Dream Catcher: Eleuthera Delights

Late Friday afternoon, April 10, we pulled over to the fuel dock at Palm Cay Marina, filled the tanks and tied up, staging to leave early in the morning. It was a rolly night, right near the entrance to the marina with easterly winds and waves. In the morning, we did a quick email check using their WiFi and headed out. The moderate to heavy chop convinced us to raise only the genoa so that Greg didn't have to go forward to raise the main. Heading slightly northeast to Eleuthera, the wind out of the east/southeast was strong enough to push us at about 6 knots. When it dropped to less than 12 knots, and the waves subsided a bit, we decided to raise the main to gather some speed. It was a great point of sail and we paced along at 7+ knots for a couple of hours. We headed through Fleeming Channel, a few miles northeast of Rose Island, which is northeast of Nassau Harbor, and continued east toward the town of Spanish Wells over 40 miles away. It was a great sail. We passed a commercial fishing boat towing his minions - small outboard motorboats with biminis pulled by the mother ship until needed. Apparently, they go after lobster. We saw this when we crossed the bank some weeks ago. They circle the lobster habitat, drop a swimmer in the water and somehow, gather the lobster and toss them on board (we are told they do not use a net). These warm water lobsters do not have large claws like our favorite Maine lobster, so maybe they are easier to capture. Eleuthera is said to supply more than half the lobster in the Bahamas, much of it from Spanish Wells fishermen.

By late afternoon and what turned out to be over fifty miles of sailing we navigated our way into Spanish Wells' harbor area, skirting the shallows and then through a narrow channel and picked up a mooring ball, right next to our friends Roger and Chrisy on "Sanderling". It was such a treat to see them since our last meeting in December when they passed through Vero Beach. They have been all over the Exumas for the past three months and were headed north to the Abacos. They hosted cocktails on board "Sanderling" for us and another couple. Jim and Cynthia on "Neverland," were moored behind them, a boat we have often seen in waters around Annapolis. Jim is from Delaware, so we swapped a few stories and compared notes and generally enjoyed the evening with all four folks.

The next morning, we took a walk down the main street of Spanish Wells - a small island and fishing village, just off the northwest tip of Eleuthera. Then, we called "Bandit," to pilot us around the northern tip of Eleuthera through a heavily coral reefed area called the "Devil's Backbone." He picked us up at the mooring around 11:45, hopped on our boat, tied his boat to ours and let it float behind and off we went. This guy is pushing 70, loves his Spanish Wells home, has been a boat captain all his life and spent time all over the states. His wife Carolyn baked a loaf of bread for us and he had his sandwich along for the ride. It was strange to have someone else drive "Dream Catcher," but when we got into the thick of the coral reefs we were happy to have handed over the wheel.

It is tough to see from these photos, but there was a lot of coral and not a lot of water. It was a great experience having him on board. We had a couple hours to quiz and get to know a local a bit. He took us all the way to a Harbour Island anchorage, just off Valentine's Marina and helped us anchor. Then, he got back on his boat, gathered up his 200 feet or so of line, and headed back home. We called him again this morning to schedule a ride back on Thursday.

Harbour Island is a delightful spot. A small island off the east side of north Eleuthera, it is home and a second home to several wealthy folks from around the world. It is noted to have been a haven for Loyalists, back in the 1700's and so there is a healthy mix of white and black Bahamians. There are several very nice resorts and restaurants, as well as local souvenir shops and tiki bars. The harbor is a mass of bright blue water and there is only small boat traffic, keeping the roll quite manageable. The beaches on the ocean are known for their pink sand which is a result of finely broken coral mixing with the sand. You can see the reefs just off the breakers only fifty yeards from the beach. And, as is true in most of the tropics, we keep running into the natural giants of what we call houseplants at home. The spider plant below had to be 20 feet high with smaller houseplant size shoots on the trunks!

Spider Plant

It has been a great spot to spend a few days, with good phone and internet connections, ease of obtaining email, and making work calls. We will head back across Devil's Backbone tomorrow and hang around the western side of Eleuthera for a few days.