We were S-L-O-W to leave Marsh Harbour because it was windy and we weren’t quite sure where we were going. There is a famous (infamous?!) pig roast at a beach bar around here on Sundays and I’d hoped to go, but the wind was pretty stiff out of the south and that wasn’t going to work with the anchorage options there. So we sat and debated what to do for a while until finally, around 1:00 pm, we decided to head out. To where, we weren’t sure, but we knew we’d figure it out…eventually.
Beautiful day to head through Don’t Rock Passage.
We headed west with our sights set on Treasure Cay. We hear it is beautiful there, but you pretty much have to go to the marina or hope a mooring ball is free. If not, there are not many options for anchoring. We dragged our feet long enough, that an open mooring was not likely, but again, we’d figure it out.
On our way to Treasure Cay, Mike threw out the possibility of heading through Don’t Rock passage to avoid a very tricky cut in the area. It meant passing Treasure Cay, but the weather was favorable, and later in the week it might not be. So, after debating it for a while, we went for it.
The water through this passage is very shallow, so you should only pass through on a high tide with settled water. The fear in cruisers’ voices as they discuss the larger passage and this short cut are interesting. People make it sound like it’s Armageddon if you choose the wrong day to travel this area. I sure hoped Mike knew what he was talking about when he decided to send us through here on a whim.
It was a “sit down and don’t talk” moment for the kids, and Mike and I held our breath a few times as we crossed over the very shallow areas. Charted depths through here are about 3 feet at low tide and you have to go surprisingly close to that big rock. Our boat sits in the water 3 feet 6 inches, so we needed at least 6 extra inches, but plenty more would be appreciated. The tides (if we were reading them right) told us we had an extra 2-3 feet of water at this point during the day, so we should be fine. There was a swell of 1-2 feet coming from behind us, which meant in the trough of a larger wave, we would be close to the bottom, but the captain was confidant. Sure enough, we didn’t see less than a foot and a half of water below our props, even in the skinny spots. We let out our breath and took a sigh of relief just in time to realize that we were heading in to some squalls that had developed. It’s always something!! And now, where in the world were we going?!
Tobin’s looking for squalls–dead ahead!! Luckily, it was just a passing rain shower and not much wind or thunder and lightning.
We decided we were going to Green Turtle Cay to attempt to drop anchor in the one little spot of sand that reviews said had good holding. Of course we had done no research on this place because we originally thought we would be miles back, in another location, and certainly not trying to choose an anchorage in a thunderstorm. But some days are like that. Lucky for us, the one spot of sand holding was available and we got a good set on the anchor.
We went to explore the shallow lagoon next to the anchorage by dinghy and we were surprised to see a ton of sunken/washed up boats. The reviews said it could be a hurricane hole for shallow draft boats, but we counted at least a dozen boats washed up that we could see and we accidentally crossed over a few more completely sunken underwater. Afterwards we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
The kids wanted to climb on every half-sunken boat, but that didn’t seem like the best idea.
I have to admit, that night I was a bit crabby with the fact that we were already at Green Turtle Cay. It was always our plan that we would zip through the Abacos quickly, but I felt like a series of unfortunate events led us to skip past several areas that we hoped to see. Between the generator quitting and a sparking stove, some strong south winds, and a calm opportunity to head through Don’t Rock Passage, we just ended up missing a lot of what we wanted to see. It wasn’t anybody’s fault, but it is unfortunate that we didn’t get a chance to stop at Tahiti Beach, Hope Town, Great Guana, Treasure Cay, and several others before getting so far west. Can’t be crabby for long, though, this is the Bahamas, mon.
The next morning was windy as can be and more wind and storms were expected throughout the day. I didn’t imagine we would be heading very far from the boat in that wind. But luckily we had friends nearby!! We headed into the marina to meet up with Deena and Jerry on Mahi Mahi, other loopers we met in Florida that are actually from just a few miles down the road from us at home in Michigan. The cruising community really is a small world!
Visiting with Mahi Mahi.
Deena and Jerry showed us around their boat and around the marina, but they were getting ready to head out. I thought they were crazy to go out in that wind, but they weren’t scared. We saw them off with hopes of crossing paths again soon. Then we did some more exploring around the marina.
The boys searched for crabs and lizards at the marina.We found a real banana tree!!The restaurant at Green Turtle Resort and Marina was pretty awesome with burgees hanging from the rafters and all kinds of money stapled around the pub.That is a lot of visitors!!The pool had this awesome swing set up next to it.
Later that afternoon a wicked squall came through the anchorage and a total wind shift sent us spinning around our anchor. We sat up on the flybridge watching the boats around us and making sure we weren’t dragging on our anchor. Lots of captains of neighboring boats were up in their flybridges as well, all on the ready in case boats started moving. One sailboat in the anchorage did swing uncomfortably close to another boat, so they picked up anchor and motored around the anchorage until the storm ended. Then they dropped anchor right in front of us. Luckily the storm was over, but you don’t really want the guy who just dragged anchor to set up right in front of you.
After the storm we learned to Dougie with some YouTube videos.Later that night Mike took the kids to a marina pool to swim out their energy. Once again, I stayed back and tried to catch up on blogging.
Thanks so much for reading and following along on our adventures!!
We woke up leisurely on Friday morning, as we like to most mornings. We weren’t planning on going far, no reason to get moving too quick, so I decided to make eggs for breakfast. Generator on and I’m making my coffee (where I really just heat up water in the microwave), I turn the stove on to start the eggs, then I put the toast down to get that going, but the water needs a little more time in the microwave, so I add another 30 seconds. Our inverter is a champ and I don’t ever really have to worry about a thing (read: either it’s working and I don’t worry OR it’s broken and shit already hit the fan, so I know there’s a problem).
All of a sudden the microwave and the stove stop working, but the toaster is still on. Weird. I call Mike over and blow his mind with this new fact. All boat trip we have been wishing our galley plugs ran off the invertor and not just the generator, but wishing doesn’t help with projects like that, so we dealt with it. Obviously the generator wasn’t working at this moment, so why in the world were the galley outlets still on??
Then, the stove started making a weird buzzing sound and we shut down the generator. Now we’re running on inverter power only, which should mean all kitchen power is dead, but that is not the case. Mike was flipping switches–is this on? is that on? Stove is still buzzing, so we switch spots and I’m at the panel and he’s in the kitchen. All of a sudden he says “WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A FIRE!!” so I grab the fire extinguisher I’m right next to and run (3 steps) to the galley. The stove is sparking and buzzing so we quick decide to turn off the inverter so that there is absolutely no power going to anything on our boat, hoping to prevent this rogue stove from starting a fire.
Sure enough, the buzzing stops and the sparking stops and all is calm. We looked at each other wondering what in the world just happened to our nice morning of eggs and a short boat ride because surely now everything has changed. Being nothing is getting power in our boat and that fact that it is Friday in the Bahamas, we decide we need to get moving and find someone who can help.
So Mike fires up the engines and starts pulling up the anchor while we look at our options of where we can get service. We decide we should head to Marsh Harbour because it is the biggest settlement that really caters to cruisers, that we know of, in the Abacos. On the way, Mike makes some phone calls to marinas while I search for recommended marine electricians. Sure enough, we get in touch with THE guy who everyone recommends, and he says he can be available in the afternoon to meet us at Marsh Harbour Marina. WHEW. Thank goodness. He also offers us a tip right over the phone to check the breaker on the generator and sure enough, that’s exactly why the generator stopped working. The breaker flipped from me using the toaster/micro/stove combo. Who knew?! But the question remained why would the stove spark and attempt catch on fire with no apparent power??
We should have enjoyed the beautiful ride from Little Harbour to Marsh Harbour, but we were too busy worrying and searching and calling and looking for a fire to put out.
The good thing about our marina is that there was a pool. That was especially good since the whole galley floor would be open for the 3rd day in the last 6 or so with repairs taking place. So as soon as we landed at the marina, I took the kids to the pool and the electrician showed up.
My day went like this:
Views of pools and boats are always good.Ping pong, bean bags, and lizards.Cutest bathroom doors overlooking the pool.The crazies love their lizards!!Colin carried this guy around and he didn’t even try to run away. Colin was in lizard-catcher heaven.
Mike’s day was quite a bit different. It involved squishing into a small space with a man in tights. This electrician knew his stuff, but yes, he was wearing tights. And also perhaps a dress.
They reviewed everything from shore power through the panels to the inverter to the receptacles. They figured out that the sparking stove was because there was a back-fed neutral wire from the galley plug. This means power was going to the stove when it shouldn’t have been. We had a broken burner on the stove and wires were touching, so that fed into the problem, as well. Electrical tape was put around the broken parts of the burner to band aid that problem for now. They talked about how to fix the back-fed ground wire, and apparently Mike will take care of it in his free time. Other than that, I just can’t use 3 things in the galley at once, or I will pop the breaker on the generator. Makes sense to me, but once again, living on a boat is not EASY!
As soon as the very nice and knowledgeable electrician headed on his way, Mike realized he needed a few washers for our leaking generator issue so he zipped over to town on the dinghy and (again) made it to 4 stores withing 20 minutes of closing time, but none of them actually had what we needed to stop that stinkin leak once and for all.
After all that excitement, the kids were ready for some down time at the boat and Mike was ready for some pool time and a swim, so the kids watched a movie while Mike and I went to the pool for a bit. Then we decided to dinghy around the Harbour and check it out.
My Aunt Marti used to live in Marsh Harbour for 6 months a year for a few years back in the 1990’s. She actually rode out Hurricane Dennis with her boat at this exact same marina in 1999. It was cool to be in her stomping grounds and see what she loved about the place.
It was definitely a place set up for cruisers with lots of resources and boats anchored in the harbour. We ended up landing at the dinghy dock and going for a short walk. To get ice cream, of course. INNTW?!
Ice cream is such a treat in the Bahamas!!Heading back to INNTW at sunset.
The next morning we decided to stay another day because we had a dock and air conditioning and a pool. Plus, we had to pay $20 for water hook up whether we stayed one day or two and it seemed like such a rip off to pay that much for one day!! Also, there was a big grocery store. Important stuff, ya know?!
Tobin is so excited to work in his math book every day–he gets it out as soon as he wakes up!Colin coaching Tobin through some harder problems in the math book.
We headed to the grocery store and brought our wagon full of goodies back to the dinghy. The grocery store was HUGE by Bahamian standards, more like a grocery store in the states, but prices were all at least double what they would be at home. We had to look at prices carefully and resist temptation to buy too much. As it was, we bought too much.
When we got back to the dinghy dock, some local kids were hoping to load our groceries into the dinghy for money. Mike explained that our kids would take care of it, and then we proceeded to explain every last detail about putting the groceries in the dinghy to them. I think it was a good wake up call for our kids to see how hard these kids are willing to work to make some money (not that loading groceries is that hard, but getting kids to do anything when they don’t “want to” is like pulling teeth…). Then as we were pulling away, a bunch of the local kids went swimming right next to the dinghy dock. Which was gross. The water was so murky there, I can’t imagine swimming in it. Again, another good wake up call for our kids to see differences in life everywhere.
We headed back to unload groceries, work on laundry, and hit the pool again. It was a nice relaxing day.
Even mama’s swimming!Colin’s favorite thing to do with Mike is play ping pong (or so he says).
I spent the rest of the day blogging, but Mike and the boys went on a nice walk at sunset.
And of course, the creature catcher caught 1 more lizard!!
We had a great time in Marsh Harbour, and we felt so relieved that the generator/fire issue was figured out, if not actually fixed. Plus, we had groceries and clean laundry, and that felt amazing.
On to new adventures!! Thank you for reading and following along!!
Thursday was supposed to be a great day to travel and we were anxious to move on up to the Abaco Island chain. You can see on the map below that we had a 70+ mile crossing, most of it very exposed to the deep water of the Atlantic Ocean. The white on that map is all open ocean. This is why we had to wait for just the right weather day to make this crossing. The swells coming in here were coming all the way from Africa.
This map shows us heading to Hopetown, when in fact we stopped at that little blue pushpin, Little Harbour. We never know where we’re going until we get there.For reference, here is where we are in relation to Florida.
We snaked through the channels of Spanish Wells at low tide unfortunately. It was just bad timing of the tides.
Look at that calm water!! Captain Tobin at the helm.Tobin kissed the lure for good luck before Mike put the line in. We have had zero luck fishing on our crossings except for that baby barracuda who was mauled by the time we reeled him in.
The water looked super flat, but we had some 1-2 foot swells coming on the port side beam for quite some time. It was enough to keep us rolling, but we definitely couldn’t complain. We saw about a half dozen other pleasure craft and 2 large cargo ships on our passage.
Bro bros hanging out. (Tobin is laying down on the loveseat). If we are rolling or bouncing at all on a big passage, the kids don’t like being down below because they feel more sea sick. It is nice to have them up top with us.I took “non-drowsy” dramamine for the first and last time. This kid treats our boat like a jungle gym. He is always climbing and jumping on something!
At almost 7 hours of travel, Mike made the decision to stop about an hour early at Little Harbour (I had originally planned for us to go to Hopetown). He was sick of driving, the day was hot and sunny so we figured we should take advantage of some of it, and lots of people recommended a stop in Little Harbour. When you’re the captain, you get the final call in these kinds of things!!
Little Harbour is famous for the family that settled it in the 1950’s. They sailed out of Massachusetts, artists looking for a slower pace of life in which to raise their children, with no real destination in mind. Somehow they ended up at Little Harbour and lived in caves until they could build more permanent structures. Those who are alive still live on the island today. The story made us think of Swiss Family Robinson. One of the sons still has a bronze casting studio on the island and sells his art for obscene amounts of money. He also owns this little pub that everyone raves about, so after we dropped anchor, we had to go.
It was a fun, funky spot with ring toss and hermit crabs to boot. We loved it, though we didn’t travel much further than the pub.
Hermit crabs galore!!A short trip across the boardwalk to check out the beach.Heading out just as the dinner rush picks up. And yes, there was actually a dinner rush!!A sign of days gone by.Interesting plaque. People are so helpful and selfless here. There is a true spirit of working together for the betterment of the community that we just don’t see in the US anymore.
Thanks for reading and following along on our adventures!!
The weather the next morning didn’t seem much calmer than it did the afternoon before, but we REALLY didn’t want to sit on the boat for another day at Hatchet Bay, so Mike made the decision that we were leaving, no matter what. Sure enough, the wind and waves settled down, and we had a very pleasant trip, even considering we had to schedule this all around a very tricky cut through the rocks (another one!!) that we needed to traverse at slack tide. Sometimes, it just all comes together!!
Keeping busy underway. It was a baseball kind of day, apparently.
Tobin created this amazing “invention” that he used to read minds. He even got lots of you to play along on Facebook so he could read your minds. By the time we got around to asking him to read your minds, though, we were at our destination and he was having too much fun to read minds anymore…ah well.
We made it through Current Cut right at slack tide (either high or low, when the water is essentially standing still and there is no current), easy peasy lemon squeezy, despite the intense reviews that it can have very turbulent water. We were lucky that we timed it just right!!
We heard about a family who rents out the dock behind their house for $20 a night, including power, so we called them up. Who knew that they would essentially have a playground right in their backyard, too? That was an awesome bonus!! They were happy to have the kids play in their backyard anytime and they even had kid playmates and baby kittens to keep our kids extra entertained. We were stoked to come across this perfect set up!! This day was already 100 times better than our stay in Hatchet Bay!!
This is why Tobin didn’t want to read minds anymore–he wanted to play!!Look at that!! INNTW tied to a dock AGAIN!!
As if the deal wasn’t good enough, Mike, the owner of the house, was a lobster diver for 40 years, so we got to hear a bit about his life as a diver. He even brought us a bunch of spider and stone crab out of his freezer for free. The generosity was amazing.
After the kids played with the toys for a while and ate lunch, we took off to explore the area. We had the name of an ice cream place and a restaurant, but other than that, we didn’t really know what to expect.
Heading on an adventure to who knows where?
We headed for the beach first and were thrilled to see the teal, clear waters we had gotten used to, as well as a LOOOONG sandbar heading out into the sea. The kids, however, weren’t as excited as us to see the beach because they were desperate for the ice cream place.
To appease the kiddos we headed for Papa Scoops, the highly recommended ice cream stop, only to find out they are only open from 7-10 pm and not in the middle of the day when it is actually hot out. The kids were disappointed, but we promised we’d be back. So, back to the beach we went. See how much walking we do?!
Hayley looks sweet here, but I think she’s actually staging a sit in at Papa Scoops.
Walking out on the sand bar was magical. I have missed these sand bars!! Colin instantly wanted to dig a river across the sand bar, so he got to work while the rest of us explored.
This kid has major perseverance when it comes to digging!!
After all of this fun, we were heading back to the boat when we stumbled across a restaurant that served ice cream out of their lobby. How could we say no?! We haven’t had scooped ice cream in so long, and it was amazing!!
After dinner, the great mind reader made some videos for his fans in front of an amazing sunset.
The next day we rented a golf cart so we could get around the island easier. We started the day with a tour of the island which was originally settled by the Eleutherian Adventurers. In 1647 this group wanted to escape religious persecution in Bermuda and ended up crashing into the infamous reef on the north side of Spanish Wells called the “Devil’s Backbone.” They lived in a cave along the water’s edge until they could set up a more permanent settlement. The family history here runs deep. Apparently 8 surnames dominate the local population, and they can all trace their names back to the original Adventurers. It is interesting to note that most of the locals here are of British decent and still spoke with a British accent.
Fishing also runs deep here. Spanish Wells fishermen supply 80% of the spiny lobster for the world. There are offshore fishing boats docked throughout the harbour. Apparently the fishermen work in groups with shared ownership, where groups of men own and run each boat, equally sharing the profits and expenses. When one of them wants to retire, they sell their share of the business to a younger man from the island chosen by the other shareholders. In that way, young men have a chance at a successful career on their home island and not many of them move away.
This one car barge was funny to see. I’m not sure I would trust it on wavy days.
The kids wanted to go down this steep hill again and again and again. You can tell we switched seats at every stop.
Not only were the businesses brightly painted but lots of the houses were, too. It was a very pretty town.
These rail tracks in the water went right under this removable section of road and right up to the boatyard. It is how they pull boats out of the water without a big lift.
Here is the boat sitting on the rails on the other side of the street. One of many fishing boats we saw in the harbour. We found these fun bathroom doors at one beach bar.
We spent some time at the Spanish Wells Museum where we had to call a volunteer and set up a special time to visit. The museum apparently doesn’t keep regular hours, but instead someone just meets guests at the museum when they show interest. Taking “island time” to a whole new level!!
We learned so much about the original Eleutherian Adventurers, the natives that were here before them, and the progression of life and development on the island to current times. It was especially interesting to hear about the development of the fishing industry and the impact of hurricanes on the island.
The kids showed great patience during the museum visit, but I think it helped that they were pretty interested in what she was talking about and they already knew the answers to so many of her questions. We called that boat school for the day, and we were ready to get playing.
Our friends on SummerCamp were in town and ready to play as well, so we took off on golf carts for more ice cream and then a tour of nearby Russell Island. On Russell we found some sheep and goats. This sheep in particular was free from it’s pen and provided great entertainment when it turned to walk away from us and Mike said he was showing us his “baaaaat.” Potty jokes never get old for the kids (or Mike).
A bridge separates Russell Island from Spanish Wells and apparently it is a spot where locals and visitors like to jump into the water and swim. Of course an adventure like that got worked into our plans. Colin and Hayley were very brave and jumped several times (Mike did too!). Tobin did lots of swimming but showed no interest in jumping, and I didn’t even go in past my ankles.
Mike helps Hayley and Zaia jump from the bridge while Colin swims and rope climbs down below. Who let’s their kids do this kind of stuff, right?! INNTW I guess!!
Lots of times we tell the kids we don’t have good enough health insurance for the shenanigans they come up with, but not this time. They loved it.
From our swimming adventure we headed to happy hour at Budda’s. Budda’s is well known in the area for a great happy hour, funny signs hanging all around the restaurant, and setting up their kitchen in an old bus. Can’t miss a place like that!!
It was a great end to a fun day exploring. We even ran into the nice lady who volunteers at the museum and some other cruisers we met many weeks ago in the Exumas all at Budda’s. It’s apparently the place to go.
The next day we wanted to get a little more exploring in with the golf cart before we had to return it. Right away the kids found this sheep and wanted to check it out. Of course Hayley isn’t in the picture because all creatures scare her right into a screaming fit.
This sheep sure lives in paradise!!A colorful and quiet street in Spanish Wells.A beautiful view at Ship Yard Point.Fishing boats lined up. Lobster season just ended when we were there so more boats than usual were in port, but several of them were hard at work setting up “lobster hotels” to attract lobsters to their fishing grounds for next season.Signs of the sea are everywhere. This beauty was painted on the side of a building.
Tobin started showing a lot of interest in his “math book” so he has been working in it regularly. I’m amazed at how good he is at calculating, but we need to do some writing practice for sure. He asks to work in his math book just about every day now. Colin and Hayley also work in their math books many days, but they don’t really ask to do the work the way Tobin does.
Another “boat school” chore for Tobin is to work on puzzles. It was nice for Colin to help him, but I also had to help Colin learn how to coach and not just do it all. Why don’t they do puzzles more?? They love them!
We loaded up the wagon and headed to the beach. On Sunday there is very little open, not even ice cream, so the beach with friends was a perfect plan.
I love that the kids are getting used to the tire swing. When we were kids, they were everywhere. My kids acted like they can’t figure out how to sit on it, but after a few days practice, they are getting the hang of it.
President Dave, from SummerCamp, loved watching Colin on his skim board. He went to get his kite surfing gear and came back with his trainer kite to show Colin how to fly. The goal was for the trainer to pull Colin around on the skim board, and while that didn’t happen, it was still fun to see Colin fly the kite for so long.
Lessons on the sand bar.
The next day was not near as much fun. Mike started off doing some maintenance by changing the fuel filter on generator. Somehow air got in the line and then he had to bleed the lines. In the process of bleeding the lines, the bleed bolt broke about 15 minutes before all the shops closed for the day. Mike raced off the boat and went to 4 places before they closed. It was a long, frustrating process for Mike, but he stuck it out like a champ. Finally, the bolt was replaced. We called it good enough for the day and headed out to get ice cream with SummerCamp one last time before we left town the next day.
When work needs to be done on the engines or generator, our salon floor comes up. That means no one can go back and forth through the boat very easily, or without totally ticking Mike off. Luckily, I was able to pacify the kids with a lazy afternoon of tv in our bed with the air conditioning on.
We went out for ice cream at Papa Scoops one last time with our buddies on SummerCamp before we left town the next day. Both of us are looking at what the next steps in our travels might be, but the weather plays such a big part. Mike and I are starting to feel pressure to get back to Florida and continue north. SummerCamp only has to get back to Rhode Island, and since they aren’t going quite as far, they have more time. The kids gave big hugs and Hayley actually tried to sneak back to their boat so she could stay with Zaia longer. Goodbyes are hard, once again, but who knows when we will meet up again? We always joke that it could actually be tomorrow?!
Cuddling with my boys before bed.
The next day we had to get moving early because someone else was set to come in to our dock. The weather didn’t look great to cross anywhere, and there was really no where else to go. We felt like we exhausted Spanish Wells, and we were at the northern end of Eleuthera, so the only place to go next was west to the Berries or north to the Abacos. With a south wind kicking up, neither of those larger crossings were possibilities, so we headed to Meeks Patch instead, a small little island about 4 miles from Spanish Wells.
We were not thrilled about heading to Meeks Patch. Instead, we felt trapped. We were ready to move on, but there was no where to go and the weather wasn’t cooperating. Instead, Mike and I hibernated on the boat and the kids did a little island exploring, but mostly hibernated with us.
The kids worked on building a fort on the island when they felt like venturing out.
Mike ended up back in the engine room with a diesel leak that he couldn’t quite get to stop. He ended up dinghying back to Spanish Wells to replace the copper washers. After a big mess and another few hours sweating it out in the engine room, the leak had slowed to an acceptable trickle. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as good as we could do given the circumstances. How frustrating!! People always say boating is actually working on boats in exotic locations and that sounds about right to us at this point!!
That night we had family game night of Qwixx.
I did lots of research about our options to get from Spanish Wells to Abaco. Following the blue line below is the shortest path, though it takes you right through a narrow break in the reef and some shallow coral heads. Many boaters go an hour or two out of their way to avoid this narrow cut, but Mike felt confident there was enough room for us to get through. This area of reef at the north end of Eleuthera is called the “Devil’s Backbone” and many people pay a pilot several hundred dollars to drive their boat through narrow breaks in the reef.
Finally on our 2nd day at Meeks Patch Mike and I got off the boat to check out the kids’ fort. They were so excited about it and we were going stir crazy after 30 hours of icky weather stuck on the boat.
Don’t mess with these fierce islanders!!Inside their fort there was even room to stand up!!Their fort on the island.This little shack was set up just down the beach from their fort and it looked equally awesome.
We went exploring around the island and sure enough, we found the piggies that live on the other side of it. They were much nicer than the pigs we saw in Staniel Cay. They seemed to understand that we didn’t have food and leave us alone.
Again, the boys were in heaven and again, Hayley was super freaked out.
Not only were there pigs, but there were ducks, roosters, and this turkey there, too!! That turkey had his eye on Hayley the whole time. We think he was in love with her colorful shirt. He followed her around and would not leave her alone. That didn’t sit very well with her, as you can imagine.
Mike wasn’t super thrilled by the attention from the turkey either.
I was so excited that there were more piglets, but these guys were super skiddish. Their mama didn’t seem to mind me, but I couldn’t trick these little guys into getting close enough to get my hands on one.
We did not see many wild ducks in the Bahamas (or many birds to speak of at all, actually). Who knows where these guys came from.
We were treated to a beautiful sunset that night, and you know what they say about red sky at night!? We had a great weather forecast to head north the next morning, so we were looking forward to moving on.
Thanks for following our adventures!! Start your own adventure!!
We headed towards Hatchet Bay to hide from some nasty winds that were predicted that night. We heard that some people love Hatchet Bay and it certainly was a protected harbor, so it seemed like a perfect spot to stop.
The many faces of Tobin underway….
As we traveled, the wind and waves seemed to build until they were getting slightly uncomfortable. I was glad that we were at the entrance to the harbor until I actually saw the entrance to the harbor.
The wind was whipping up from the south, along with the waves. They had been behind us for our trip, but now we had to make a sharp right turn to get into the harbor which meant the wind and waves were coming right on our starboard side. AND, the icing on the cake, there was a rock in the “middle” of the channel right there at the entrance. Wonderful.
Mike watched a sailboat head through the opening, and we figured if they could do it, we could do it. Actually, just I figured that–Mike very rarely shows signs of being rattled while driving the boat. So I just fret quietly during those high pressure situations. In this case, though, I chose to take a video (ya know, in case we needed it later for insurance purposes or anything).
Woo!! We made it, and we were in!! After anchoring a few times, we finally got a good hold and decided to head to town to check it out.
At first glance, it wasn’t super inviting or beautiful, but hey, ya never know. After walking around for an hour or two, I will be honest and say that it was by far the most run-down settlement we saw in the Bahamas. Several houses on each block were burnt out shells. EVERY house had bars on all the windows or maybe just boards nailed across. Some of them were painted to match the house, but they were all barred nonetheless. There were broken down cars in most yards. Stray dogs (stray “looking” dogs?!) and roosters were everywhere. Walking around felt like we were in some of the worst parts of Detroit, where we would never go, but yet the people we came across were SO NICE!! Needless to say, we were not impressed overall. It was an interesting experience that made us wonder more about people who live there.
I have nothing against roosters, for the record. I actually like them. Just not at 4 am.Interesting how it always seems like the liquor store (which doubles as the bar/hangout) is packed with people.We stopped at this grocery store where we were the only customers, but 6 ladies and one toddler were waiting to help us. The cans and boxes were so dusty and the fresh food was far past it’s prime. The local school.
It started sprinkling on us, and just as we started fast walking for the boat, we stumbled upon a few nicely painted buildings and realized we were at a vacation resort and restaurant. So, in we went. I had to take pictures because I knew if I was going to show the negatives of the area, I wanted to also show the positives.
They are very proud of the fact they were on CBS. This was advertised over and over again.We ordered conch fritters and cracked (fried) lobster. Despite the bad timing on Tobin’s facial expression, it was delicious!!
The kids played among the empty tables in the courtyard until the sprinkles stopped and it was time to go. Plus, my feet were covered with fire ants, so it was really time to go. We were ready to make a beeline for the boat.
We saw these “mustache” signs all over the town. They were actually warning of speed bumps, but they cracked us up.
We happened to stumble upon this playground on our way back to the boat. We haven’t seen many playgrounds in the Bahamas, so this was a treat, but you can see how basic it was.
After a half hour of playing, we headed for the boat. We cozied in to our boat and watched movies for the evening, promising ourselves we would leave the next day, whatever the weather. I don’t really like giving any place a negative review, but our experience was not what we hoped for that day. It made us appreciate all of the beautiful places we’ve been even more. On to new adventures!!
Thank you for reading and following on our adventure!!
After our short trip to Alabaster Bay, we packed up and headed adventuring right away. Our anchorage LOOKED like a peaceful beach with a resort, but we knew that just behind the trees was some hidden US history.
One of my “short cuts” to the exploring!
Just on the other side of the street were ruins of a US Naval Experimental Facility that was open from 1950-1980 with the purpose of using underwater microphones to identify unwelcome submarines trying to sneak into US waters. They also took part in weather forecasting and offering guidance to NASA related to weather for shuttle launches. It was a cool site, but there was lots of debris, as the area was quite **ruined**! Everything was left behind to bake in the sun when the site was abandoned 38 years ago. Interesting and kind of creepy.
This was the mess hall where coolers and storage areas were obvious. The tile and wallpaper were amazing. The debris all over made us thankful we insisted on real shoes and no flip flops. There was rusted metal, broken glass, and other booby traps all over the place!!
Mike made one little mention of tiles with asbestos and Colin wouldn’t step foot in any building. That kid is scared of his shadow sometimes and other times he’s jumping off of cliffs?!
This large building was divided into barracks with bunks. At one point 150 contractors and servicemen worked and lived here. Higher ranking officials had houses on the installation.
Tobin checked it out. SummerCamp came to see this place the next day and said a goat came flying down those stairs when they attempted to climb up. That would have given me a a heart attack!!Not sure if this was a holding cell or for security purposes.Creepy paintings all over the insides of the buildings.
The housing building also housed the chapel and the times for services were still evident on the wall.
Apparently the government used Nissan trucks.
This is the “T building” where they recorded sounds picked up by the hydrophones from the Atlantic in the mission of anti-submarine warfare. There were no windows, and the building was surrounded by a gate where only certain workers were allowed.
The fence around the T Building.GE switchPan American Airways was one of the main contractors on site.
Walking through administrative offices.
Apparently they liked Stroh’s.
In the back of the administrative services building we found the Brig. Hayley sure looks remorseful, but I think Tobin needs a little more time to think about what he’s done.
The gate separating the Naval facility from the Auxilliary Air Force Base—we did not explore the AAFB side of the installation.
We headed right down this paved road to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean where they did their listening. The water had a lot of concrete clumps in several areas, including what looked like foundations for docks. We weren’t quite sure what it was, but wondered if it was used to hold the wires for the hydrophones in place.
There were several huge water catchment areas, as this was their only means of having freshwater at that time. Ironically enough, it is now used as a water treatment facility.
The edges of the property had seen better days, as debris was falling down (maybe washing down?!) the sand dunes. There were also several sinkholes in the concrete catchment area that looked like they had been used as a landfill. Eventually, the US couldn’t reach an agreement with Bahamians to extend the lease of the property, so the land is currently owned by the Bahamian government. All of the equipment and buildings were left to bake in the sun and cover with rust.
We had a nice picnic lunch on the beach and then played in the pink sand and in the waves. I was kind of freaked out by the concrete and rebar left behind in the water, but it was so clear, it was easy to see what areas to avoid. We also had a local come down and make sure no one was bothering us (which they weren’t–only him). He said sometimes other locals give tourists a hard time for coming to this area and he wanted to make sure we were okay. It was nice of him, but it put us on edge a bit. No one else bothered us the whole time, though.
When we got back to INNTW, the sun was getting low and the water was perfectly calm. It wasn’t necessarily our planned anchorage for overnight, but the conditions were right, so we stayed put. We were the only boat there until SummerCamp showed up just as the sun was setting.
In the morning we woke up to the calmest, clear water. Our little cove reminded us of northern Michigan with the sandy beach and pine trees along the water. It was just beautiful!
The boys went spearfishing and fishing early, so Hayley and I were left to relax. Eventually she paddled over to SummerCamp to play, so I had an hour on the boat ALL BY MYSELF. This never ever ever happens. I blogged.
No fishies today and lobster season is already over.
Later that morning about 4 more boats moved in to the anchorage and all the cruisers seemed to head to the beach. The tide went down and the sand flats were exposed. It turned out to be a pretty cool spot. Together with the kids from SummerCamp and Sand Flea, another cruising family we met way back in Great Harbour, our kids played for the rest of the day.
Hayley asked me if I would leave her my coconut coozy in my will. It seems like an odd request, but how could I turn it down? CI hereby bequeath the coconut coozy to Hay.Sundowners with the captain.
Thanks for reading and following along on our amazing adventures!!
Our last morning in Cape Eleuthera was so beautiful, it was hard to leave. But it was also a great boating day, and we were anxious to get moving north. The water was like glass, so we put the boat on autopilot and enjoyed the view from the bow for a while. It’s amazing being able to see down 15 feet clear as day.
Our first sunset at Governor’s Harbour.
Again, our friends on SummerCamp were anchored nearby, so we headed over there for dinner and sundowners which was so kind and generous of them. It turned into an interesting night, with the kids grabbing minnows right out of the water with their bare hands and Mike paying the kids to eat them. They also caught some crabs floating on top of the water, but luckily none of them were eaten. I guess sometimes we have to make our own entertainment out here, and things like that seem fun.
In the morning we saw this guy swim right past our bow. We also saw some dolphins in the harbour. Seeing sea creatures from the boat is always fun–especially when they’re not sharks!!
Colin was thrilled to beat Mike for the first time at chess!! They have battled about a dozen times or so since Colin learned how to play in August and he finally beat his dad!! Don’t worry–he keeps track!!
Mid morning we headed in to town to extend our visas and visit the grocery store. In the Bahamas, you get a 90 day visa when you enter by boat, and ours expires on 4/8. Since the customs and immigration office is convenient to the anchorage, we figured it was a good time to extend for another month or so.
Waiting to head to town.
Unfortunately, the customs and immigration wasn’t where we thought it was, so we tabled that chore for a while and headed to get groceries. We found these thin pizza crusts that we brought from the Dollar Tree in Florida. It was interesting to see the mark up–$4.42 instead of just $1. I couldn’t bring myself to pay that much more for them even though we only have about 5 of our original 40 left. The grocery store had more options than some islands, but it was all so expensive and fresh foods were already starting to over ripen. We were picky and only bought what we really thought we needed.
After unloading groceries and having lunch on the boat, we headed back to town to extend the visas and explore a bit.
View of the anchorage.Heading toward the town dock and customs and immigration offices.Tobin signing his visa extension form.We passed by this colorful building used for the weekly Friday Night Fish Fry, which we hear is quite popular and enjoyable.
This building was built in 1897 as a library and it is now the town library again, after being several other businesses through the years. It was a beautiful building, inside and out, and interesting to explore. I love thinking of all the history in a place like this.
I think more buildings at home should be painted these bright colors–so cheerful and happy.The archway separates the children’s area from the main area.The kids had a lot of fun reading and playing. It was nice to be in a library again.One of the sections in the children’s area.What a beautiful view out the front door!! The desks to the left were filled with laughing school-age girls doing homework who kept getting shushed by the librarian. It was fun to see them carefree and acting like children.
Outside the library, we did some more exploring. Tobin fell of this cement wall shortly after I took this picture and hit his head on the grass. I felt like a bad mom, but accidents happen and it wasn’t serious at all.
The day before there were 3 stray dogs running and barking on this beach, but I was glad they were absent for our visit.
Governor’s Harbour is one of the original settlements in Eleuthera settled by the Eleutheran Adventurers in 1648 who left Bermuda in search of religious freedom. They crashed on a reef at the northern end of the island and called it home. Eleuthera comes from the Greek word for “freedom.”
There were a few restaurants and shops in town to check out and a very old cemetery. I saw a headstone that was over 200 years old.
After exploring and returning back to the boat, Mike and I enjoyed sundowners watching a gorgeous sunset while the kids relaxed and watched TV.
The captain looks pretty official with his handlebar mustache.
Governor’s Harbour was a cute little town to explore and a nice anchorage. It was a good stop. Thanks for reading about our adventures and following along!!
We had a calm, sunny morning to head across the Sound to Eleuthera. This is a deep water crossing that is fairly exposed to the Atlantic, so we definitely wanted a good travel day and we lucked out.
Playing with the hermit crabs was great entertainment and distraction from traveling!We saw a small pod of HUGE dolphins within the first half hour, so that was a great morale booster, as well! They weren’t very social, though, so they let us cruise right on past without even playing.Breakfast underway. I’m not sure Tobin ever wears a shirt!!?Beautiful, clear morning.Getting closer, you can see land in the distance! We saw about a half dozen sportfishermen on our way across, but not much else.Flying fish!! This is a great picture a friend took of a flying fish that landed in their cockpit. We see flying fish every time we have a deep water passage. They are SO COOL, and to think we didn’t even know they existed before we crossed to the Bahamas!!?
Since we were expecting a big cold front to head through that would bring high winds and heavy seas for a few days, we decided to hunker down at Cape Eleuthera Marina. We hadn’t been to a marina since the end of January, so docking felt new and tricky and nerve-wracking again!! This marina has a restaurant, a pool, and a $300 credit when you stay for 4 nights so it was PERFECT!! Plus, our friends on SummerCamp met us here, so that made it even better!!
All tied up at the dock!Heading to the pool after some lunch!Our first sunset in Eleuthera. Beautiful.
Cape Eleuthera is on a point at the southern end of the island, so it is surrounded by beaches and water. We could see both the Sound and the Atlantic Ocean from our slip. Amazing.
The winds picked up on our 2nd day.Out walking and exploring the grounds. They are set up for future development, but there’s not much to see away from the marina at this point.INNTW on a dock!!Boat school on land. It was a nice break from being on the boat all the time, but we really had to keep track of all our stuff with that wind!
Of course we spent plenty of time at the pool each day. Tobin was swimming on his own so much that by the 2nd day, I didn’t even bring his lifejacket to the pool anymore!! Amazing!! It also helped that we had friends there to motivate him to swim. The beach was just on the other side of the pool, so it was a great set up.
The pool, the beach, hermit crabs, and coconuts–lots to play with here!Overlooking the pool, overlooking the Sound. Sure can’t complain. Lucky kiddos.It is wonderful to see their independence and confidence grow.
Mike and I were so lucky that SummerCamp offered to watch the kids on their boat one night so that we could go out to eat at the restaurant onsite. DATE NIGHT!! Having friends around is definitely fun for the kiddos and the adults, but it leads to some late nights!!
Dinner at Barracudas.Bahamian beers.Our view from dinner.
This mega yacht was parked in our marina for the first few days we were there. One morning another boater told us that the marina is owned by the owner of Amway from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I stopped cold because I realized that is Betsy DeVos’ family. I don’t want this to be a political blog, but let me say that as a public school teacher, I was instantly ashamed to be staying in this marina and disgusted that I was supporting their family. In that exact timeframe, DeVos was in the news defending her plans to cut funding for special olympics and explaining how larger class sizes can be beneficial. It did lead to many good jokes between our friends for the rest of the stay, and we felt vindicated because of our $300 credit and we may or may not have peed in her pool. I would never stay here again knowing that it is owned by DeVos.
She also owns part of the company that made her yacht. A parody I watched said that she “bathes in teachers’ tears and burns up school supplies to fuel her yachts.” So that’s where all our school supplies are going?!
The beach was decked out with all kinds of hammocks and tikis for relaxing.
Give kids a bag of chips and a hammock and they’ll be happy for hours!!Feeling lucky to be in this beautiful place.
Later that day, we entertained the girls from SummerCamp so their parents could have a solo date night. We got out all our sporting equipment and played a little of everything. Wall ball, frisbee, football, soccer, sidewalk chalk, and finally a fairly organized game of baseball. We followed it all up with mac ‘n’ cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and a movie. What more could a kid want?!
Lots of coaching during this game!! And unfortunately we don’t have a bat, so we had to use a paddle?! Everyone had fun regardless!!
On our last day we rented a car to go exploring. I’ve read that Eleuthera is best explored by car, so we set off to explore the 110 mile long island along the *only* road, trying to remember to drive on the left. There were a lot of little settlements to drive through and we got a little glimpse of local life.
We ran a few errands and then stopped at this food truck set up right in someone’s backyard. It is interesting how some Bahamians have come to be so resourceful, that they find ways to fill a need or find a void and make a living. When we passed by this spot later in the night, it was a full on party!!
We stopped at French Leave Beach which is a pink beach on the Atlantic side, right in front of an old Club Med. It was a very light shade of pink, and darker where the waves washed up on shore. It sure was fun to look at. Like a trick of the senses.
The sand is colored with plenty of pink crystals, and the kids spent a while trying to pick out JUST the pink parts. The big waves brought a little seaweed up on the beach.
On our next stop we hiked to The Cliffs, which is exactly what it sounds like. It was an area of high cliffs overlooking the menacing Atlantic Ocean. The gusting wind was dying down, but the waves were still pretty intense.
Hayley and I look miniscule from Mike’s vantage point. Doesn’t his camera take the best pictures?!The boys walked out on another section and ended up stumbling upon an actual Geocache. It was neat to look out at the waves, but if you fell, “you would surely die” (that’s our no-nonsense kid way of telling the kids it is serious and they need to be safe).We saw several large ships on the horizon and I looked them up on Marine Traffic. There were 3 cruise ships out there, pushing through the waves. That is a bonus of our trip, that we don’t HAVE TO travel on icky weather days!!
The area around Hatchet Bay had rolling hills and lots of old silos.
The next stop was the Hatchet Bay Cave. We weren’t quite sure what to expect here, but it turned out to be a gem!! Probably the highlight of our day. We headed toward the cave right after another couple, and while they didn’t get very far before turning around, we traveled deep into this cave and saw some amazing history. It’s interesting how great adventures often lead to questions and curiosities about other things, isn’t it?!
Wondering what in the world we’re in for, heading through this hole in the ground!!Getting the lay of the land after the first set of stairs. This was a bigger, bright room, with lots of crushed rock and a few very dark nooks and crannies.The ceiling had all these straws and stalactites forming. There were some very large stalactites further on that had crashed to the ground. It’s amazing to think how long it took them to form.
After the picture below, we went down a ladder under a spray painted sign saying “Welcome to Hell.” The other adventurers down there with us turned around at this point, saying this was the stuff of their nightmares, but we pushed on. It was pitch dark from here, and we relied on cell phone flashlights to see. There was a thin string on the ground running through the cave, so it was easy to find our way as long as we followed the string. There were several “rooms” and other pathways we did not travel.
I was equally amazed by the cave itself AND the signatures and years on the walls. We saw dates back to 1849 and even King George VII. This cave has some amazing history!! Just imagine people venturing down there with oil lamps or torches and writing their names with cinders. You can tell this writing is from long ago just by the formation of the letters. There were also signs saying there was hidden gold, but it was marked as found….bummer!!
I wish we would have taken more pictures of the walls to examine closer later, but to take a picture literally everyone had to stop walking because we had to point our flashlight/phone/camera over to the side of the wall. Then we all stood still in darkness while the picture took and until we could shine a light on the path again. It took quite a bit of coordinating, and of course, we had no idea if they were turning out at all.
Is it creepy that it smelled like cigars down there, the further we went?
The kids are amazing and were not scared at all really. It helped that there were no creatures that we saw, though we have read that there can be a large number of bats down there. Eventually, Hayley, Tobin, and I turned back. We weren’t sure if the cave was going to have a dead end or another exit, and we were ready to be done traipsing through the dark. We turned around and followed the string all the way back to the entrance. Mike and Colin said we only needed to travel through one more “room” before we could see the light streaming in from the exit.
We had another real life experience with column formations, flowstones, and all that cool cave stuff!!
Look at that smile once Colin could see light pouring in from the exit. Such a good feeling!!
There was a rope ladder at the end to climb out. The boys had such a feeling of accomplishment after traveling through the cave from start to finish. They were ecstatic they stuck with it. In hindsight, we should have pushed on, too.
Even though I was disappointed we didn’t travel the whole way through the cave, I was thrilled that Colin and Mike did and very happy with how brave everyone was on this uncertain adventure. We estimate the cave is about a mile long to walk through, but less than a half a mile on the surface. If you want to read more history on this cave (it was first mentioned in a magazine in 1874!!) or learn about it’s diverse biology, check out Project Eleuthera. I recommend this site for lots of great info on adventures in Eleuthera.
Driving past the governor’s residence in Governor’s Harbour we had this spectacular view.
The Glass Window Bridge was our last touristy stop. This is an very narrow part of Eleuthera where the Atlantic Ocean is on one side and the Sound on the other side. When the waves really get rolling, they can go right over the road and it has to be shut down. People have been swept away from this area. It is beautiful to see the deep, dark blue water on one side with no one except for the crazy cruise ships far out to sea, and the shallow, light green water on the other side with cruisers and boats anchored nearby. Such a dichotomy.
Atlantic side–thousands of feet deep.Sound side–maybe 20 feet deep.
This picture (borrowed from the internet) gives you an idea of what the Glass Window Bridge looks like from the side. We never went close to it in our boat, as it was slightly out of the way. I sure hope they check the integrity of the bridge regularly, especially with all that salt water corrosion!!
We were starving after this long day of adventuring, so we found a great restaurant overlooking the sunset. Mike had fish and Tobin just had to eat another eyeball. Gross!!
After dinner, we still had a 2 hour drive to get back to the boat. Luckily the kiddos were exhausted so they conked right out which made it easier to focus on driving in the dark on the left side of the road.
This is when you know you had a full day of adventures!!
The next day we were off to explore Eleuthera more by boat! Thanks for reading and following along on our adventures!! Make sure you follow our Facebook page, INNTWadventures, for real-time, daily updates, too!!
Here is a video recap of our trip south through the Exumas. February was the most amazing month, so be prepared–it is about 20 minutes long, but full of adventure. These were the absolute best days!! Thanks for following our adventures!!
We felt stuck and lost, not knowing which way to turn next. Our time was growing short in the Bahamas and we had 2 choices–head west back through the Berries and Bimini or head east to Eleuthera and then north to the Abacos. Plus, we had a cold front creeping in that was supposed to bring wicked west winds for 3 days. Mike and I sat there for a good few hours hashing out options and looking over possible routes, trying to match them with good weather protection. Finally, a friend mentioned Cape Eleuthera Marina as an option and instantly, we knew we found our path. We had 1 more day to play in the Exumas before we needed to head east, so we went to the east side of Norman’s, just outside of the pond, where there is a “whale’s tail” for protection. We loved this area the last time we were at Norman’s and do you want to know the REAL reason we went there?! Hermit crabs!!
See why they call it the “Whale’s Tail”?A beautiful morning to tuck around to the whale’s tail.The captain getting a good look at the water–so clear and calm.
As soon as we dropped anchor, we gathered our gear for the beach. We have fond memories of playing here before, and the scenery is gorgeous.
INNTW, outside of Norman’s.The kids loved playing in the trees and on the beach, with a little swimming in the mix.Such a beautiful spot.
After a bit of beach walking for the adults and playing for the kiddos, we walked over to the other side of the whale’s tail to the spot where we found lots of hermit crabs before. Both sides of the tail are beautiful and amazing. I could stay here for a long time in the right weather!!
Another beautiful beach on the north side.
Sure enough, the kids found tons of hermit crabs and had races and competitions of all kinds. We told them (reluctantly) that they could each pick 3 crabs to bring back to the boat. Our friends have hermit crabs and they are so entertaining for the kids and very low maintenance, so….why not?!
After everyone picked their 3 crabs, we headed back to the boat for lunch. We were surprised to find we had a big sister anchored RIGHT behind us. Seemed like they could have given us a little space, but what can ya do??
After lunch we swam off the back of the boat and made the hermit crab habitat just right. I was desperate to explore some of the other beaches, so we took off exploring until just before sunset when we went back and gathered up all of our gear at the first beach. All in all, on our last day in the Exumas, we set foot on 10 beaches. That is a good day!!
Mike made preparations for our 40 mile crossing through the Sound the next morning, which included putting the dinghy up, securing it, securing all the toys in the back, and probably checking some “tings” in the engine room. We are lucky he isn’t afraid of hard work!!
What a great last day in the Exumas!! It’s been a fun ride!! Thanks for reading and following along!!
