Northern Eleuthera, Bahamas

On January 14th, we sailed almost due East on a Northerly wind and a Southerly current to the cut between Egg Cay and Little Egg Cay and onto the banks at the northern end of Eleuthera.  With Barb at the helm we sailed brilliantly and took a mooring at Spanish Wells.  

Spanish Wells' 8 moorings.  Call "Bandit" on VHF16

The cost of the moorings has increased from $15 to $20 a night and we stayed three nights.  We walked around the charming settlement enjoying the opportunity to get propane, diesel fuel, lunch at Norma’s Takeout and groceries at the Food Fair.  This is an old, established settlement with a long tradition of fishing and the look of the place reminded us of New England. 

Quiet on the waterfront Sunday morning

I love the sight of the blue sea.  Parliament is elected every 5 years and people decorate their cars with their party's flags.

They decorate the graves of past (passed) voters all year round.

 Having spent our mooring budget, we moved off the mooring in the East wind to anchor behind Meeks Patch on the banks West of Spanish Wells and spent a quiet night alone at this anchorage.

On January 18th, we traveled about 15 miles East and South, through the reef, outside and around the Devil’s Backbone and back through the cut into Harbor Island anchoring just off Valentine’s Marina and Resort.

From the stern - S/C Gone With the Wind in view

Off the starboard quarter

Valentine's landside

Valentine's waterside with our dinghy and Barb on the dock

Harbor Island is probably the ritziest place in the Bahamas after New Providence Island where Nassau is located.  But it is ritzy in a low-key, get-away-from-it-all kind of way.  The Duke of Windsor had a “home” here as well as other famous folk and there are some very nice boutique hotels along the beach. 

White Lodge's land granted in 1791 by King George lll to a loyalist subject, John Teddor

White Lodge

I was impressed by the banyan tree

Lush landscaping

Narrow street carved through the limestone

The Government dock with the fast ferry, Bo Hingy ll in port

Golf carts are the preferred form of transportation

Two of the many "Straw Market" stands

A tasteful jewelry store

Another neat avenue

This is an old Loyalist Cottage, 1797 with a contemporary guest

 We spent two days walking around the settlement and the “pink sand” beach, enjoying lunches out and grocery shopping and doing laundry.  Many visitors come for the day, but that is not enough time to do the island justice.  We did that in 2007, so we knew better this time and enjoyed ourselves.  At one of the "take aways" we encountered a couple from the Australian sailing catamaran Gone With the Wind.  We came to find out that they bought their boat new in 2004, just as we did, but since that time they have sailed from Sydney westward, into the Mediterranean Sea, across the Atlantic, up and down our East Coast and now we meet here in Eleuthera.

Leaving Harbor Island, we were able to sail back the way we came, passing Spanish Wells and sailing to Royal Island Harbor where we stayed two nights.  Royal Island Harbor has good protection from all directions.  It is a private island, but the development’s progress has been stopped so we were able to roam at will, with no one to ask for permission to do so.

On January 23 we sailed to Current Cut and went through on an almost high tide, which caused us to be flushed through at nine knots, but into the wind, so there was quite a bit of choppy, shallow water to navigate.  We got through safely, going straight ahead through the “alternate route” instead of the route that we had used before that turns just past Current Island.  Once safely through we motored into the wind toward the “Glass Window”, a space cut by the sea that would effectively cut Eleuthera into two parts if it were not for a bridge.  We anchored nearby and dinghyed ashore for photos. 

View from the bridge - Jupiter's Smile at anchor in the distance.  Click on photo to enlarge.

 In 1997, the bridge was battered by a rogue wave and knocked seven feet to the West.  The government built a second support beneath the bridge and just repaved the road in its new position.

The Glass Window

The next day, we sailed to Hatchet Bay and entered the cut to look around at the moorings, but since it was early, we decided not to stay there and sailed on to Alabaster Bay.