Spanish Wells and Eleuthra

Our first stop after the great sail from the Abacos Royal Harbor.  Royal Harbor is just a secure anchorage in an area where Roger Staubach (spelling?) and other investors were trying to build a marina.  The project is on long-term hold but much of the construction equipment remains.   Unfortunately, abandoned project like this litter the Bahamas and don't make the American investors very popular.   Luckily, the Bahamians take one look at our boats and know that we are not in the Roger Staubach league and are nothing if not gracious.  

After a quick night in Royal Harbor, we moved onto Spanish wells which is considered the fishing and lobstering capital of the Bahamas.   The community itself probably has some of the most well kept houses we have seen in the islands and the fishing boats are pristine so we're guessing the fishing is still lucrative.   The major fishing is done August through November so most of the boats were back in the small harbor at dock for now.   Of course, as we were leaving, one of the larger boats decided to go north in the channel that we were headed south out of but he held his course and let us pass.   There is no anchoring in the Spanish Wells harbor itself (more like a channel than a harbor) but they have put in 8 moorings.   We were traveling with another sailboat (Plumpuppet) and luckily we both got moorings.   I don't think I have ever seen moorings any closer together.  When we picked up the line to our mooring, we were literally 10 feet off the stern of the catamaran in the sunset picture below.   No pressure.....

We had hoped to take a fast ferry from Spanish Wells to Harbortown but the ferry ran a short schedule on Sunday and not much was going to be open anyway (remember when stores/restaurants actually closed one day a week?  So civilized).   So after one night, we moved on to Eluethera.   To get to Eluethra, you need to go through Current Cut.   The water flows/floods onto the waters of Eleuthera at a speed of over 6 knots.   My dive book indicates they do drift dives in the cut which must be liked flying through the water.  The cut is deep (over 20 feet) and wide but to get out of the cut you have to make a 90 degree turn into a narrow channel of shallow water (7-10 feet) with rocks on one side and sand shallows on the other.   Again, no pressure.  We tried to put our heads together with the other boat we were traveling with (Plumpuppet) to figure out the time for slack tide for the cut but between the 4 of us we missed it.   We had about 2.5 knots of current against us but we both made it through unscathed.   We opted for a short day and moored in Hatchet Bay and Plumpuppet traveled on. 

According to the cruising guide the entrance for Hatchet bay 90 feet wide, carved out of the rocks (see the pictures below).   The tricky part is that you can't see it until you are right on top of it.   And I would probably debate the 90 feet measurement.   It was an extremely calm day but this would be an impassable entrance with a large surge or sea.   We were fascinated to see both a fuel ship and a fast ferry zip right through the entrance proving once again how skilled those captains really are. 

From Hatchet Bay, we had another great sail about 35 miles south to Rock Sound.   Rock Sound is the boating mecca of Eleuthra with a grocery store, beach bar, car rental and a beach and a blue hole withing walking distance (2 miles is walking distance in the Bahamas).    Eleuthra is 90 miles long and since we wanted to see a bit more than the harbors this time, we rented a car and drove about 2/3 of the island.   Between some paved and some sand roads, driving on the left and trying to figure out how many kilometers/hour we should be driving (the dashboard was not in MPH), it was a fun but long day.   We stopped in a beautiful resort in Alabaster Bay (and put it on our list for future land trips) and also checked out the abandoned US Naval Base.   The base was downright creepy and although Joe had great time checking out abandoned pump houses and barracks, I swore I heard the theme song for the Twilight Zone playing in the background.   I did think about the "poor" sailors who were stationed here and how they suffered because the base had facilities right on one of the beautiful pink sand beaches.    There is only a hint of pink in the sand but it is still a gorgeous beach (except for the ruins and trash which is now being left there). 

Now the winds are revising our plans a bit.  At least half the boats in the harbor were planning to leave Eluethra headed for Little San Salvador and the other Out Islands of the Bahamas.   However, another cold front is headed our way with winds around 25mph and from a direction that would make that trip downright miserable.   Since the plans were written in Jello anyway and since we have learned (the hard way) not to fight the wind, we are changing tack and heading directly to the Exuma Cays tomorrow.   Hopefully, we will get to the Out Islands on the way back north in March.  We're headed to some deserted Cays first and probably won't have internet for at least a week so don't worry if we don't update again for a bit. 

Mooring field at Spanish Wells

Entrance to Hatchet Bay-really?

Hatchet Bay 90 feet across?

Hatchet Bay-Fuel Tanker w/no problem entering

Rock Sound Eleuthra-view of our boat from the beach bar

Bahamian cell tower

Entrance to abandoned Naval Base

Abandoned Naval Base

Pink sand beach in front of Naval Base

Fair winds and following seas

“Wishing you fair winds and following seas”.   That phrase is something boaters say to each other as they depart.   The vast majority of the boats cruising the Bahamas are sailboats; as much of 90% is our observance.  On a sailboat, the wind is our friend, guide and sometimes our foe.   Funny thing though; the majority of the trip from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas we don't get to sail very often   Oh, we pop the jib whenever we get the chance on the bigger rivers of the ICW but day after day, we motor along at 5-6 knots.   So when we get the chance to sail, really sail, we are happy boaters.

Friday, January 20 when we left the Abacos bound for Royal Harbor was the perfect sailing day with both fair winds and a following sea (actually on the port quarter which is even better).   Originally, we thought we would make the trip on Thursday but the wind and seas kicked up earlier in the week so we gave them an extra day to calm down.   Good thing because the reports from boats who did cross on Thursday were less than glowing.   The route requires a passage of approximately 50 miles across the Northeast Providence Channel and some of the deepest water we will see on our trip.   Our electronic depth sounder stops somewhere around 200 feet but the charts show depths of over 15,000 feet (yes, we have our life jackets on, see Joe in the picture).  As a reward for waiting until Friday we had  an average of 15 knots of wind from the north/northeast and since we were headed south/southeast, it was perfect!   There was a 4 foot swell to the ocean with an 8 second interval and we just surfed over the roll and flew down the channel.    We think 10 to 15 knots of wind is the perfect wind velocity for our particular boat and we had all 3 sails up and flying.    It was about a 9 hour trip and we only ran the engine for the first half hour to get out of the cut in the Abacos and slightly less than an hour to get in the cut to the Royal Island anchorage.   We saw a maximum of 7.7 knots SOG (speed over ground) and spent a good portion of the trip at 7 knots or better.   Sailing just doesn’t get much better than that!    Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot to photograph in the middle of the ocean.   The pictures below show the instrument panel on the boat and are probably only exciting to those of us who covet the wind.  But picture this:  the water turns a beautiful dark royal blue because of the depth and the only company was 2-3 other boats, flying fish and a few sea birds too far away to identify.     Ahhhhhhh…..

Great Sailing!

Proof that Island Packets really can fly

A few more details

We get lots of questions about exactly where we are going and when we will be there.   Believe it or not, we do have a very general plan but the timing is completely dictated by the weather (and sometimes boat issues-or not!).   So here is the general plan:
We had hoped to cross to the Bahamas before Christmas but weather and boat issues delayed us a bit.   However, we are here now and all is good.   This year, we crossed from Florida into the northern Bahamas, specifically, the Abacos.   Great Sale was our first anchorage, we checked into Customs in Spanish Cay on New Year's Eve.   The cold fronts that blow down from the NE part of the US usually bring strong northerly winds to the Bahamas.   As these fronts blow through, the winds can last from hours to days.   Jan-March, it is more typical for the winds to last for days and then calm and clock around.   Winds in the 20s are often great for sailing but the problem is the cuts (similar to inlets) between the islands and between the sound and the ocean.   With significant wind, the water builds into what they call rages in the cuts.  Rages are breaking waves through the cut creating very dangerous conditions for boats.   We do NOT go through cuts in that condition.    We had a taste of rolling (but not raging) conditions last year and believe me a "taste" is enough.   So, long story short, all timing is dictated by the tides, weather and the condition in the cuts in particular.
From Spanish Cay, we went to an anchorage between Manjack (pronouced mun-jack) and Crab Cays .   Then we stopped in Green Turtle and Great Guana Cays.   We caught up with SV Tootsie in Great Guana and traveled with them to Marsh Harbor.  We have had a great time in Marsh Harbor but we have decided it is time to move on to towards Eleuthra.   We only had a quick stop at Eleuthra last year and need more time to explore the pink sand beaches and snorkeling there.   One of our first stops will be Spanish Wells (the very northern end of Eleuthra) which is the fishing and lobstering capital of the Bahamas.  Then we hope to go to Cat, Conception, San Salvador Islands and Rum Cay.   We missed all of these last year but this is the area that took the direct hit from Irene so we will have to see how things progress.   We did have a quick trip to Long Island last year with Ami, Ken and the grandkids but hope to return and do more exploring there too.   And finally, there is always the Exuma Cays and Great Exuma Island.   Still plenty to explore there too.   We would love to also get to the very southern Bahamas (Crooked and Acklins Islands, Myaguana and Great Inagua) but as I write this, the calendar pages are flipping away.  If we plan to be back on the Chesapeake in May, we need to start home in April.   So much to see-so little time!    So now you can see why we can't really commit to a firm itinerary.   We just make tentative plans and adjust as needed.

Pretty good internet signal today so here are some of the pictures I could not send last time.

Hurricane house on Great Guana

Hurricane boat on Great Guana

Another hurricane boat on Great Guana

Beach on Great Guana

We try to only leave footprints

Yikes!

Street view of Green Turtle Cay

What's not to love about the Abacos?

Last year our cruising focused on the central to southern Bahamas, specifically the Exuma Cays.   We made our way to Miami, crossed to Bimini and headed directly to the Exumas.   We came north through the Abacos but spent less than 2 weeks here.   This year we decided to do the opposite, entering the most northern Bahamas and taking our time working south slowly through the Abacos to the Exumas.   We just completed our second week in the Abacos and can see why some people get here and go no further.   The islands/cays are a bit closer here making for easy days and low stress cruising.   I know some of you are moaning right now and thinking “just how stressful can cruising be?” but I can’t emphasize enough the effects and uncertainty of the weather.   Trust me when I say being anchored in 30 knot winds as the fronts blow down from the US is a tiny bit stressful.   We get up 6 days a week for weather forecasts at 6:15 am (no forecasts on Sunday).   The weather forecast is specific for each area of the Bahamas and for Gulf Stream crossings and I never thought I would care so much about highs, lows, troughs, ridges, secondary fronts, blah, blah, blah.  

So the fact that the Abaco islands/cays are closer makes all our weather decisions easier.    It is also interesting to note that the Moorings and Sunsail have charter boats in the Abacos but we have not seen any charter services in the Exumas.   The weather uncertainty and distances between destinations in the Exumas just don’t fit into the normal one week charter itinerary.    So currently, we are enjoying the Abaco islands and trying to see as much as possible before we move further south.   The Abacos are often compared to southern Florida because it is only a day trip for the fast fishing/power boats and probably because there are so many more marinas and restaurants than the Exumas.   Personally, we find the comparison a bit of a stretch.   Although the marinas here are very nice they are just soooo much more casual than in the US.   Sometimes they answer the radio, sometimes not.   Sometimes the restaurants are open, sometimes not.  Many marinas have showers but the facilities are rarely on the same level as the US.   Only a few of the marinas have fuel.  However, the casual atmosphere is definitely part of the charm and the attraction for most cruisers.   In fact, most of us go to marinas only to do wash or if the weather forecast is particularly dire.  Although many of the marinas have $1/foot rates at this time of year, most cruising budgets are based on anchoring out the vast majority of the time.   $40/feet per night adds up quickly.   We went into a marina in Spanish Cay for a night to check into customs but probably won’t dock again until we are very south in the Exumas; probably in February.   In some of the tighter harbors here and in the harbors with poor holding ground (grass growing in sand), there are moorings which so far have ranged from $10/night (Green Turtle Cay) to $20/night (Great Guana Cay).      However, there is nothing like the feeling of swinging on your own hook with only a few other boats in sight.  

We had a true cold snap and a huge front blow through while we were on a mooring in Black Sound at Green Turtle Cay.    The wind in the very protected harbor (considered a hurricane hole) blew 25 knots steady with gusts to 36.    Cold air came in with the storm dropping daytime and nighttime temperatures into the 50s.   Again, I know you are groaning and wondering why I even mention a mild 50 degrees.    However, all our winter clothes were packed away before we left Florida.   It is amazing how many layers of summer clothes you need to wear to stay warm.   And think (but don’t think too long- the image isn’t pretty) about showering in 50 degree temps.    We actually stoked up the propane heater!   Brrrrrr….. but luckily it only took a few days for temps to return to the normal 75 degrees.   The Bahamians actually consider January to be the true winter here and during those 50 degree days were seen sporting down vests and winter jackets.  God only knows what they think of us in our summer clothes!

After leaving Green Turtle Cay, we spent several days on Great Guana Cay which has a beautiful beach and two of our favorite beach bars.   Nippers is the number one contender (sorry Oceana we are now siding with Tootsie on this one!) and sits on a bluff just above the Atlantic Ocean.   The bar has 2 pools which were quite nippy after the 50 degree temps.    We also love Pirate’s Cove which is a small bar overlooking the harbor.   Pirate’s Cove is run by Jerry and his wife Chorenna.   Jerry is a 30 year retired veteran of the Air Force and a delightful proprietor.  Both bars do an awesome pig roast on Sundays.   And of course all the bars have a signature rum drink (go figure) and they range from the frozen Nipper (don’t go there!) to Jerry’s Sunrise to the Guana Grabber.    Maybe it is a bit like Florida after all.   Jill and Parker on Tootsie hailed us just as we were about to leave Guana Cay and didn’t have to twist our arms long to spend another night enjoying this cay. 

We have seen more birds here than in the Exumas including Bahamian parrots (no pictures yet-those buggers are fast!), Kestrels, Grassquits, Mockingbirds, Ruddy Turnstones, Frigate birds and White Rumped Sandpipers.   In the Exumas, the birds were rare until February when they began to migrate back north.  

Unfortunately, there are still signs of the hurricane in most places.   Many docks are wrecked but the residents do a great job of salvaging all the wood and are slowly rebuilding.   It looks like the residences fared well here.   We’ve seen only a few roofs with damage and one or two totally wrecked homes.  The islands slightly east of the Exumas (Cat, Rum, San Salvador) took the direct hit.   We missed those islands last year but hope to get there in early February. 

So now we are in Marsh Harbor (the largest town/settlement in the Abacos) on the Island of Great Abaco to hide from some weather, refuel the boat and to do a few other chores.   There is a great cruiser’s net here in the morning outlining all there is to do and helping boaters connect with friends and/or needed assistance.    The boating community is one of the best parts of this life.

PS:  We have lots of great pictures but as of today, the Internet connection wouldn't support uploading the pictures.   We will try again at the next stop