In most previous years, we've elected to spend a month at Bimini Sands Marina. Their monthly dockage was always at the top end of what we liked to pay, however, their facilities, beach combing, and fishing around Bimini is hard to beat, and they've always had a great New Years Eve party with a huge seafood buffet and outstanding fireworks. We were ready for an extended stay, but unfortunately we were disappointed to learn that they were now under new management . . . their dockage fees had over-doubled, and there would be no New Years Eve celebration this year. Bummer!
The good news is that the gorgeous weather window was holding, so we quickly decided to take advantage of this opportunity to sail as far east into the Bahamas as we possibly could; we left at daybreak the very next morning. We sailed 54 n.miles east out onto the Great Bahama Bank, anchoring in the middle of nowhere near Russell Beacon the first day. The second day we sailed 30 n.miles via the schizophrenic Northwest Channel, anchoring at Chub Cay on the southern end of the Berry Islands. This was a momentus occasion in that this was the first time we had ever negotiated this precipitous channel without losing our engine . . . that was a great sign! The bad news is that the Admiral had knowingly contracted the flu from family before our mainland departure, and it had now slammed her down into a incapacitating horizontal position for the past 48 hours and it wasn't going away any time soon. The Captain was on his own.
After 3 straight days at sea, the weather was still perfect . . . that just never happens. The next morning we headed south and ever-eastward for Rose Island near Nassau, New Providence, another long 45 n.mile sail. Awesome! Our goal of Spanish Wells on the northern end of Eleuthera was within reach if we could just add one more 42 n.mile sailing day, making it five days in row . . . a total of 219.6 nautical miles. We left Rose anchorage at 6:30AM and arrived in Spanish Wells at 2:30PM, picking up one of Bandit's half-dozen mooring balls and collapsing in a heap of exhaustion. What a passage for our tiny, little 31-foot Summer Breeze! We would never again expect to experience five consecutive days of perfect weather window even if we cruised for another ten years. The timing was perfect.
MARINE STADIUM ANCHORAGE
Daytime & nighttime views are spectacular, as well as the storm protection.
DINNER KEY MOORING FIELD at Coconut Grove on Biscayne Bay
ROSE ISLAND anchorage with Nassau & Paradise Island in the sunset background was our stop after our fourth sailing day in a row. The next morning we headed out on the final leg to Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. The Admiral crawled out to the cockpit for the sunset then crashed to horizontal again. Dang flu!
On the afternoon of Dec. 19 we arrived at Spanish Wells, hailed "Bandit" the local mooring ball owner, and settled in for a couple of weeks of earned R&R.
One of the R's in R&R must have meant "restaurant" because one of our first stops was in the Shipyard Café for some delicious fish tacos and a cracked conch burger. Please note the cold Kalik, also; up until only recently, there was no liquor at all in Spanish Wells. Whew!
SPANISH WELLS MUSEUM
The dinghy dock at Pinder's Grocery had a small tidal problem twice a day.
Spanish Wells is on St. George's Cay at the northern end of the Eleuthera chain. It's original settlers were from Bermuda as well as loyalists that fled the U.S. during the Revolutionary War. There are supposedly 1500 residents in Spanish Wells of which 95% are white. Walking around the cay, you'd swear there can't be over 300 folks living here. You still see quite a few various religious sect families in the area, conspicuous by their dress. The economy here is based on ol' time family lobster boats that today supply much of the U.S.'s bugs, including those for the Red Lobster restaurant chain. The gene pool in Spanish Wells is pretty small, and while the locals are just as friendly as can be, it's pretty obvious that this is a really tightknit family island. This is not a tourist economy typical of the Bahamas. That's part of what make this area very interesting to sail into for a visit.
As Nancy's flu began to recede, we met a very nice retired couple from the States that now reside in a cute little house on Spanish Wells. Their home is named "Done Reach", as is their little catboat sailing vessel which they brought all the way down from the northeast U.S. We were thrilled when we got invited to their home for a Christmas Day potluck with some other visiting cruisers. I did a black ink sketch of s/v Done Reach for them as a special thanks.
One day we splurged on a ferry ride on the Bo Hengy II which shuttles locals and tourists alike between Spanish Wells and DunmoreTown. The route crosses the infamous "Devil's Backbone" which is highly recommended to be transited by cruisers only with a local guide. That would be Bandit, our temporary mooring landlord; we passed Bandit guiding a sailboat through from the deck of the Bo Hengy on our ferry ride. It didn't appear scarey from our safe vantage point, but it would be a killer if the weather kicked up and your coral visibility was lost.
DunmoreTown was an expensive opposite of Spanish Wells; it was all touristy. We had a nice, but too costly, lunch in the gorgeous Sip Sip restaurant overlooking their beautiful pink sand beach overlooking the Atlantic. We were tickled being able to see the Devil's Backbone without risking life & limb.
We loved our Spanish Wells visit and wished we could have hung out longer, but the rest of the Eleuthera chain heading southward was calling since this area was all new to us. Winter just flies by on Summer Breeze.
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