April 2021

 

This year has seen us traveling up & down the island of Eleuthera several times & enjoying every minute of it!  We had decided to start heading towards the Abacos to stage our crossing back to the US.  As usual, the weather Gods were not cooperative so we resorted to Plan B.  But I’m getting ahead of the story.

 

While in Hatchet Bay we always try to walk to the ocean side and this trip was no exception. 

If you look at the sign it shows not only the direction to various spots on island but the shape of Eleuthera too.  The darker blue being the ocean side & the lighter the banks side that we travel.  To reach the ocean side from the anchorage you cross the Queens Highway and follow the road past the BEC (Bahamas Electric) generator facility (all electric is provided by diesel) and the BATELCO (Bahamas Telephone Co.) tower. We spotted these guys at the generator site.

                                    Not sure how long this one has been around.

         To me the ocean is always beautiful and makes a sound I never tire of.

We left Hatchet Bay on the 5^th of the month headed towards Gregory Town.  It is a pretty little harbor but the holding is awful so we dropped the hook at Annie’s Bight just around the corner so to speak.  We always like Gregory Town. The local grocery is called 7-11 and is very well stocked.  We always stop and talk with Pete.  He’s an aging surfer dude who came to Surfers Beach in the 70’s to surf, fell in love with a local girl. They
have been married for 30+ years and have a great family.  Peter has a little shop with a bit of everything and sells seafood too.  There was also a man selling conch salad near the school so of course we had to try it & it was wonderful.  There was so much that neither of us could finish it but the nice thing is that if you drain it well – it makes a fantastic conch omelet!

We were sitting in the cockpit contemplating a dinghy ride in the late afternoon when we spotted a father & 2 boys about 10 & 12 yrs in a small boat nearby.  Both boys had on goggles & were looking underwater for something from the boat.  They did not look comfortable at all.  We called them over and offered our ‘looky down bucket’. 

It’s a 5-gallon bucket that the bottom has been cut out & replaced with glass epoxied in.  We use it to check the set of the anchor and to look for conch & such.  Needless to say, they were thrilled.  We told them we were going for a dinghy ride & just to leave it on deck if they finished before we returned.

                                                 Looks like a pig snout huh?

We made a trip to Hill Top Farm.  We saw their brochure which touted fresh produce, eggs, (chicken, duck, turkey) fresh meats and a petting farm too.  When we arrived, there was no produce but fresh chicken eggs were available.  The folks were very nice and suggested that we could call ahead & they would let us know what they had.

Our next stop was just south of Mutton Fish point.

There are two rocks called the Bull & Cow near the Glass Window bridge.  Not sure which one this is……

I know I’ve written about the Glass Window Bridge before but here are a few new pictures.  You can see the old bridge verses the new but it is still a one lane affair.

                                Now here is something you do not see every day. 

                                          Someone did not have a good day.

We went through Current Cut and made a left to drop anchor off of Current Island.  We went for an explore in the dink and found the ‘Small Boat Harbor’ shown on our chart. 

                                                      TURTLES!!

                                 Trying to film one and another swam right by!

From there it was on to Meeks Patch with intentions on going into Spanish Wells for stone crab.  One of the big attractions in the Exumas is “Pig Beach”.  Not to be outdone, some enterprising locals have started their own tourist attraction near Meeks Patch.  The tour boats come from as far away as Nassau!  For others who arrive by private boat you can go pet & feed the pigs for a mere $10.00.

It seems I recall that a ring around the moon is supposed to indicate snow, but what does a ring around the sun mean?

There was weather coming and the northern migration of boats had started so there were no moorings to be had.  We went to Royal Island with every intention of heading north to the Abacos.  We talked about it and decided that we really were not ready to head back yet so back through Current Cut to Hatchet Bay we went!  As usual, our plans are etched in sand at low tide!     

The last time we hauled the boat we had it soda blasted to the barrier coat, new barrier coat & new bottom paint applied.  The paint was not a good choice.  This is after trying to clean using snorkel & fins.

                     We will call Brown Tip (local diver) when we reach Marsh Harbour.

We have decided to take the paint back to the barrier coat, add a few more layers of that and different bottom paint.  Not sure what yet but it will NOT be HydroCoat!

Hatchet Bay, Governors Harbour, all the way back to Rock Sound.  Sound familiar?  Since these places have already been discussed this month, I’ll just leave a few photos & videos.

Eventually we looked at the calendar and realized that we should think about heading back.  We left southern Eleuthera, Rock Sound and came back north after a couple of nice weeks there.  We were able to say goodbye to our dear friend Marionetta Hall, our favorite waitstaff, Sybil & Chevelle of Wild Orchid and Marquetta, Bernique & Colleen of Frigates and our new friend & veggie man Daniel Nixon.

We did decide that we would stop in Alabaster Bay and make another trip to The Deck.  The weather did not cooperate on the Wednesday & the web said closed Thursday but in true Bahamian fashion he was open!  I’ve always liked the bar with its inlaid recipes.  Mark (the owner) told us that he plans to redo it with all the boat cards he has received over the years.  I hope he can salvage some of the recipes.  I’ve actually made a few and they are really good.

 

Of course, we had the Mahi sandwich (again) and as usual it was fantastic.

Rob is getting pretty good at this selfie thing! 

                Once again, we opted for Mark’s famous Rum Punch for dessert!

The last day of the month finds us underway to Spanish Wells if we can.  If the winds cooperate, we’ll anchor off Russell Island and take the dink into town.  Stone crab, groceries & diesel are on the to do list for tomorrow.

Till next time!