Sunday dawned with calm winds and we pulled the anchor at 0830 leaving 23 boats behind in the harbor. By 0857 we rounded Sound Point and dodged occasional coral heads for the next hour. At 1055 we had a fish on the handline and slowed to make it easier to bring in. Guess that was a mistake because we retrieved the line with no fish and no lure. Noah finished “The True Story of Okee the Otter” underway and now wants a pet otter. Judging by how hard he laughed while reading it, we can recommend the book to any nine year old.
By 1237 we were anchored in 15 feet of water just off the beach in Governor’s Harbour. After eating lunch we dropped the dinghy and checked the anchor. It was firmly attached — to a pipe of some sort. We scouted the pipe and it went all the way to the beach and farther out in the bay than we wanted to follow it. With Mark on Intuition(in case we were able to free the anchor and Intuition started dragging), and Beth and Noah in the dinghy, Beth tossed the dinghy anchor out to hold the dinghy over the anchor so we could see to try using the boat hook fully extended to catch the forward crossbar on the anchor. We were able to anchor the dinghy right over the anchor, by catching the same pipe as the main anchor. The boat hook was a few feet too short to reach the anchor, so Noah suggested we put the outboard tiller extension on it to make it reach. Well, it did reach, but with Noah looking thru the window and telling Beth right, left, forward or back, it was no wonder that that too caught on the pipe and when Beth pulled, the tiller extension came up, but the boat hook slowly filled with water and ended up on the bottom, with the hook under the pipe! At least all three things were all clustered together! Time to go back to Intuition and change crew out. Noah stayed aboard Intuition, and Mark was with Beth in the dinghy. Beth was the diver this time and was able to get the boat hook on her second try. The dinghy anchor came up next, and she then tried to take the free end of the dinghy rode down thru the anchor cross bar and use that to pull up on, but she didn’t explain her plan clearly to Mark, who was pulling tight on the line, instead of giving it slack to go down and up. Beth called it quits and we then tried a different plan. We freed the anchor by motoring past it and slowly reeling it in with the windlass. Guess we should have tried that first! Reanchored, but weren’t able to get the CQR to set. The chartbook warned about poor holding and we decided to take their word and head a little further out. We rounded Levi Island and were greeted by a pod of five dolphins. Taking that as a good omen, we set the hook on the first try just off Toms Rocks. A couple of fly fisherman on the beach and a kayak sliding by made for a very peaceful anchorage as we were the only boat.
This morning we took the dinghy over to Governor’s Harbor and tied up at the dock by the government clinic. We can recommend this method of visiting!
We were there before anything opened, so walked over the hill to the Atlantic side. Not knowing where we were going, we stumbled onto the grounds of the old Club Med. It may be redeveloped as French Leave Resort, but will require lots of investment. The beach is beautiful with pinkish sand due to the abundance of conches in the composition of the sand.
Beth saved a small jar to bring home. Met a local travel agent and his son on the beach who had spent some time in Durham. The boys built a sand castle while we talked about the islands and home. Walking back over to town we found that the grocery store was open, but that was about it because Easter Monday is a holiday.
The seawall provided more entertainment than any store could. Thousands of minnows were visible in the clear, shallow water. They were being pursued by all manner of needlefish, jacks, barracuda and even a small Nassau Grouper.
Crossing the causeway to Cupid’s Cay we found an old church and the town library, both of which were good picture subjects. The library was closed, but a vacationing German family was on the porch using the free wi-fi. This gave Noah another chance to play with kids for a few minutes.
Heading back to the dock we walked up the hill to visit the Duck Inn. Guidebooks mentioned an orchid garden and they were quite right. After being alerted by his three legged dog, the proprietor was happy to have us visit and invited us to wander the grounds. There were hundreds of orchids in hanging baskets, a cat sunning itself on a deck and great views of the harbor.
We were back at Intuition for lunch and had the anchor up by 1230. Although we could easily have spent another day around picturesque Governor’s Harbour, the weather forecast is for another cold front to come through on Tuesday night and there isn’t all around protection there. Six knots of wind out of 130 let us motorsail with the Jib up the coast. Although there is no charted coral, we found at least six lines of crab pots. These were the first we’ve seen in the Bahamas and were reminded of sailing in the Chesapeake. We deployed the hand line with a new Clark Spoon and had a hit within five minutes. Unfortunately the fish took our new lure without even showing himself.
Hatchet Bay Pond is the harbor we chose for protection. Approaching the charted waypoint, rock cliffs jutting out into the the Sound didn’t look very hospitable. Noah was assigned the lookout job and found the 90 foot break in the cliff without any problem. We issued a securitay on the radio before passing through and encountered no other traffic. Once inside we picked up a free government mooring and relaxed. Only 15 nm from last night’s anchorage, it is nice to know that a safe haven exists on the western side of Eleuthera.
Beth took the dinghy and visited with folks from Virginia Beach on a big Ketch named Marnie. She got the run down on the area and was assured that the moorings are safe. While we were relaxing before dinner, a Bahamas Ferry came in through the cut and headed over to the government dock. They barely fit through the opening. The did NOT announce their arrival on the VHF, or even show up on AIS. Made it seem worthwhile to make the call before traversing the cut.
We expect to be here until the weather blows through, probably sometime Wednesday or Thursday. The harbor looks like it has seen better days and still shows hurricane damage with a few boats washed up on the shore. The marina and marine railway no longer exist. Maybe we will explore Alice Town after school tomorrow.