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Passing Thru Eleuthera

We headed up the Exumas from George Town about 50 miles to Staniel Cay. While we usually spend a few days in Staniel Cay, our next stop was the island of Eleuthera, so we either had to leave in the AM with 15 knots of SW wind on our stern (good), or days of 15 knots of NE wind on the nose (bad). Since we were leaving in the AM, we made-up a “unique” anchorage near Staniel Cay in only 4′ of water between some rocks for wave protection. Since we made-up the anchorage, we made-up a name for it as well: Sandy Sisters. This is next to Sandy Cay which has a beautiful beach the mega yachts take over daily to set-up for their owners & guests – the crews spend several hours bringing & setting up cabanas, tents, chairs, coolers, etc., then just before sunset, several hours hauling all back to their yachts.

The next AM began with a gentle 3′ swell on our stern, which built to 5′ as we got closer to Rock Sound, Eleuthera.  As the water depth quickly decreased from 1000’+ to only 20′ the swell built to steep waves of 6′! Sorry, no photos as I was busy steering (attempting to keep the waves directly behind us as not to broach) & I think Lori was just holding on! Fortunately, it only lasted about 10 minutes until we were completely into the shallow waters. As we say aboard Twin Sisters “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”!

Bahamian islands mostly run on diesel generators for power. Getting the fuel to the islands is a feat in itself. Except for the major islands (mostly New Providence/Nassau & Freeport), there are no docks suitable for these fuel ships so they simply anchor in close to the storage tanks, then pull very long hoses from the ship to hook up to the tanks. In this case, the ship (which draws 8′ loaded) plowed thru the 7′ – 8′ deep harbor until grounded – then waited 2 hours for higher tide to allow pushing the rest of the way to the far shore near the tanks.

A few years ago, Rock Sound Harbor seemed to be on an upturn, but alas, the planned improvements, a waterside park, etc. appear to be stalled. One bright light had been tourist excursions several days/week from the Princess Cruise Lines ships which have a private beach “resort” further south on the island – until the bus driver crashed the bus injuring some cruise ship passengers – so no more tourist bus. Such as it is in the Bahamas. While the government did build a nice dinghy dock on the other end of the harbor, this restaurant dock is a closer walk to the grocery store.

Our friends Chris & Erin on m/v Barefeet anchored nearby told us of squids attacking their boat at night, showing this photo as proof. Seemed pretty odd in this little harbor, but the next day noticed we had also been attacked in 3 different spots ourselves with squid ink! So their tall tale was real & it was great catching up with them over sundowners.

We had hoped not to fuel-up in the Bahamas as their diesel is refined to lesser standards than the U.S., has a higher chance of contamination (many corroded underground tanks) & higher cost as further insult. While we had enough fuel for the engines, using about a gallon/day of diesel for our generator added up, so we needed to take on some diesel. Spanish Wells, Eleuthera has several options, but I learned of the “Power Plant Dock” which is where the fuel comes in weekly to supply the island’s power plant. They allow cruisers to fuel up, although their fuel hose was about 5″ in diameter! So very fresh fuel & even less cost.

Spanish Wells is a working harbor. When the supply ship comes in, it blocks off the entire channel for a few hours.

The marina in Spanish Wells had no room for us, but Chris & Erin told us of this private dock they had just left – very nice & 1/2 the cost of the fancy marina which didn’t have room for us anyway.

In our walks around Spanish Wells, we came across a yard with some banana trees – pretty weird looking!

As soon as we see a good weather window, we’ll be heading north 56 miles to Abaco, Bahamas where we will visit our favorite spots & attempt to extend our immigration visas for an additional 15 days (we hope!).

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Visitors & Good Times in George Town

It’s been a fun & busy 6 weeks here in George Town, Exuma, but we’re getting ready to depart with the next good weather window.

A visitor! Our nephew Matt was able to join us for almost a week, escaping the cold in Connecticut. While the weather included some rain & wind, he still got in lots of paddleboarding, kayaking, walking the beach, swimming, great conversation & lots of good food & drink!

The above YouTube video is courtesy of s/v Harvest Moon. The audio isn’t great (due to the wind & the limited recording equipment), but the drone footage is fantastic of the harbour area. A surprise guest was longtime seasonal resident from nearby Elizabeth Island, Hugh Taylor (yes, James Taylor’s brother).
Turtles are fairly solitary so getting 3 in one shot is nice!
Sharks circling our boat! No … just some friendly dolphins coming to check us out.
It is said cruising is mostly performing repairs in exotic places, but these were pretty minor. Beginning the upgrading of our cabin lights to LEDs & wondering why our fuel transfer pump didn’t work – it’s impeller was in pieces (fortunately I had brought a spare).
If you look closely, the end of the rainbow is burning the trees onshore – only kidding!
Some great sunset skies.
Lunch with our friends Cort & Max. They are sometimes able to borrow a junker car from a local they know (no shocks, lots of strange noises, borderline brakes & the headliner falling down), but it gets us the 10 miles to the north end of the island where there are 2 fancy resorts with great restaurants.
We’re looking for guidance on a good weather window to beginning heading north, so we consulted the adjacent Sandals Resort Weather Station.

While it was another good stay in George Town, times are a changin’…

Our various hidey-hole anchoring areas are now off-limits as part of a newly designated national park. While 370 boats (currently) are here & needing protection from the winds, some are stuck simply anchoring in the middle of the large 1 x 8 mile open harbor bucking up & down in 2′ – 3′ waves (when cold fronts come thru). The park has installed some moorings, but not in areas we want to be in & one has already broken free…
The U.S. current “border crisis” has adversely affected the Bahamas with twice the usual number of Cubans, Haitians & others flocking to the U.S, with some making it only as far as the Bahamas. While nothing to do with cruisers, the Bahamian Customs & Immigration has never before cracked down on cruisers as they have this year, including such things as going boat-to-boat checking paperwork. One cruiser here was held & deported without even being able to take his boat.

Since we zoomed directly down to George Town in January, we’ll take our time heading north thru the Exumas & the rest of the Bahamas.  One major issue for us is extending our visas, just before the 90 days we were given. While I can often plead my way into obtaining 120-day visas (so we don’t need extensions) – not this time.  To complicate things, there are limited immigration offices along our route & you can only appear up-to 4-days before expiration & never after (especially now). The precise timing, along with weather concerns, will require some careful planning on our part.