Abacos to Eleuthra

After spending a lovely four days at Green Turtle Cay, we decided to make for Marsh Harbour on Abacos Island before the next front moved in. 

At this time of year, the fronts seem to come one after the other, with the winds clocking around in conjunction with them; the front bringing the north wind, followed by east, and then south-east winds.  As the next front approaches, the winds continue through to south, then south-west.  When the front is almost upon us, the winds start to pick up speed, averaging 20+ knots, and quickly swing through the west and then north again, until the front passes over us, and the whole thing starts again!!

To move south from Green Turtle Cay in to the rest of the Sea of Abaco, you must sail through what is called the Whale's Cut, which takes you back out in to the North Atlantic briefly before returning to the Sea of Abaco where you pass by Treasure Cay and on south to Marsh Harbour, which lies about halfway down the island of Abacos.  We elected to stay at the Marsh Harbour Marina, as a front was passing through in the next couple of days, and we wanted to do some re-provisioning and have some internet access.  The marina was a nice place to stay and the Jib Room provided a great barbeque dinner two nights a week....steaks on Saturday and ribs on Wednesday!!  Also, the town is a great spot for re-provisioning by Bahamas standards!  There is a new grocery store in town which is almost like something you would see at home.....especially right after the supply boat arrives and the shelves have been restocked!  This was also where we were able to buy a Bahama simcard for our cell phone, another worry we had while being here.  All in all, the visit was mostly utilitarian, but enjoyable!!  We did join our friends Guy and Pika for a day with a rental car and toured around the island, ultimately having lunch at Treasure Cay......what a lovely beach!!  Unfortunately, that was the day the front passed through, so not a good day for the beach, but still impressive!

feisty crab at Little Harbour

beach at Treasure Cay

After staying for almost a week in Marsh Harbour, we left on a sunny morning to head for Little Harbour, at the south end of Abacos Island.  This was to be our 'jumping off point' to cross the Northeast Providence Channel and enter Eleuthra Island.  We had a lovely sail all morning and for the early afternoon, until, as we approached the southern tip of Abacos Island, and the north Atlantic, just at the North Cut, a heavy squall hit us.  We had been sailing with one reef, as we knew the weather was going to get rough, and as the squall line approached and the wind started to pick up, George mentioned that we should probably take down the main.  Unfortunately, the crew wasn't too keen on going forward, as the wind was getting quite high and it had started to rain.  The skies then opened up and it absolutely POURED!!!  About five minutes in to the squall, my self inflating life jacket got so wet, that it did just that....it self inflated!!!  As I was trying to get the air out of the darn thing, George looked up and noticed that we had a tear in the main sail!!  The winds were now easily about 30 knots and we actually had lost a lot of visibility due to heavy rain.  Needless to say, the previously lazy crew put on her husband's life jacket and went forward to take down the main....too late!  The squall lasted about half an hour, and about half an hour after that we limped in to our anchorage just off Lynard Cay, as Little Harbour was too rough to try and enter.  The next day was spent frantically trying to repair the main sail!  Seven hours later, the approximately four foot tear was sail-taped and then sewn back together.  The next day we were due to sail across the Northeastern Providence Channel, which is essentially the North Atlantic, and a new northern front was due to arrive that night, so the winds were going to pick up, probably before we got to our anchorage, about 56 miles away, so we had to hope my sewing job would do the trick!  

sailing the Sea of Abacos

mending the sail

After a fairly 'rocky' night, we raised anchor right at sunrise to make the exit through the cut in to the channel.  The crossing, although somewhat lumpy, wasn't too bad, with an ocean swell from the east and waves from the southwest, and the wind staying southwest on our starboard bow, not clocking through until we were almost at the cut by Egg Island, where we entered the Bight of Eleuthra and anchored in Royal Harbour.  The sail, I am happy to report, is still in one piece, but it is a worry now.  Guy had some kevlar sail repair material which he very generously gave to us, so we will add that to the repair which should make it good and strong.

The next morning, after consulting with some very confusing information regarding tides and currents in West Eleuthra.....one source saying the flood was 5 minutes after Nassau, the other saying it was 2 hours after....the sailing vessels Tina and Wyvern headed out for the next challenge; Current Cut, which would take us in to the Bight of Eleuthra.  So named because the current is extremely fast and strong through there and ideally, we wanted a slack ebb, so we had steerage way through the narrow cut, without too much tide against us and as much water as possible under the keel for the shallow eastern side of the cut.  As it happened, we went with the 2 hour prediction, which landed us there with the sun in our eyes and a very strong ebbing tide, so the 5 minute advice was the correct one!  Guy and George spoke over the radio and very wisely decided to anchor in the lee of Eleuthra and wait for the tide to slacken and the sun would be higher, making it easier to practice the 'heads up' navigation that is so important in the islands.  This turned out to be such a good decision on so many levels, not the least of which, it gave us the opportunity to join Guy and Pika in their dingy and go for a swim off the beautiful sandy beach!!  It was a great way to spend the morning, cooling off in the lovely, clear water and looking for sand dollars!!!  Afterwards we successfully navigated the Current
Cut and made our way to the night's anchorage, south of the Glass Window, and north of Muttonfish Point.  The Glass Window is a natural rock formation where the Bight of Eleuthra almost meets the north Atlantic.  Originally, there was a rock bridge about 85' above sea level, but a hurricane washed it away in 1926, and it was replaced by a steel bridge.  In 1991, a rogue wave hit that bridge and moved the northern end of it 7' to the west!!!  Slowly, the sea is eroding the rock under the bridge and it is only a matter of time before the North Atlantic meets the Bight of Eleuthra, and the island of Eleuthra will effectively be cut in two!!

sailing the turquoise sea!

the Glass Window

That night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before a number of rain showers passed through.  The next morning the wind was back up to 20 knots and the sea was really lumpy....AGAIN!!  Even though it was a sunny day, I'm afraid the crew was a bit grumpy, wondering where the beautiful, protected waters of the Bahamas was??!!  Weathered yet another squall, this one reaching about 25 knots, so dumped the main this time, and then raised it again once the squall passed!!  Sailing down the west coast of Eleuthra, we arrived at our next anchorage, off Tom's Rocks, just north of Governor's Harbour, the capital of Eleuthra, in plenty of time.  Once again we joined Guy and Pika in their dingy and went snorkeling off Levi Island.  Saw some beautiful purple sea fans, lots of sea cucumbers, and a grouper!  Crew's morale was back up and we enjoyed a nice dinner under a full moon in the cockpit!  Went to bed early, as we were making an early start tomorrow to beat the arrival of the next front and get ourselves in to Cape Eleuthra Marina in good time.

beach off anchorage, north of Muttonfish Point

sunset!

moonlit beach

west coast of Eleuthra Island...lots of cliffs!

That night was nice and calm for a change, and we left in good conditions at about 5:30am.  Shortly after sunrise, we turned off the engine, then decided to turn it back on, as the winds were picking up, but were right on the nose, so no good for making our destination in time.  Memories of St. Lawrence came flooding back......the starter was not working!  After some trouble-shooting, George remembered a trick a mechanic had taught him with regard to the starter, and the engine fired back to life!!......We left it on for the rest of the trip and have ordered a new solenoid, (I call it a sol-annoyed) as we suspect a dead spot on the old one, as it took a couple of taps to make it work!!  Aah, life is an adventure!

We arrived at the beautiful Cape Eleuthra Marina by noon, just as the winds were picking up, so were happy to be in harbour!  That night we had an amazing dinner over on the Tina with Guy and Pika before heading to bed for a well-deserved rest!  That night the front arrived, bringing with it pouring rain (although both Pika and I agreed the boats needed a good cleaning, as they were covered in salt!) and extremely high winds, blowing 30-40 knots according to one of the locals the next morning.  We were glad not to be at anchor that night!!

The marina here had ambitions to be a resort, but it has stalled in its progress, however, we really like it!  It is extremely quiet, which suits us just fine, and pretty to look at.  The people here are very friendly, also, so we have really enjoyed our stay here and would recommend it.

safely tucked in before the front!

The next day, the skies stayed cloudy, but it was a good day for a walk, so while George and Guy tackled the starter, I went down the road and visited the Island School and the Island Marine Institute.  The school is for high school students who come for a semester and live here while doing their high school studies.  They also assist the university students who are doing graduate studies in marine biology at the marine institute next door!  The school practices self-sustainment and has a vegetable garden, a herb garden, a 'medicinal' garden, solar power, and wind power.  Next door, the marine institute has a hydroponic garden that is growing lettuce from treated water that the fish they are studying are living (and pooing....read fertilizing...) in!  The institute also has solar power.  There are only 48 students and one can see them riding their bikes all over the point, so they add an interesting dynamic to the cape!!  I really enjoyed walking about the two schools and chatting with the people there.

Island School's classrooms and housing

shark study at Marine Institute

Puffer Fish tank at Marine Institute

skates at Marine Institute

Marine Institute

view of Island School from Marine Institute

Tomorrow we plan to make our final 'open water' crossing for a while.  We cross the Exuma Sound, a distance of approximately 30 miles, traveling from Cape Eleuthra and finally entering the Exumas at Warderick Wells.  The Exumas  is where we plan to spend the rest of our time here in the Bahamas.  It is supposed to be beautiful, warm waters, with lots of protected anchorages, so we hope to 'rest and relax' in the area while entertaining some of our family and friends!!!  Part of the appeal of the Exumas is that it is not as populated as the Abacos, however, that also means less wifi available, and so more difficulty posting my blog, but I will 'endeavor to persevere', and will continue to try to update the blog whenever I can!