing on the bridge you can see the dark blue ocean on one side and the light blue and turquoise water in the Bight of Eleuthera.

We had lunch at a small restaurant overlooking the Glass Window.  It was hard to know where to look because the view was so gorgeous from all directions.

The calm tide pools next to the breaking waves at the Queens Bath were impressive. This is one of those places where it would be enjoyable to sit and look at and listen to the water all day.

A long washed out dirt road leads to an amazing beach with great surfing. We had to walk the last part of the road because it was so narrow and rough, but it was worth the walk.  We had a chance to watch someone surfing.

We saw a sign for "The Cliffs" and wondered if it was a private residence, or actual cliffs, so we went for another off road expedition.  After parking the car we walked to an area where someone with a huge piece of earthmoving equipment had dug a hole mostly through the cliffs.  We had to climb along the side of a very deep puddle to get to the shore as the path ended in the middle of the cliff.

Late in the afternoon we were all tired and ready to head back to the boats.  A few minutes after we said that we were glad we would be getting back before dark we ran out of gas.  Luckily Allan has very impressive hitchhiking skills.  As soon as he stood by the side of the road he was picked up by a Bahamian who drove him to the gas station.  A couple of men in a pickup at the gas station delivered him back to the car with the gas.  Within 20 minutes we were on our way again.

Charts

The Exumas, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island

Purple=Warderick Wells, Yellow = Cambridge Cay, Green = Staniel Cay, Pink = Black Point, Blue = Rudder Cut

Purple = Sea Aquarium, Pink = Bell Island, Yellow = Cambridge Cay, Blue = Rocky Dundas

Yellow = Cambridge Cay, Pink = Rock Sound

February 18 to February 23, 2017

Saturday, February 18^th was an errand day in Rock Sound.  We went to both grocery stores and had the empty propane bottle refilled.  Having a choice of two well stocked grocery stores is a real treat. 

Sunday  we played tourist with Bev and Allan from DAGNY and Jim and Cynthia from NEVERLAND.  We walked to the caves and spent some time spelunking. The caves are beautiful with natural light from holes in the ceiling where the tree roots extend straight down for over 30 feet. The colors of the rocks and the shapes are gorgeous. After the caves we walked to the blue hole in town and enjoyed watching the fish and the enthusiastic small children feeding the fish. In the afternoon the wind shifted to SW and the anchorage on the town side was uncomfortable so we did the Rock Sound Shuffle and moved to the west side of the harbor. 

Monday we moved the boat back to the town side of the anchorage.  I spent the morning at a very nice little gift shop, the Blue Seahorse, using their internet. The two cousins who run the shop are very talented and create all of the jewelry and artwork themselves. They make delicious coffee and welcome boaters to use their internet.  Bill spent the morning ferrying fuel and water to the boat in jerry cans. In the evening we had drinks on SEAHAWK with Burry and Wendy and their dog Maggie.

Tuesday we had a fantastic lunch at Rosies with DAGNY and NEVERLAND.  We had heard of Rosie from many other cruisers. This is the kind of place where people have a meal there then have happy memories for months afterwards.  Rosie runs a restaurant and has rental cottages on the beach side of the island. She is the cook, cleaner, chauffeur, maintenance department, and entertainment.  When making reservations she asks what you would like to eat and when you would like to be picked up at the dock. The food is fresh because she only buys what she needs for the day. She picks up the guests at the dock, provides a narrated tour and directions to beaches while driving to her restaurant.  After arriving at the restaurant there is time to walk on the beach while waiting for the food to be cooked. The food is beyond delicious.  I could not decide which item on my plate was the best.  I had grouper smothered in onions and okra, peas and rice, coleslaw, and fried plantains.  Bill had the fried grouper.  The others in our group had fried snapper and jerked fish. We all joined the clean plate club.  After lunch Rosie showed us her photo album. She has met the Queen and Nelson Mandela.  All six of her children have post-doctorate degrees.  She is an amazing woman!

Tuesday evening we again shuffled around the harbor, although our shuffle was slower than usual.  We were expecting a wind shift and squalls during the night so we moved to the south side of the harbor near Pigeon Bay.  DAGNY and NEVERLAND also moved.  None of us could get our anchors to set in this area.  NEVERLAND headed for Poison Point and they were able to anchor.  DAGNY decided to go back towards town (SEAHAWK had tried this same re-anchoring dance earlier in the day and moved back). We were having engine problems so we had sailed to Pigeon Bay then we slowly limped our way back towards town. The engine was “hunting”. The rpms were all over the place and if we ran the engine over just over idle speed the batteries were overcharging.  Once we were anchored we decided to worry about the engine in the morning as there was nothing we could do at the moment and invited DAGNY and SEAHAWK over for drinks.  In another small world moment it turned out that Burry (who is a friend of Philippe, CORRET’s original owner) wrote the Craigslist ad that caused us to go look at CORRET in the first place.

Wednesday Bill diagnosed the engine trouble.  Although we had gone through all of the worst case scenarios in our minds it luckily turned out to be a broken grounding wire.  Bev and I spent a couple hours doing laundry and almost made it back to the boats before it started sprinkling.  In the night there were thunderstorms with winds over 35 knots.  Not the most restful night ever.

Thursday we again moved the boat to the west side of the harbor, along with almost all the other boats in town.  The dinghy was not only full of water from the rain, but also caught a needlefish.

The weather was supposed to clear in the late afternoon so SEAHAWK announced a potluck and bonfire on the beach at 5:00.  A fun time was had by all.  The crew from one boat brought their dinner to cook on the beach.  When we left they were waiting for their whole chicken to finish cooking over the hot coals from the bonfire.

The Rock Sound Shuffle: The dotted lines show our travels in the harbor.

February 12 to February 17, 2017

Sunday, February 12^th, we left Blackpoint and planned on stopping at Pipe Creek.  The sailing was perfect so we could not bear to stop sailing.

We continued to on to Warderick Wells and had a wonderful surprise – our friends on SANDFLEA were anchored near Emerald Rock.  We have missed Ben, Tambi, and Molly so this was a great treat.  We had a nice visit with them and they came over to CORRET for dinner. Unfortunately the dinner was cut short by a rain shower and they had to hurry back to their boat to close hatches.  The word for the night was “clear”.  After the brief rainshower the skies cleared, the full moon shone through the clear water, and the shadows of the boat and passing fish showed clearly against the white sand bottom.

Monday was an amazing snorkeling day. Bill and I started by drift snorkeling at Warderick Wells by the park headquarters, then we dove on a couple of shallow coral heads filled with fish. We then motored down to O’Brien’s Cay and snorkeled over the plane reef. This area was even better than the morning’s snorkeling. The SANDFLEAS joined us and  we went to the Sea Aquarium which was even better.  There were hundreds of decorative fish and a wide variety of coral in easy snorkeling depth. In the evening we went to SANDFLEA for dinner.

Valentine’s Day started off with another fantastic snorkeling experience. We met Ben, Tambi, and Molly at Rocky Dundas and snorkeled over the beautiful coral then swam into the very impressive caves.  The first cave was great, then the second one was even better.  Each of the caves has a hole in the top of the cave so there is plenty of light to see the fish and the stalactites and stalagmites.

After snorkeling we went to Staniel Cay to fill up the gas cans for the dinghy.  We have been putting some miles on the dinghy going to snorkeling sites.  We were hoping for groceries but the mailboat did not come in last week so the only meat available was hotdogs.  We went back to Cambridge Cay for the night. Our timing was impeccable, we anchored just in time to join the sunset potluck on the sandspit in the middle of the harbor.

Wednesday the wind was up but we went back to the Sea Aquarium to do some snorkeling.  We swam for about half an hour but the waves and current were a challenge so we called it quits for the day.  We anchored in the Bell Island anchorage to sit out the next cold front.  Thursday we spent the whole day on the boat except for a quick visit to SANDFLEA in the afternoon. When we returned to CORRET we took the outboard off the dinghy but decided to leave the dinghy in the water so we could open the forward hatch at night.

Friday morning we had the radio on by 6:30 as we were expecting a radio call from NEVERLAND and DAGNY about weather and timing for crossing over to Eleuthera.  It is lucky we had the radio on earlier than normal (we usually do not turn it on until around 8:00 a.m.).  We heard a call from the boat SIRIUS saying that they had an emergency. Their dinghy had drifted away during the night. Fortunately they could see it washed up on shore.  Because our dinghy was still in the water it was only a few minutes work to put the outboard back on and Bill went to the rescue.  

The weather report called for light and variable winds under 10 knots so we left for Eleuthera with DAGNY. NEVERLAND had electrical problems and decided to wait a day before crossing.  The wind turned out to be 10-15 on the nose for most of the day.  NEVERLAND crossed the next day and had a great beam reach.  Timing is everything. 

February 5th to February 11th 2017

We left Georgetown on February 5^th and stopped at the Emerald Bay resort for fuel and water.  The resort is owned by Sandals and is very nice.  The dockage is not that expensive so we may come back here sometime to spend a few nights.  On our way to Rudder Cay cut Bill caught a 41 inch Mahi Mahi.

Rudder Cay is one of our new favorite places. When we entered through the cut we passed beautiful beaches framed by tall palm trees and cliffs dotted with cliffs.  After anchoring in crystal clear water we dinghied into two caves with openings to the sky allowing the sun to shine light the caves and reflect off the white sand under the water. We relaxed on the foredeck and watched the moon rise and the sunset then had a delicious dinner of fresh Mahi Mahi.

Goldilocks Day.  Thursday was one of the rare Goldilocks days when everything was just right. The main attraction of Rudder Cay for snorkeling is an underwater sculpture  commissioned by David Copperfield of a grand piano with a mermaid reclining against the piano bench.  The sculpture is in about 15 feet of water in an area where there is a strong current. There were scattered clouds that made it hard to see through the water from the surface. Bill snorkeled until he found the sculpture, then the current carried the dinghy away from the area. A disappearing sculpture was very fitting for David Copperfield!  Eventually we found it again and took turns snorkeling to enjoy watching the fish play in the piano.   In the afternoon we had a wonderful sail to Blackpoint.  We had planned on spending the night at Farmers Cay but we were having such fun sailing that we did not want to stop.

Friday was windy and rough so we stayed on the boat all day. Bill polished stainless while I did some cooking..

Saturday I hoisted Bill up the mast to repair the tape on the spreader boot. It had started to unravel so we had an extra messy looking telltale.  We went ashore to the all purpose laundromat.  I bought an 8 minute shower for $4.  Bill had Ida cut his hair.   Once we were all clean and cleancut we joined Bev and Allan from DAGNY and Mike and Dee from RITA MARIE for lunch at Lorraine’s café. After lunch we stopped at Lorraine’s mother’s house to buy coconut bread fresh out of the oven.

January 30 to February 4, 2017

The morning of January 30^th was very windy.  Around 3:30 a.m. a squall came through with winds gusting over 25 knots.  The anchorage is quite crowded by Monument beach so everyone was on deck and checking anchors.  Only one boat had a problem with dragging and they were able to quickly raise anchor and move to a new spot.   At 9:00 the weather had settled to an overcast day with 15-20 knot winds out of the North.  We had a fast sail to Thompson Bay on Long Island. A pair of dolphins greeted us as we approached the island.

Tuesday Bill and I went for a very long walk. We left the boat at 11:15 and did not get back until 3:30. Except for the ½ hour having lunch at Sou Side we were walking the entire time.  In the evening we met a group of other cruisers at the beach for a potluck.

Wednesday Lana, Julie, and I went to yoga at the Regatta Park. This was my first time doing yoga.  The open air pavilion overlooking the bay was a great way to try out this new activity. We relaxed during the afternoon, then went to Tiny’s Hurricane Hole restaurant for dinner.  The crew from ANGELZARKE had rented a car and busily ferried people to the restaurant. Bill, Robert, and I walked the two miles.  The restaurant is down a long dirt road and is located on the beach.  The proprietors are very friendly, the drinks were great, and the food was delicious.  Julie  (OUR JULES) had made a cake as Allan (DAGNY) and Lana (OUR DIAMOND) were celebrating birthdays.  After dinner and cake a dozen of us sat around the outdoor fire and played games.  The owner gave us a ride back to the dinghy dock in her SUV which saved us a long walk!

Thursday we shared a car rental with Robert and Lana and drove around the island. We went south to Clarence town and admired the dramatic churches on the hills and then visited the Flying Fish marina. We then went to Dean’s Blue Hole. This is one of the main attractions on the island, but is surprisingly hard to find. There is a small sign on the main road next to a private sign. A long dirt road with a sort of paved hilly section in the middle leads to a fork in the road. The unmarked right hand fork down a deserted looking dirt road leads to another fork in the road with a mostly illegible sign that used to say “Blue Hole” leads to an even bumpier dirt road ending at the blue hole.  The cliffs around the blue hole are beautiful and the blue hole is very dramatic looking. We went for a swim to the float in the middle of the blue hole.

After visiting the blue hole we stopped for lunch at Max Conch Shack. The food was very good. We then stopped to look at a A class Bahamian sloop that was being built and to talk to some men building grouper traps (they are sort of like lobster traps). An older couple, Susan and Loren, came out to talk to us and tell us about the boat and the area.  Susan was very excited to learn that we shared a name and that my father’s name was Loren.

The afternoon was spent driving to the north end of the island to the Columbus Monument. Again, the involved driving down a very long, very bumpy, deserted looking dirt road. It is a good thing we did not meet another car because someone would have had to have backed up a long way!  The monument was worth the trip. The view was incredible.

Friday, February 3^rd, we left Thompson Bay and had a leisurely sail to Calabash Bay. OUR DIAMOND left at the same time so we sailed together.  They used their spinnaker and we had our genoa poled out and we were both about the same speed – 3 knots.  When the speed dropped to 2 knots we were hoping they would give up sailing so we could and they were thinking the same thing about us.  Finally they called to say they were taking down the spinnaker and starting the motor.  Thank God! We were getting bored sailing with enough speed for steerage.  

After anchoring in Calabash Bay Robert and Lana picked us up in their fast dinghy and we snorkeled for about half an hour over some beautiful coral heads until Robert saw a shark. In the evening they came to CORRET for appetizers and we all saw our first green flash.

Saturday morning  it was flat calm. We could see coral and fish in 20 feet of water. A small squall came through and the boat had a nice rinse in a rainshower then we were treated to a rainbow.   We then had about 10 knots of wind which was great for an easy relaxing sail to Georgetown. On the way we were excited to catch a fish, but it was a barracuda so we very carefully removed the hook and set if free. 

January 25 to January 29, 2017

On January 25^th we left Farmers Cay. Even with very calm weather the water in the cut was covered in short steep little waves so it looked like it was topped by meringue.  The trip to Georgetown was a calm motorboat ride with unsuccessful fishing.  We anchored in Kidds Cove and had lobster and steak for Bill’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Bill!

Thursday morning we walked around town then went shopping at Exuma Markets.  Groceries are expensive here.  We spent $125 on groceries and did not buy everything on our list.

We stayed in Georgetown until January 30^th and went for a hike everyday to the monument and to the beach. The beach is miles long and mostly deserted. The harbor side of the island has over 180 boats anchored. The Georgetown sailing community is very organized. Bill refers to it as daycamp for adults.  In the morning there is a controlled radio net that covers emergency traffic, weather, local business announcements, community announcements (this is when they announce the time and location of yoga, volleyball, softball, poker, trivia contests, potlucks, etc), new arrivals, departures, buy/sell/trade/give away, and boaters general. The final piece of business is Thought of The Day.  My favorite so far: “It is okay if your mind goes blank, just turn off the sound.”

January 13 to January 24, 2017

Friday the 13^th we motored from Big Majors Spot to Staniel Cay in 20-25 knots of wind.  We stopped at the fuel dock for diesel, water, and to drop off trash.  We then anchored between the rocks and the yacht club. The mail boat arrived in the morning so the stores were not open until lunch time as the staff were busy making trips to the dock to pick up supplies and restocking shelves.

We had lunch at the yacht club with OUR DIAMOND and SEA JULES.  While we were waiting for them to come over in their dinghies we spent some time watching the nurse sharks that hang out around the fish cleaning station near the dinghy dock.  We met a woman from Alaska who is solo kayaking in the Bahamas for a month. So far she has been out for 8 days and has paddled from Georgetown to Staniel Cay.  She camps on shore in a tent at night.  

After lunch we went grocery shopping at the Blue Store, the Pink Store, and at Isles General Store. Unfortunately, the internet was down which was disappointing as we have been out of touch with our friends and family for a week now. We stayed in Staniel Cay until high tide when we could get past the 6 foot section of the channel then headed back to Big Majors Spot for the night.

Saturday we had the usual 20-25 knots of wind with scattered showers.  We have not done laundry for over 3 weeks and even though we have articles of clothing called “this week’s t-shirt” the laundry situation was getting out of hand so we sailed over to Blackpoint on Great Guana Cay. The laundromat has a dinghy dock and free wifi so it was worth the rough weather to get there. Keeping the clean laundry dry in the dingy on the way back to the boat was a challenge as not only was it rough, but a rain squall came through while we were motoring back to CORRET.

Sunday was again very windy. We went for a walk in the morning to the windward side of the island. The sound was very rough with dramatic white caps on dark blue water and the waves were crashing on the rocks.  The leeward side of the island had turquoise and light blue water in the calm of the harbor. Monday we went for a walk with Grinnell from THISTLE while his wife, Linda, was doing laundry. We found a beautiful, secluded white sand beach.  In the afternoon we had an enjoyable downwind sail in 20-25 knots of wind to Sampson Cay.

We spent the next several days visiting with Wilson and Gale and enjoying the area.  The wind finally settled down so we were able to do some snorkeling and Bill and Wilson went fishing. With the calm weather the amazing clarity of the water becomes the main feature of the landscape.  It feels like the boat is sitting on a piece of glass. 

Sunday and Monday the calm weather took a break and the wind was in the 30-40 knot range. Tuesday the wind was down to 15-20 knots so we sailed to Farmer’s Cay. The water turned a very milky color because of all the sand stirred up by the storm so it was impossible to “read the water” by the color so we were very careful to follow the deep water route.

Bimini to Warderick Wells to Big Majors Spot

Late Tuesday morning, January 3^rd, we left Bimini headed for West Bay on New Providence Island.  OUR DIAMOND and SEA JULES left at the same time; it was nice to have buddy boats.  We checked in with each other every hour through the night.  This was reassuring and much healthier than my usual habit of rewarding myself with a piece of candy every hour. I find it easier to stay awake if there is anticipation of some sort of treat within the next 60 minutes.

 I am starting to enjoy overnight sails. This one was very pleasant. The sunset was spectacular and we were able to see Venus and Mars in a line below the moon.  The view of the stars was amazing with no light pollution.  There were so many stars visible it was hard to see the constellations.

We spent Wednesday anchored at West Bay.  We did not go ashore as most of the area is privately owned, and we were tired so most of the day involved naps.  Thursday morning we had planned to leave around 7:30 to head for Norman’s Cay, but a squall blew through so we had a second cup of coffee and waited until the weather cleared around 9:00.  We sailed for a few hours until the wind died.  While we were motoring along Bill caught a fish. We rarely fish, and are rarely successful when we do put a line in the water, so this was an exciting experience for us.  I hope that even if we become successful fishermen the excitement does not wear off. Once again we realized how lucky we are when we watched another gorgeous sunset over beautiful water while eating a delicious fish that we had caught.

Friday morning was flat calm.  The water is so clear it looks like the boat is sitting on glass. We could see the anchor very clearly buried in the sand.  It is much easier to check the anchor here than at home! 

Luckily the Exuma Land and Sea Park had a mooring available in the North Mooring Field at Warderick Wells. The wind is supposed to be around 30 knots on Sunday so we will wait out the cold front on a mooring. Warderick Wells is one of our favorite places. The water is clear, the snorkeling is great, and there are nice hikes on the island.

Friday afternoon, after 102 days of traveling, we finally went snorkeling for the first time this trip.  We drifted with the dinghy over coral heads and saw stingrays, Southern rays, a turtle, a mahogany grouper, and a variety of other decorative fish. 

Saturday we hiked up to Boo Boo Hill in the morning. Over the years hundreds, if not thousands, of cruisers have left bits of wood with their boat names written on them in a pile at the top of the hill.  A section of hill has holes eroded in it down to the sea. The sound of wind blowing through the holes sounds like the moaning of ghosts from the crew of a ship that was shipwrecked here a couple of hundred years ago. On stormy days the holes shoot water into the air.

 It was too windy to snorkel comfortably so we relaxed in the afternoon then went to the potluck on shore in the evening. All of the moorings were full because the wind will be very strong for the next several days so there was a big turnout for the party on the beach with plenty of food.

Late Saturday night we had a good view of a dramatic thunderstorm in the distance before the expected cold front hit early Sunday morning. The winds were 25-30 knots with higher gusts all of Sunday.  Monday the winds were still in the 20-25 knot range with gusts over 30.  The crew from the boat next to us tried to go ashore in their dinghy. Their dinghy motor failed next to the small island in the anchorage. Luckily they were able to wash ashore and stay there safely until the park rangers could get to them and tow them back to their boat.

Tuesday the winds were still over 20 knots all day.  We thought about trying to get ashore but realized the dinghy ride would be like going through a car wash in a convertible so we spent another day on the boat working on miscellaneous small boat chores.  Bill practiced splicing and learned how to tie new knots while I was knitting.  Although it is frustrating to be stuck on the boat in a place with such great hiking and snorkeling it is comforting to have the security of being tied to a mooring.  Sitting in a protected harbor looking at the beautiful water and seeing waves on the windward side of the island splash 20 feet in the air is not a bad way to sit out bad weather. 

Rainbows were the high point of Wednesday morning.  The wind was still 20-30 knots all day.  The rain squalls in the morning were intense with the rain blowing sideways.  After each squall we saw fantastic rainbows, so it was worth the bad weather.  In the afternoon we moved to a mooring that was more protected, and closer to shore, so we were able to dinghy in and go for a hike.  The waves crashing on the windward side of the island were sending salt spray hundreds of feet inland.  We could barely see through the salt on our glasses by the time we were done with the hike.

As usual this week the wind was over 20 knots on Thursday.  We went for a short hike in the morning. In order to keep out of the spray we had hoped to hike on the leeward side of the island, however, connecting the trails requires walking on the beach at low tide and it was high tide. 

We are starting to get used to the wind, which is not supposed to stop for several more days, so we decided to go to the Staniel Cay area.  We have plenty of food, but the meal choices are somewhat limited and slightly weird, so the lure of a grocery store was enough to convince me to untie from a mooring. When you start discussing whether a meal of corned beef hash and spaghetti would be edible it is time to go shopping! 

The sail to Staniel Cay was great. We were doing 6.5 to 7 knots with only a reefed jib.  We ended up anchoring at Big Majors Spot next to “pig beach”.   The locals have let pigs loose on the island and it has become a strangely popular tourist attraction.  The pigs have figured out that the cruisers will feed them and hang out on the beach hoping for handouts.