Rock Sound, Eleuthera

We left Cat Island for Little San Salvador, a private Island owned by the Holland America cruise line. It is a cruise ship stop for most of the winter when the large cruise ships of up to 2,500 passengers arrive daily. Quite the spectacle as they ferry passengers ashore for hours of fun. We only stayed for an overnight stop to break up our journey and did not ask permission to go ashore as it looks all too staged for our liking.

The following day we had a mostly down wind slow sail up the southern coast of Eleuthera then a brisk beam reach into Rock Sound. It is a large harbor with all round protection so we anchored on the south side the first night out of the waves. The next day we moved to the West side for the passage of a front. We heard a British accent on the VHF radio and hailed them to introduce ourselves. We met Andy and Barbara on s/v Ptarmigan. We had a lovely morning drinking tea and chatting about England and our respective trips so far. We met Laurie and Rob of s/v Moonshadow when we anchored again nearer to town and arranged to meet later. Rock Sound was readying themselves for “home coming” which is an annual event where past residents return to their home town and they have a big party. It was also Easter so that makes it a long weekend holiday for a really long celebration. They had the main street closed with a stage erected alongside many food stalls and a beach bar.

Home coming stage - local kids dance group

Home coming crowds - a BIG event here!

 

On Wednesday a call went out for a pot luck lunch at the Ocean Hole. This is a very large salt water hole that is inland and around 600 feet deep with fish in it. We swam in the water and enjoyed a lovely lunch and great company with about 20 cruisers of which 4 were kids.

Admiral's meeting at Ocean Hole

Captain's Meeting at Ocean Hole

The Island is very large so we decided to hire a car with Laurie & Rob to see the sights. Laurie arranged the hire with Coco’s restaurant and bar, it seems like you rent from a person rather than a business but it’s hard to tell. We had 24 hours so day 1 we went north and the first stop was Island Palm Farm for hot cross buns and some fresh produce. Then on to Leon Levi Preserve which is a Bahamas national trust garden and enjoyed the trails and the variety of plant life.

Palm Island farm

 

Leon Levy Preserve

Liz, Devin, Laurie & Rob

 

Next was a quick stop at Governors Harbour bakery then lunch at Pink Sands beach. The next stop was the glass window where the Atlantic ocean is only yards away from the Bahamas banks and the contrast in sea color is remarkable. We took a walk along the rocks and found a nice heritage site as well.

Glass Window

Water contrasts

 

Our next stop that day was Whale Point, the road was pretty rocky and in one place we had to turn around as it was completely washed away. We are slowly getting used to the road system and what we think is a road is being redefined. Our next stop was Hatchet Bay caves, not that we love caves but there are some awesome ones around the islands and these are among the best and free too. The added benefit was it was a one way transit through the cave with a ladder at both ends so we walked back over the top of them. The evening saw us back in Governors Harbour to scope it out and partake of few beers, however we didn’t want to wait for dinner so drove to Rock Sound and grabbed food at the festival. The next day we swapped the car for a “jeep” as the southern roads are much worse than those yeasterday.

Washed out road

Hatchet Bay caves

 

So we rose early at 6 am to continue the car ride south. Our first stop was the cruise ship village at Bannerman Town, unfortunately it was closed and again is privately owned by Princess cruise line. We stopped to talk with a local fisherman and his 2 sons who were just headed out for the day. Then on to Lighthouse point and had a great beach walk and stunning views of southern Eleuthera. After a frantic search for gas to refill the jeep, we eventually refilled managed to refill at a marina! On the way back from car rental we stopped at another set of caves in Rock Sound in search of bats, unfortunately they were out as we found it empty.

Lighthouse Point

We have had a wonderful week in Rock Sound, it was great to see so much of the island and also to see the home coming festival and experience some of the local culture. It was difficult at times as the Bahamians don’t seem to know what a schedule is but like the roads you get used to it after a while! It was great to see so many people out for most of the celebration and the music was great and really clear on our boat in the harbor right up to 2 am ;-)

We arrived yesterday in Governors Harbour and just before we entered the harbor we saw the AIS signal for a “Raft Antiki”, we had seen it in the harbour on our car trip, but never expected it to have AIS! Well it turns out there is much more to the story... so go here to read about it.

http://www.eleutheranews.com/local/2180.html.

Raft Antiki

We had a wonderful walk around town today and visited the Bakery for Biscuits, cinnamon roll and Chicken pattie (Scones, Chelsea buns and Curried pasties to us Brits). Then a long visit to the library, the second largest in the Bahamas, where we found the local ladies coffee morning. We had a wonderful few hours chatting with local ladies and hearing first hand about the Raft Antiki.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter whatever you did.

Devin & Liz.

Good Friends

Well we thought we were headed to Rum Cay but the weather dictated a little prudence and after 1.5 hours of fast beam reaching in 10 feet swells and 3-4 feet seas with 20 knots of wind from SE and gusts to over 25 knots we decided that the anchorage would be uncomfortable at best. The alternative of the marina on Rum Cay didn’t offer much of an option as the reef outside is a winding path and would be through breaking waves with the wind angle. So we decided to keep on north past the tip of Long Island and around to the lee of the wind at Hog Cay and near Joe’s Sound entrance. We had a very pleasant night there sheltered from the wind. The cell tower was close enough to get emails out telling folks of the change of plans and we arranged another visit with Bruce and Gina on s/v Dreamcatcher as they would be headed to Thompson Bay in a few days. We made hasty plans and shuffled our non-existent calendar.

So we were back in Thompson bay on Thursday march 14th. We put the hook down early morning as it was a short motor sail. Our surprise was hearing the George Town regatta ended with a cruise to Thompson Bay and 50 plus boats were due any minute. At least we had a good spot! It was also a lot of fun to meet some folks we had met at places down the Exuma Islands as we had a beach pot luck that night. We also met up with Bess and Billy on s/v Alibi II who were friends of friends, Jack & Anne from IP45 Pura Vida, who were introduced by emails. Bess and Billy were a great couple with lots of great stories and some fantastic cooking too!

Gina and Bruce came in the following day and crept up behind us whilst we were napping. We had drinks on Moosetracks and the following day we went for lunch at Sou’ Side and a good walk around the Thompson Bay area. The evening was appetizers on Dreamcatcher and Bruce surprised us with a fantastic pizza dip he made. We had such fun catching up and just chatting we decided to stay another day! We went for a lovely beach walk at Salt pond and back to the Long Island Breeze resort for a craft fare and libations. After a little helpful tow in getting back to their boat we chatted and said our goodbyes. It might be a while before we meet Gina and Bruce again so it was great to have the extra time with them. Dreamcatcher is off to the western Caribbean this summer and we head to the East coast USA.

Bruce & Gina - towing antics

Great friends

So we both left Thompson bay on Sunday in nice steady 10-12 knots SE winds and it was easy down wind sailing to Calabash Bay. We enjoyed the sights of the bay but decided to forego the resort and bar and relax the night on Moosetracks with a movie. The following day we were up early for the run to New Bight on Cat Island. The forecast was quite a bit off but for us it worked out great. We had 15-20 knots of wind and 4 feet swell with some 3 feet chop on the starboard beam and made 30nm in 4 hours, then turned into the bay for a close hauled run for 2 hours at over 6 knots. One of our best sailing days in the Bahamas.

When we arrived we met up with two boats we had met a few times in the past; Bob & Darnell IP485 of Grand Cru and Jeff & Donna of Whish. They hailed us as we settled in to join them on the beach for a walk. Well this spot is widely known for the Hermitage that was built by Father Jerome and sits on the highest hill in the Bahamas. We’ll for Liz and I that was a must, we love hill walking. This however is a bit small at 206 feet high! As we dinghied ashore we noticed IP40 Barefoot come in, friends Tom & Joyce from Florida who we had met while we were in Florida over the last few years, we said hello and let them settle in while we continued to the beach. Father Jerome built a replica miniature chapel / monastery at the top. The pictures hardly do it justice. The man certainly knew how to build and certainly was determined as he did it all on his own on such a steep rise. His reward was outstanding views all around Cat Island. This morning we did the whole walk again with Tom & Joyce, it was that good! We then walked into “town” for lunch and stopped at the little beach shacks and had a wonderful curried chicken lunch special.

Hermitage

Tallest hill in Bahamas - 206 feet!

Bob rings the arrival gong

Tom & Joyce with us for our second visit

Well there is a front coming tomorrow so we’ll get tucked in behind a spit to keep out of the north winds and after that we’ll start looking at Eleuthera.

Big Hugs to all our friends – Devin & Liz.

Clarence Town, Long Island

 

We arrived in Clarence Town a little by chance as we had not intended on coming so far south on the east side of Long Island. However as our friends were headed south and we were so close we thought we’d have a last get together before they sailed to the Caribbean. So it is we left Conception Island for Clarence Town. We had a motor sail the whole way in light winds. We tried fishing but in 40 miles we had zero bites, despite following a good weed line for a couple of miles too. The highlight was seeing a 244ft Mega Yacht “Kogo” which we since found was the #58th largest in the world and the #10 largest you can actually charter.

With Melinda & Harry

Liz, Dee & Melinda

 

The crews

 

Well we had an easy entrance to the harbor and anchored on the SE side. Luckily we just beat a large frontal system in and within 1.5 hours we had it hit with strengthening winds. It lasted all night and Wind Lass recorded 49 knot gusts which is very strong. All of us (Wind Lass, Sea Schell & Moosetracks) held our anchors very well. In the morning however we had some repairs as Wind Lass and Sea Schell had some lines wear through or close too which needed replacing. Having sorted that out though we all went ashore to the Flying Fish marina. What a lovely place, very welcoming to cruising boats in the harbor which is unusual. We did laundry and had lunch at the restaurant and used their wifi for email and downloads. We had a great walk around the harbor and went for a walk around town for grocery shopping and sight seeing the following days.

Clarence town

We had a fantastic surprise when we heard from DreamCatcher in Thompson bay and we were able to arrange to meet by car. Bruce and Gina shared a ride with Mark from IP40 Down Island and we all met at Rowdy Boys in Clarance town. We had been wanting to meet them again since spending so much time this summer with them, it's great to meet old friends again if only briefly.


Gina, Bruce, Liz & Devin

Mudslides- Gina's favorite

Well all too soon Wind Lass and Sea Schell were ready to go, Harry and Melinda had replaced their outboard which they were waiting on and it was a perfect weather window to head south. So it was on Thursday morning we walked the beach with them and then said our goodbyes. We moved Moosetracks to get more diesel fuel from the marina and re-anchored in the shelter of the NE of the harbor. As soon as we moved our new neighbors came over to invite us for drinks. We gladly accepted and dinghied over the same evening. We had a wonderful chat with Lawrence and Linda on m/v Far Reaches for great introductions to Clarence town from two very seasoned visitors. The following morning we hailed Sea Schell and Wind Lass as they headed south and on to new adventures.

Linda and Lawrence are almost locals here and were the perfect couple to show us the sites and introduce us to some locals as they are treated like family as they are visit so much. We first went for a car ride with them to both shop and discover some secluded beaches. We spent then morning looking for beach treasures on a remote Atlantic beach near Chimney rock, but unfortunately none of us found any spectacular artifacts. Then we had a picnic lunch at Turtle cove near Dean’s blue hole on a lovely beach under the shade of an old gazebo. The afternoon ride we went to the beautiful beach pool at Bonnycourt. We finished the day with appetizers on Moosetracks.

Chimney Rock Beach

Infinity pool

Bonnycourt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turtle Cove

 

On Sunday Lawrence and Linda invited us to join them with a few local families on a nearby Cay. It was great to chat with the local families and learn how to open coconuts and which ones to harvest. Liz also learned a little weaving. We helped them clean & clear some of the beach and burn some of the sand spurs down. They often use this beach and also spend Easter here each year camping with families so they take special pride in looking after it.

 

Dominoes

Devin & Lawrence, coconut lessons

Coconut testing

Liz & Linda

Liz weaving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday we all went in for a drive, first to pick up fresh vegetables, then on to visit some new friends of Far Reaches; Kevin and Audrey who are ex-Pat Brits. They moved recently to Long Island and bought a nice home to settle in. They have been here for many years however and for quite a while they ran private estates/islands for their owners. It was nice to exchange stories of how we all got here especially as we are ex-Pat Brits too. By the way you should see the lovely original condition Fiat 500 they have... of all places! We then went for our beach walk and picnic. This time we found hamburger beans and other sea beans, the beach looked a little too clean but we walk extra far to improve our chances. We visited other friends of Far Reaches; Ena’s shop in Clarence town, and bought some highly recommended Goat Chili Hot Pepper Sauce, and then returned to Far Reaches for drinks.

 

Roadside organic pigs

Kevin & Audrey's Fiat 500

Well it is with a heavy heart we say goodbye to Linda and Lawrence we have so enjoyed their company, we can just hope our paths cross again which is highly likely next year. So it is we are off to Rum Cay for a few days or at least that’s the plan.

Fair Winds

Devin & Liz

First Visitors

Well we left the Jumentos to return to George Town so that we could meet our friends Tug & Monique who were flying in to visit us. They have not been away from their 4 kids since starting a family over 10 years ago so it was always going to be very special for them. Our preparations started early, first a run for laundry and some provisions which took most of the day. Then a day spent baking and doing food prep which Liz wanted to do before they got here to maximize time with them.

On their arrival the winds were up a little and Devin took the dinghy into town to get them and their luggage. Well the ride back was a little too wet, we packed their luggage in plastic bags to keep it dry. However Tug and Monique got a good soaking but being sailors on vacation all I heard was laughter and cries of joy! Sometimes you forget the exciting parts of our lifestyle?

The next day we enjoyed a beach walk around Stocking Island and Tug and Monique took hundreds of photos, again so much was new for them and they wanted lasting memories. In the evening we went to a beach pot luck arranged for guests on Borrowed Horse, it was a great get together and fantastic food, we’ll not forget the chocolate cakes for sure! Tug and Monique met a few of our friends and enjoyed talking with Hayden and Raydeen on Island Spirit IP35 from the area near where Tug used to live and sail. After the pot luck a fire was lit to keep the beach flies down and a beautiful evening ended with fireside chats then a dinghy ride to Moosetracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The days were filled with beach and island walks and we made sure to see as much of George town and the islands as we could in 5 days. They big surprise for us was how much Monique enjoyed snorkeling, a veritable fish in the water Monique would spend hours looking at the reefs and all the life on them. Thankfully they had brought two cameras of which one was an underwater camera and they were able to get lots of great photo’s of the reef life.

We spent a few afternoons on Volley ball beach visiting other cruisers and having conch salad. It was a special side show from the boy’s at the conch shack to feed the sting rays. They let us all have pieces of the conch entrails to feed the rays, and pet them as well. It was great fun to have such a close encounter with them and lots laughs and photos were had.

Volley Ball Beach

 

We finished most days with dinner aboard and it was so nice to have company and just chat over dinner and sunsets. We enjoyed a game of Mexican train with them one evening to give them the flavor of how we spend our evenings with guests. It was a lively game but for once Devin managed to beat the ever challenging Liz.

Well time goes bye so fast when your having fun and so it was for Tug and Monique. On her last day Monique wanted to snorkel and Tug wanted to see more of Moosetracks systems. Tug wanted to know more about the charging systems and refrigeration and had the lazaret locker open to see it and was surprised by how much we carry in there. Monique took a short dinghy ride with Devin to see the nearby reef one last time and take some more photos. After lunch we rode the dinghy back to town to do last minute gift shopping and get the taxi share over to the airport.

Certainly looking at all the smiling faces in the photos we are sure they had a great time. They were fantastic guests as they own their own boat and knew they had to preserve electric and water as we have to make it all. They also were very easy on the chef and extremely good at drying dishes – thanks for that!

So we have had our first guest and it was so great we look forward to more.

Devin & Liz