Marianna heads out Egg Island Cut for the Abacos
We’ve returned to the northern Bahamas – the Abacos – the islands we cruised 2 years ago on our first winter aboard. After spending more than a week in Eleuthera (a large out island west of the Exumas and south of the Abacos), we moved north across the Northeast Providence Channel and into the Little Harbor Channel, near the southwestern tip of Great Abaco. We are now on a mooring in Hopetown and hope to spend the rest of the month in the Abacos.
Gregorytown is home to a Pineapple Festival.
Eleuthera
We arrived in Rock Sound, Eleuthera just ahead of a more significant cold front passage. The sound offers the most protection from the northwest for many miles around, so were joined by several other boats seeking the protection it offered from the storm. The winds didn’t pipe up for another day and a half, but the wind direction was going to slowly clock around from the east to south to west to northwest, making us a little concerned about how our anchor would hold with that much shifting. So, we were up several times during the night the storm moved through, our anchor drag alarm alerting us each time the wind shifted to a new quadrant. We held fine and were ready to move across the sound to explore the Rock Sound settlement the next day (along with everyone else, of course).
We arrived in Rock Sound, Eleuthera just ahead of a more significant cold front passage. The sound offers the most protection from the northwest for many miles around, so were joined by several other boats seeking the protection it offered from the storm. The winds didn’t pipe up for another day and a half, but the wind direction was going to slowly clock around from the east to south to west to northwest, making us a little concerned about how our anchor would hold with that much shifting. So, we were up several times during the night the storm moved through, our anchor drag alarm alerting us each time the wind shifted to a new quadrant. We held fine and were ready to move across the sound to explore the Rock Sound settlement the next day (along with everyone else, of course).
Unlike much of the Bahamas, Eleuthera has a history of success in agriculture, providing most of the fresh fruits and vegetables to the rest of the islands. It is best known for its pineapples, although we never managed to find one, despite our best efforts. After spending our first day doing chores (groceries, internet), we spent the next day in a rental car to see more of this 110 mile island. We were able to make it up to see the Glass Window, a dramatic break in the island where the ocean finally chipped away a small rock bridge in its efforts to reach the shallow banks on the western side of the island. We got as far as The Current, a small village that sits on the one significant navigation hazard in Eleuthera – Current Cut. It is short, but tricky to enter and the current can run as much as 5 knots under certain conditions. A few days later, we would visit it by boat.
Pat had some friends on the island who lived just north of Governor’s Harbor. After a quick visit with them by car, Pat and Fred had them join them for a day sail back up to the cove off their house (Balara Bay, just north of Governor’s Harbor). We anchored off their dock and shared cocktails with them on Marianna after the sail. The next morning, we pulled anchor and headed for Current Cut, arriving near high water, but with cloudy skies. There would be no reading the shallow water on the entrance. We were very much dependent on our chartplotter to guide us through. It was unnerving to thread the narrow entrance channel, getting within 150 yards of a rocky shore before making a hard turn to port around the entrance rocks into a 3 knot current. But we crossed it without incident and anchored soon after just north of the cut on the western side.
Spanish Wells fishing fleet
Spanish Wells
Our final stop in the Eleuthera island chain was at Spanish Wells on St. George’s Cay. It is a tiny commercial fishing village on an island just north of the main island of Eleuthera and south of the deep water Northeast Providence Channel. We pulled into a marina here for the first time in 6 weeks and spent time doing the things you can only do when plugged in and and with ready fresh water. The batteries enjoyed being fully charged for the first time since Nassau, and we managed to get the salt encrusted on the surface of just about everything washed off with fresh water from the dock. We topped off the water tanks, did laundry and, of course took real showers. Aaaah. We had a good enough internet connection to try Skype and caught up with the kids and our parents.
Our final stop in the Eleuthera island chain was at Spanish Wells on St. George’s Cay. It is a tiny commercial fishing village on an island just north of the main island of Eleuthera and south of the deep water Northeast Providence Channel. We pulled into a marina here for the first time in 6 weeks and spent time doing the things you can only do when plugged in and and with ready fresh water. The batteries enjoyed being fully charged for the first time since Nassau, and we managed to get the salt encrusted on the surface of just about everything washed off with fresh water from the dock. We topped off the water tanks, did laundry and, of course took real showers. Aaaah. We had a good enough internet connection to try Skype and caught up with the kids and our parents.
Pat pulled out her sewing machine and did some repairs to Marianna’s sails and our enclosure. She even helped us repair the fabric in our anchor bag, after Cathy pinned together the replacement material. We did manage to find some time to walk through this quaint, immaculate little village. The houses and lawns are all amazingly well kept, a habit that carried over to the commercial fishing boats, which looked the best of any fleet we’ve seen.
Settlement Harbor, Great Guana Cay
On to the Abacos
With the first long stretch of mild weather we had had in a long time, we could chose one of several days to cross from Eleuthera to the Abacos. After 2 nights in the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven, we pulled out to head to Egg Island. We would anchor just off the cut to the Northeast Providence Channel and head out at first light the next morning. (First light was now one hour later, since the time change over the weekend.) It was a 50 mile run and we wanted to be in well before dark. We lead almost a dozen other boats on the trip north, most of which had anchored at Royal Island for the night. It was an easy trip with easterly swells that were fairly mild. But the wind was too light for us to sail. So, we settled for motorsailing as much as we could. We arrived at Lynyard Cay and joined the others there for another calm night at anchor. Now that we were in the Abacos, almost any destination in this area was just a day’s sail away
Great Guana Cay
After briefly considering a snorkeling stop off Sandy Cay, a few miles north of Lynyard Cay, we were quickly persuaded to change destinations by the large (up to 9 feet) swells coming in from the ocean through the cut opposite the island. So, we quickly changed our destination to Great Guana Cay. Pat and Fred had never visited it before and we looked forward to seeing it again. We sailed all the way there, and then dropped anchor in Fisher’s Bay, which seemed fuller than we remembered, with 21 other boats. There was still plenty of room, though.
With the first long stretch of mild weather we had had in a long time, we could chose one of several days to cross from Eleuthera to the Abacos. After 2 nights in the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven, we pulled out to head to Egg Island. We would anchor just off the cut to the Northeast Providence Channel and head out at first light the next morning. (First light was now one hour later, since the time change over the weekend.) It was a 50 mile run and we wanted to be in well before dark. We lead almost a dozen other boats on the trip north, most of which had anchored at Royal Island for the night. It was an easy trip with easterly swells that were fairly mild. But the wind was too light for us to sail. So, we settled for motorsailing as much as we could. We arrived at Lynyard Cay and joined the others there for another calm night at anchor. Now that we were in the Abacos, almost any destination in this area was just a day’s sail away
Great Guana Cay
After briefly considering a snorkeling stop off Sandy Cay, a few miles north of Lynyard Cay, we were quickly persuaded to change destinations by the large (up to 9 feet) swells coming in from the ocean through the cut opposite the island. So, we quickly changed our destination to Great Guana Cay. Pat and Fred had never visited it before and we looked forward to seeing it again. We sailed all the way there, and then dropped anchor in Fisher’s Bay, which seemed fuller than we remembered, with 21 other boats. There was still plenty of room, though.
On Friday, we headed into town to explore the island. We had not gone far when we came across Pat and Fred’s friends, Ned and Terry MacIntosh, who lived in a small cottage on the harbor. They affectionately call it “Termite Terrace”. Ned is in his 90’s and is known for the Merry-Mac wooden boats he built for years. Terry and he spend their winters on Great Guana Cay. From there we visited the rest of the settlement and ended up at the famous Nippers bar on the top of the ridge overlooking the ocean. It was a little more subdued than its famous reputation led them to expect, so Pat and Fred asked about the pig roast. We decided to return on Sunday, when we assured them it would be a very different experience – which it was. Spring Break was in full force, so there was lots of people-watching to add to the view when we returned. That was more what they had expected.
After enjoying 3 days on Guana, we planned to move on to Hopetown on Monday. So, we gathered on Marianna to enjoy the last of Sunday’s pleasant weather, when we remembered that the shuttle launch would take place around sunset. We managed to get a scratchy Florida radio station that was broadcasting the lift-off live. Unfortunately, there was a large band of clouds on the northwestern horizon where Discovery would be taking off. We heard the lift-off announcement and then waited. And waited. And waited. Then, THERE it was. You could hear the cheers on neighboring boats. A streak of light across the sky, another burst and then a smaller light moved on. The light of the setting sun lit the con trail a bright gold for a long time, but more interesting than that was the glowing cloud from the rocket firing. For at least a half hour, it was lit up like the moon, a bright glowing white. It was an incredible show. And a perfect end to the day.
