After a calm night on anchor at Meeks Patch we did a little school and then pulled up the hook to head over to Spanish Wells. Calling the fuel dock we were told that another boat was there so we decided to wait outside the harbor entrance where there would be more room. With 18 kts of wind almost on the nose we held a stationary position with just a little engine power for 35 minutes until the dock was clear. This gave us time to observe other boats going in and out of the narrow and busy channel.
We’ve only used 24 gallons of diesel since our last fill on 24 March at Staniel Cay. Prices here are reported to be the lowest in the Bahamas and we concur at $2.38 a gallon. The dock help could be better, as they released the boat prior to me boarding! The current almost took Intuition into the boat behind us before I had a chance to jump aboard and reach the throttle. It was noon, so it must have been time to go to lunch.
Shortly after that we were tied off at Spanish Wells Yacht Haven. Here the dock hand helped three boats dock in rapid succession with three knots of current and no major problems. The marina is only $1/foot and is centrally located. It hasn’t quite recovered from Hurricane Floyd, but they have ambitious plans for the future, which will then make it more than $1/foot!
Spanish Wells is an interesting town on Charles and Russell Islands just off the Northwest coast of Eleuthera. The inhabitants are descended from English Puritans who arrived in 1648. It is the only Methodist Island in the Bahamas and the residents are almost entirely white, quite the opposite of most of the country. Unlike the towns on Eleuthera, this is not primarily a tourist destination. The economy here is driven by lobster fishing. The season is closed now so all the boats are in port while
the fisherman paint and prepare them for the next season.
We walked most of the island on Saturday. There is a HUGE (by Bahamian standards) Food Fair grocery store, nice beaches and lots of small, pastel painted homes. Residents have flowering shrubs and lots of unique lawn ornaments made from flotsam and jetsam making it fun to look at each yard. Noticed that all the buildings have white painted roofs, no matter what material they are made from. It must help reflect some of the heat. Temps were in the mid-eighties so we stopped for a treat and had milk shakes at a real soda fountain.
Met several other cruisers here in the marina. Was able to pass on the “secret” method of programming frequencies into an Icom Single Side Band radio with Calypso, the boat next door. Turned out they are from Portland Maine and he taught photography at Stanford before going off and developing computer programs for marketing companies, so we had quite a bit in common. An interesting boat in the marina is CuRosa from Helsinki, Finland. Two young couples are aboard and the unique boat has lots of hand made metal work, with a seahorse for their figurehead. They are headed for Bermuda and then back to Finland.
Sunday morning I walked up to the Methodist Church. It is a modern hexagonal building and the first Methodist church I’ve ever seen that has its own beach! The people were welcoming and polite, but it was disappointingly much like a service at home. Not the energy and enthusiasm shown in some of the other churches in the Bahamas.
The town does close up pretty tight on Sunday, but we did find one restaurant open for dinner. We were the only patrons until a woman showed up for take-out. Turns out she is from Washington, NC and works in New Bern. A few minutes later Phil and Maryanne showed up from Calypso. The locals were probably in evening church services.
Other than wanting to see the community, we came here to seek protection from the cold front that came down from the US East coast over the last few days. It arrived here last night bringing West winds in the mid-30’s and dropping the temperatures down to 73. Sounds like this was a good choice as eight boats stayed at Royal Island, three dragged, one went aground and taking on water.
News from Michigan is that Beth’s dad came through carotid stent surgery on Wednesday. It went well and he is recovering in the hospital. He hopes to go home tomorrow, but hasn’t received permission from the doctors yet. Beth has done laundry and updated our .mac email at Teen Planet today. Haven’t found free wi-fi here and paid the most to date for access at $10 for an hour. It did allow her to Skype and talk with her dad and sisters.
Noah and I walked the town in search of a stern light this afternoon. The marine stores are good here, but the parts are stocked for commercial fishing boats, not pleasure sailboats. We didn’t find anything suitable. We did stumble upon a shop in the garage of a home that sold very nice shells. Found a reasonably priced conch horn, so now I have no excuse for not greeting the sunset properly. Just have to learn to put my lips together and blow! The elderly lady that owns the shop demonstrated for
Noah and I. She also had interesting starfish and different lobster shells that fisherman bring her to preserve.
The next weather window to cross to the Abacos may be Thursday or possibly not until early next week. In either event we hope to take the Fast Ferry over to Harbour Island to see that resort area before we go.
We just ended the day by taking turns blowing our new conch horn. Noah almost has it working, Beth needs more practice and I got a note to sound. Gordon on Current Jumper put us all to shame by playing a long, loud tone and then jumping up an octave. Turns out he is a trombone player. That is much better prior experience than my ancient history of sax honking.