Oh wow we have just totally loved Eleuthera - it might not have been perfect blue skies everyday however this island has certainly won us over with its beautiful people, lovely anchorages and lots to do and see.
After we left Treasure Cay in the Abacos we had a beautiful sail in light winds past Marsh Harbour to Tiloo Cay, there was a few shallow spots but the skipper had it all planned out perfectly. We anchored up for a really peaceful night to prepare for our early start the next morning to sail to Eleuthera.
Next morning we upped anchor at first light and made our way to the North Bar Channel - I am glad we didn't decide to anchor south of it as if I had seen it before bed I don't think I would have slept. We had North East winds so it was pretty much head to wind going out into the ocean, however the swell was North which meant it was a pretty good angle for Askari. The swell was just over a metre but with it breaking on rocks on either side of the boat it looked much worse than it was.
Once we got out we turned off the engine and set a course for Eleuthera, 52 miles away. We sailed on the wind at an average speed of 7.9 knots the whole way. It was brilliant and we had a virtual race with about 5 other boats near us on AIS - of course we were faster than all of them..... not that we were trying or anything and we overtook 3. What an amazing day. When the weather windows open to move between the island groups the yachts all run like mad!
We overtook this boat who towed the dinghy out in the open ocean..... wtf!
We did such great speed we were able to continue to sail across the bay to anchor up north of the Current Settlement - that was tomorrow's adventure!
Eluthera is a long skinny island - about 110 miles long and a maximum of a mile and a half wide. The Eastern shore faces out to the Atlantic ocean and has beautiful pink sand beaches. The Western side is where we are sailing.
The next morning was leisurely as we had to wait for the tide to be slack high water to pass through the Current Cut - Andrew opted to go through a little before slack as we could power against the current which was running at 3 knots as there were shallows on the other side which we it would be good to have a rising tide jus in case we touched bottom. We heard one of the boats from the previous day had ran aground in nearby Spanish Wells. They were calling on the radio seeking help so we were keen not to be in that situation.
We took a hard right and got this view looking back - phew glad to get that done!
We had our anchorage at Mutton Fish Point all to ourselves and swam and snorkelled around the shore - lovely. Later that night we saw lights approaching out of the blackness, it looked like a yacht so we switched on AIS to find out it was Drumbeat - the funny thing was that exactly a year ago to the day we were in St Lucia moored in Marigot Bay with Drumbeat - 142 foot long, beautiful yacht.
We took our dingy to see the Glass Window - this in the narrowest part of the island - now there is a man-made bridge but originally there was a natural rock arch before it was destroyed by a hurricane. It's a fantastic spot to take in the contrast between the ocean side and the calm exuma sound side. I found it quite freaky as we watched the Atlantic ocean pound the Eastern side.
Yes glad we were on the exuma sound side today.
The next morning we had a wonderful sail down the island - the water here is a little deeper than the Abacos so more relaxing to sail. We dropped the anchor at Alabaster Bay all alone for another peaceful night and a lovely long paddle board the next morning along the beautiful beach.
Fresh food was necessary the following day so we headed to Governors Harbour in the centre of the island. We also wanted to check out good places to hide from strong winds that were forecast and this looked like a good spot. We were really surprised to find the bay empty on our arrival although the pilot guide doesn't give it a great write up we found good holding, protection from everything except west winds and a lovely friendly town.
Governors harbour is the oldest settlement in the Bahamas - Cupid's Cay is where english pilgrims landed in 1648 having set sail from Bermuda, they were shipwrecked but finally made there way to Eluthera - they were known as the Elutheran Adventurers...... The town has lovely heritage buildings that are up to 150 years old.
Any town with a lime green police station get's my vote!
We went for a hike over the island and at sunset walked on the beautiful french leave beach - pink sand and not a person in sight - wow.
It's not just my hat that's pink - pink sand wow!
Ancho Margarita - just yum!
We met the local policeman - how handsome is he!
The next day the wind had eased a bit so we hiked to the Leon Levy Naive Plant Preserve - it was a long walk but we needed the exercise - we hitch hiked back though which is how many people get around on Eleuthera as there's no public transport.
Leon Levy was a wall street hedge fund guy who had a home on Eleuthera and loved the natural environment here. After his death his wife established a foundation which funds the preserve which is operated by the National Trust of the Bahamas. It is just beautifully set up and a real pleasure to walk around the different areas - that include medicinal, edible and poisonous plants. Something else not to be missed here!
After the preserve we wandered down to Tippy's for a fabulous lunch on the beach with the most amazing view - we had such a lovely day, but the fun didn't stop there.... We got back to Askari and moved her to the south end of the bay for a change in wind direction, then noticed a football match was on. This was the Bahamas so of course it included food, live music, drums and dancing - the commentary was in Creole but soon after we arrived he occasionally gave a brief update in English - we felt pretty special. The pitch was pretty rough so the guys didn't tackle quite as often but it was still a good game, even when a hen and her chicks walked across the pitch.
The next morning we did a quick grocery run and then set sail south again.
Thank you Governor's Harbour for a great time, fabulous memories and for keeping us safe while the wind was blowing so strong - we had reports of over 40 knots at either ends of the island for the three days but we only saw 30.
We ended up spending 18nights in the Marina at Treasure Cay – oh my gosh there was just no let up in the cold and windy weather for more than a day at a time. With our 2.2m draft we could only get in and out of the entrance channel at high tide so we were effectively trapped, the good thing was they had a monthly rate that was about the same cost as for 5 days so it wasn’t costing a fortune and there is a really nice community. We met some great people there but this really wasn’t what we came to the Bahamas for.
Our recently repaired alternator had failed again so we took the opportunity to get a new one shipped in – Mastervolt USA were great and sent us a replacement unit free of charge the same day – getting it cleared through customs in Nassau and then sent to the Abaco’s was a different matter. Miss Marshall from UPS is now on our speed dial but eventually got it to us two weeks later…..
We hired bikes for a day, they turned out to be the worst bikes in the world but they only cost $7 and we managed to cover the 30 km round trip to the blue hole. It was a totally circular sinkhole, buried deep in the forest. Apparently its 70metres deep and has three layers – fresh clear water on the top, a layer of old decomposing leaves, then deep dark salt water beneath. It was really cool as we had the place to ourselves and the swimming was great.
Our good friends on Hugo had sailed out to the Bahamas from Florida for New Year and a wedding, a real treat was getting to spend their last night with them before they went back to their new land lives in Nashville. Russ’s mum Jen is 83 and was visiting from Australia – she sailed with them, a real life super gran.
Packing the lovely White family off to the airport - miss you guys!
We hired a car and drove the full length of Great Abaco island over a few days. Going to Little Harbour for lunch at Pete’s pub and a hike out to the lighthouse was a great day. We had a big food shopping day in Marsh Harbour in the torrential rain, where we ran into the crews of Venture Lady and Country Dancer hiding out in a bar. We drove to the north end and found ummmm like nothing, oh except a huge new port that the Chinese and Bahamian Government have invested $39m to build but apparently the depth is only 6ft- hmmmm?!
Then on our last day of exploring we went looking for rare Abaco parrots – it was only when we got to the National Park we discovered that it was 4wd only so we went for a hike and only managed to find a few blue feathers, but we did find some really pretty Atala butterflies – apparently they were nearly extinct but are now common again following changes to harvesting of it’s host plant. Lunch at Nancy’s a lovely local restaurant in Sandy Point made the day – we could see the Disney island off in the distance and heard stories from the locals who used to work there, interesting that the chairs in the restaurant had mickey mouse on them!
Abaco Parrot feather - the closest we got!
Fried chicken at Nancy's - food of gods!
We finally collected the alternator from Marsh Harbour airport on the 18th, our third attempt. Andrew fitted in that afternoon and a weather window opened up for us to leave the marina the next day for more real adventure.