We’re still holed up on a mooring in Hatchet Bay Pond, Eleuthera. Now that I’ve finally learned to spell Eleuthera, I need to use it more!
Yesterday after school and lunch we ventured into town to see what was here. The guide book paints a dismal picture of Alice Town. We’ve always been able to find something interesting in any community and this was no exception. The government dock has new piers where it is easy to tie up the dinghy. They even supply mooring balls so you can tie off the stern so the boat doesn’t bump against the dock. With only one other cruising boat in the harbor there was no problem finding a spot to tie off.
I was thinking about waiting for lunch at the Harborview Restaurant. Good thing we ate sandwiches aboard because the restaurant is no longer open. The town that borders the pond is Alice Town. Walking up the hill we found a government building and lots of homes under repair. A bar and “take away” restaurant looks like it might be open for dinner. It was humid and in the upper-80’s. Cresting the hill we could see the blue and green waters of Exuma Sound. Stopped for water at a nice little park with a couple of picnic tables under palm frond shelters. The beach was in contrast to a sad looking bar and a considerable amount of liter from a party the night before. It looks like the community has seen better days and hasn’t yet recovered from the last hurricane. The local school looked well kept and was named P.A. Gibson School. We thought that was coincidental since Noah’s principal back in Durham is Mr. Gibson.
Beth and Noah elected to go back to Intuition while I walked West. They met a local kid at the dock and gave him a ride around the harbor in the dinghy. We had said hello to him a couple of times in town as he rode his bike around. School is out for Easter vacation so there are lots of kids wandering about.
The main rode took me past the Lutrapur R/O water plant which appears to be the only employer around. After seeing that the water source is Hatchet Bay, I’m not sure I want to purchase any! A liquor store, grocery and beauty supply share a strip mall and the grocery wasn’t open. Walking further I ran into some kids who wanted their picture taken. They were excited to see it on the camera screen. Further along was a poor residential area where the kids disappeared into a big Banyan tree that they use as a clubhouse and playground. Waling back I found more children and one about Noah’s age asked me for two dollars. A few minutes later a kid no older than four came up and said “dollar, dollar”. I didn’t give the kids money, but wished I had some books or pencils or something they might have used. It was the first time I’d been asked for anything by people in the Bahamas. Usually it is “Good Afternoon” or “How are you today?”
Exploring on the way back I found the dirt road that went down to the abandoned marina. A couple of burned out boats, the shell of a concrete building and the rusted rails of a marine railway are all that remain. This area has tremendous potential as a safe harbor with nice ocean beaches within walking distance. I’m afraid it will be a very long time before that potential is realized.
The reason we are here is to hide out from a predicted cold front. We went to bed expecting the winds to pick up after midnight. There was lightning in the distance as we turned in at 2100 and it had rained enough that the decks were clean, so I opened the deck fitting for fresh water and put out the rolled up cloth that acts as a little dam to divert water into the tanks.
Waking up to listen to the weather at 0630 we were thrilled to have completely full water tanks. We were less thrilled to have a completely full dinghy. Water was over the bow compartment so we emptied everything out of there. In doing so, the radio slipped out of the dinghy bag and headed for the bottom in twenty feet of jelly fish filled green water. Since it isn’t that waterproof we left it as an offering to the jellies in Hatchet Bay. I don’t know how much rain we had, but it must have been more
than six inches. The wind hit a little later than predicted and for a relatively short period of time with a few gusts in the low 30’s. It should all be south of us by tomorrow morning.
Noah surprised us after school today by saying he would like to go to Maine on the boat next summer. “Six months on the boat would be better than a year. I liked most of the places on the way up.” This is the first time he has expressed any interest in continuing cruising.