CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (57).

CODA : Onward to the Abacos, Bahamas.

8 March 2025 

Sand Cay,  Abacos, Bahamas  

We made it across the ocean passage to the Abacos today.

Marc- It was a long days travel on the sea.  Conditions were good:  southwest wind 10-12 knots and only 3 foot swells.  It was still a day of noisy motor sailing.  There were a dozen small  boat encounters today and 5 commercial ships at a great distance.  There were no issues at the two cuts we crossed.  The Little Harbor Cut did have a significant ocean swell that formed a wave that broke on the reefs to either side of the cut.  The outside anchorage for Little Harbor had a surge caused by the ocean swell coming in through the Cut.  There were there sailboats anchored in the small space when we came through.  We kept going until we found a nice quiet spot.  The marine guidebooks for this area recomend our anchorage as a staging spot for a creek exploration into the mangroves.  

We did 63 miles at 7 knots taking 9 hours and burning 18 gallons of diesel fuel.  The auto pilot only worked for a few hours.  There were multiple sail changes to optimize performance and somehow avoid using the diesel.

I am exhausted.

   

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (56).

CODA : Leaving Spanish Wells, Bahamas.

7 March 2025 

Royal Island Harbor,  Royal Island,  Eleuthera, Bahamas    

Sometimes it's fun to just keep moving.

Marc-  The time has come for us to leave since a weather window has arrived starting tomorrow morning to get to the Abacos by way of a 50 mile ocean passage.  We have moved the boat over to Royal Island to stage for an early departure.  Royal has a nearly land-locked harbor and is a great jumping off point for the Abacos.  Winds will be out of the southwest at 10-12 knots.  Maybe we will fly the spinnaker.

Now our followers will know our name.

The channel out of Spanish Wells: look out for the rocks just below that pretty colored water.

Marina orchids.

Royal Island reflected sunset colors.

Sue:  We really like Spanish Wells.  It reminds us of Cape Cod but with much better beach access.  Walking and biking are great ways to see the town.  The homes are solidly built (cement with rebar) and painted with bright pastels. There's no trash, and it's an industrious place.  The people have unique accents:  British-y with but with their own touch.  It's funny, we have seen maybe a handful of shorebirds and songbirds in all of the Bahamas.  More songbirds here, but not a lot.  There are no pelicans or seagulls.  

Tomorrow we head to the Abacos, and then back to the US!

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (55).

CODA : Back in Spanish Wells for another day, Bahamas.

6 March 2025 

Spanish Wells Yacht Haven,  Spanish Wells,  Eleuthera, Bahamas    

The winds are blowing 30 knots out of the west today and only a few kite surfers are enjoying this.

Marc-  We spent another day here waiting for a weather window to cross over to the Abacos Islands.  The wind shifted to the west and increased to 30 knots making a passage rather rough out of here.  The marina is full of people waiting for the weather to improve before moving on.  There is always boat maintenance to do and we have not run out of things to see and do here.  We took a great beach walk along the northwest shore seeing beautiful beaches, dunes, and cottages.  We even met a kite surfer from Indiana who explained the whole process to us.  You have to be in excellent physical shape for that sport.  

Many beautiful flowering bushes here.

Bottlebrush plant with conch shell base.

We went down to the waterfront to get a few small boat items.  This boat was clearly provisioning for a long trip.

Every public school here calls itself an "all age school".  I am not sure what this means.  The kids that we have seen look like they range from kindergarten to middle school age.  

The northwest beach.

We saw some nice cottages on this beach.

These are nice.

Let's check this one out.

It's bigger than it seems.

Smaller cottages.

Nice colors.

We went out for a pizza at the marina restaurant tonight.  There really is no such thing as in-door seating around here so it was  bit cool as our cold front kept coming through this evening.  The food was fine.  

"Wreckers" in Bahamian history refers to the early settlers here who were known for salvaging goods from shipwrecks, initially for survival and later as a major economic activity, with some even luring foreign ships o their demise on the reefs in the area. 

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (54)

CODA : Exploring Harbor Island, Bahamas.

5 March 2025 

Spanish Wells Yacht Haven,  Spanish Wells,  Eleuthera, Bahamas   

The last line on the sign says it all:  Home of Friendly People.

Marc-  Today we went on a different kind of adventure.  We decided to visit a nearby resort island by alternate means (meaning not going there in our boat).  The boat route requires going through an area of  unmarked reefs and treacherous ocean passages when windy called "the devil's backbone."  Our alternative was to walk over to the Spanish Wells ferry landing and ask the ferry operator to help us get to Harbor Island.  He arranged for us to take his ferry over to Eleuthera Island, then take a taxi across Eleuthera Island to yet another ferry.  The first ferry, a 30 foot enclosed work boat with two long benches, simply backs up to a concrete wall and keeps the engine in reverse (no bother attaching any lines). Passengers are assisted on board by crew members.  Late arrivals inevitably require several false starts.  You make your taxi connection and get to the next ferry pier. You simply find your way to the next departing ferry.  Unlike the first slow diesel ferry this second ferry is a high speed model with multiple outboards.  This captain runs full speed ahead to get the fully loaded boat up on plane to zip you across the harbor in 10 minutes.  Great fun since everyone is friendly and having a good time.  We even ran into a school band going across for an inter island competition.  

Our first taxi ride included a detour to the "Glass Window".  The original natural stone arch bridge covered a dramatic passage from the ocean side to the Exuma sound side of Eleuthera Island.  It was destroyed in a hurricane and was replaced several times by a man-made bridge.

Glass Window.

Harbor Island is well developed with many shops and restaurants.  There are also many cottages and hotels as well as large private waterfront homes.

This cottage, named "Fort Point" brought back memories for Sue whose grandparents once owned a cottage at Fort Point in North Weymouth, MA. 

This is the view in front of the "Fort Point" Cottage.

Another cottage.

A cool sign next to a Preschool.

More school signs.

Bahamians love color.  Methodist Church.

Anglican Church.

Harbor Island has free roaming chickens.  This park statue seems to indicate that Bahamians like their chickens.

We had read about the pink sand beaches on Harbor Island and here we descended on one.

The beaches are slightly pink from crushed seashells.  We enjoyed walking on the firm sand with the waves and occasional shore birds.

Back on the bay side of the Island we spotted an interesting old tugboat pulling what appeared to be a barge full of scrap metal.

At one point we came upon a stately home with a stone wall.  This was imbedded in the wall.

While we had an enjoyable lunch of grouper, beans, rice & veggies at "Queen Conch," my favorite thing was finding a really good ice cream parlor. 

Sue:  We got in a 5 mile walk roaming around Harbour Island and a little on Spanish Wells.  It was a nice day.  Something different.  Our reward for walking in the heat was a great shower back at the marina.  This made 2 great showers on this trip.  Cape Eleuthera and Spanish Wells, both high end marinas.  Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference.

 

CODA STILL HERE IN THE BAHAMAS 2025 (53)

CODA : Exploring Spanish Wells, Bahamas.

4 March 2025 

Spanish Wells Yacht Haven,  Spanish Wells,  Eleuthera, Bahamas  

Spanish Wells has a resemblance to Martha's Vineyard with quaint cottages and beautiful flowers.

Marc-  Another interesting cottage.  The first chore I did this morning was go on foot to get my propane tank refilled on a nearby street.  If you know me I am not one to easily get lost.  I was told to "Go up to 14th street then go left until you see the tanks in the Richard's yard."  There were few street signs and google maps was totally lost, indicating that the streets here are not numbered sequentially.  On the google map 14th street is next to 8th and so on.  I did find 13th street when I asked the owner of this house what street I was on.  She was quite helpful in saying just turn left on the next alley, go to the end, and you're at 14th Street.  I did get to 14th street but then a woman in a small car stopped and asked if I needed a ride.  I must have looked strange (old guy walking around with a propane tank in one hand looking lost).  I indicated I was looking for "Richard the propane man's house."  She got out of her car, said she would take care of me, walked across the street and knocked on a door.  Another woman came out and said "Oh, Richard's house is just over there."  Then they both walked me down to Richard's house about 100 feet away.  It's not over.  The second lady said "Just leave your tank on the lawn and Richard will fill it." Then Richard's wife came out and said hello and told me Richard was at work at Pinder's Auto but would fill my tank at lunchtime or when he got home at 5 pm.  "Just come back a little after that."  I went back at 5:05 pm and there was Richard out in his yard filling my tank.  When he finished he told me that he was taking $5.00 off the refill price because the tank had a little left in it.  Friendly place eh? 

Sorry for the drama here but this is really a small town where everyone knows everyone and it's very friendly with zero crime.  Doors are mostly open, kids play outside.  We spent much of our day riding our bikes around the two connected islands:  Spanish Wells and Russell.  It was good exercise and fun.

We passed about 10 large lobster fishing boats on the commercial street getting ready for the last trip of the season.  They are about to go out for the last official month of fishing.  Boats were loading up on supplies, gear, whatever they will need.

We came along this repair boatyard with good advertising.

The boatyard has a marine railway that crosses the street with a unique feature:  there is a wooden bridge for the street traffic to cross over the marine railway that is removed whenever a boat passes to or from the water.

Another view of the marine railway and bridge.

That jumbled up bunch of boats is the only mooring field in town.

The eastern tip of Spanish Wells.

Sign over the ferry dock building.  The ferry connects you to either Eleuthera or Nassau.

Sue found a nice clothing and fabric store in town and I found a field of dreams.  Imagine hitting a baseball out of this park.

We stopped for lunch at a beach park.

Beach gazebo with special water left for the local free range chickens.

Next we crossed the bridge over to the more rural Russell Island.  We saw goats and chickens about and some agricultural land.  Some boaters told us to go out to the Sandbar grill.  

Might there be mermaids here.

No mermaids but this interesting little lizard appeared.

We split a Poutine order overlooking the bay.

Later in the day we found a rather unique neighborhood Ice Cream Parlor.  Most people drive up in their golf carts and order ice cream.  It opens at 7 pm.  The soft serve ice cream was excellent and the small size was quite large.  Made my day!

Sue:  There is a lot to explore here.  There is a museum that we want to see, and we've contacted the lady who gives tour via WhatsApp.  We're waiting to hear back from her.  I went in a clothing and souvenir store, and was shocked to see some beautiful fabric and notions.  Before I came to The Bahamas (this is my first time) I asked my friend Kathleen if there were any fabric stores here.  She said she had never seen one.  I had no idea how silly my question was until we got here and I saw that there were barely any grocery stores, never mind a fabric store.  I'm sure there are fabric stores in Nassau, and I think that is where most people buy their clothing, but we didn't go to Nassau (only to Atlantis).  Spanish Wells is a very industrious place.  There is a lot of industry (primarily commercial fishing), homes are very well kept, and it looks to be thriving.  Of course I had to get some fabric - 2 different prints of sea turtles.  They had quite a bit of "Bahamas Batik," and I am trying to think of what I could do with some of that so I can justify going back tomorrow to get some.