Royal Island, Eleuthera to Marsh Harbour, Abaco

Wandering Star at anchor in Royal Island, Eleuthera

Our last few days in Eleuthera were spent happily sitting in the protected bay of Royal Island.  A beautiful and serene spot filled only with abandoned ruins, turtles and chirpy birdsong.

Turtles love Royal Island

 Although the island is private with a new luxury development built at the west end no one seemed concerned with us taking some walks ashore.

New private villas at the west end of Royal Island

 The remains of a 1950’s estate that must have once been an impressive sight is now over grown with vines and roots giving it a “lost temple” kind of appearance.

Some of the old ruins of a 1950's estate

A short walk further on takes you to the north side of the island where there is a teeny weeny harbour probably from the old estate days. 

A small man made harbour on the north side of Harbour Island

As we waited for the balmy days to freshen with enough wind to continue our journey northwards, we spent our time snorkeling on the south side of the island among the many small coral heads teaming with fish.

Sim found a beauty of a shell - sadly for me it was still occupied

A day or two after the arrival of our friends on Hunda the wind filled in and we sailed together up to the Abaco’s in the northern Bahamas for our last month of island hoping before we cross back over to the United States for hurricane season.

Now you see them,now you don't - sailing with Hunda

We had a great sail arriving just in time for sundowners at Lynyard Cay; another fab spot where cruisers have left their mark by leaving hammocks, chairs and BBQ’s for others to enjoy. 

Sim taking it easy at Lynyards Cay

We loitered there for a few days walking on beaches, snorkeling and pottering on with jobs on board before the pressing matter of no cat food had us seeking out a supermarket 20 miles further north in Marsh Harbour. Hell hath no fury like our cat without her biscuits!

One unimpressed kitty with an empty biscuit container in front of her!

Since then here we sit in the “big city” of Marsh Harbour; spending a fortune in the supermarket filling up our dwindling stores. Enjoying the odd meal ashore (are we the only ones who feel $14 for a burger with NO fries is expensive?) but then trying to stay away from the bars as we balk at the ever increasing price of a beer- where have the $1 and $2 Happy Hours gone? Ironically we found cheaper places in the exclusive Harbour Island than here.  But we’ve enjoyed great nights with old friends Hunda and Khaya Moya as well as meeting new ones, from Rat Catcher and Flying Pig. 

The marinas in Marsh Harbour

But the best news over the last week has been becoming an aunty to my sisters baby the very cute and adorable little Libby who I can’t wait to go and meet.

Welcome to the world Libby.xxx

Some more of the ruins of the estate in Royal Island

Gorgeous beach - now part of the private development on Royal Island

We managed to take a sneaky look around 

Snorkeling outside the rocky shore at Royal Island

With lots of coral under the water

Shame I couldnt take this beauty home

Er, Cruiser art - flotsam and jetsom

Always beach combing at Lynyard Cay

Looking out to the Atlantic Ocean at Lynyard cay

So many starfish

But what on earth is this?

A walk to The Crossing at Marsh Harbour

Crossing Beach

Crossing beach has suffered hurricanes and invasive plants but with 

conservation groups help it has been restored over recent years.

When The Weather Man Says Its Raining!

The beginning of some very nasty weather

We were sitting over at Meek’s Patch waiting for a weather window to sail up to the Abaco’s when our weather man 'Chris Parker' started talking about a period of nasty weather with strong west-ish winds and massive thunderstorms bringing 60kts plus wind in squalls -. Eek! I didn't like the sound of that. We had an uncomfortable night where the wind was blowing from odd directions and we were bouncing all over the place but eventually it settled down into grey and drizzle. We spent several days like this trying to catch some of the water falling from the sky with the fancy rain catchers we made but with the gusty winds in the end we took them down. They need a little tweaking to stop them from flogging in the wind.

Then our faithful weatherman starts mentioning the possibility of a tropical low (how hurricanes start) developing right on top of us.  At first it was only a 10% chance but by the following day it increased to 30% and by that night it was 70% and then 90%. Sim and I considered our options and decided it might be a good time to treat ourselves and go into a marina for a few days.

Wandering Star in Spanish Wells Yacht Haven

Spanish Wells Yacht Haven is fairly reasonably priced at $1.50/ft considering that most marinas in the Bahamas charge well over $2.00/ ft. But they don't offer much; the water is not for drinking, they can’t hook us up to electricity (though they do have it on some docks) and the water barely works in the ladies showers (if you are brave enough to go in there in the first place!) and not at all in the men’s.  But they have good wifi (if you have a booster) and a laundry and a good book swap so not all is lost. And of course we are safe and secure.  I don’t think we would want to sit out a full strength hurricane there but for a tropical storm etc it is fine.

Yucky weather

As we got closer to the big weather event it seemed the forecast was for it to develop just to the north of us in the Abaco’s bringing us only squally, horrid weather. Not the full on horror of a hurricane, and for that we are always grateful. But it made sense for us to stay put for a few days.  Sim decided to put our “marina time” to good use and do some engine maintenance that he has wanted to do for a while, as well as a little paintwork touch-ups on deck.

Its not always fun and games in the sun!

In the mean time it was nice just to be able to get off the boat when the fancy took us.  Our friends on 'Hunda' stopped by with a group they were touring the island by car with. They dragged us out to lunch at Buddha’s Snack shack for a cheap and tasty burger. Back in the marina we found two HUGE manatees munching away on the seabed. Releasing what we can only assume to be farts as masses of bubbles rose from their rear ends! Quite a sight! Sadly I missed the got photo shot.

I missed the big eruption !

But despite their rather odd appearance manatees are very gentle creatures

With the worst of the weather over we left the marina and spent another night at Meek's Patch but the weather gods hadn't quiet finished with us yet and threw down more thunder and lightning and rain in biblical proportions for the next few days. We threw up our rain catchers again and caught as much as we could (not as much as in the good old days of Alianna when we could collect gallons in minutes from her clean flat decks directly into the tanks). But with a little ingenuity we managed to fill our tanks.

Rain Catchers up!

We moved over to the protected harbour of Royal Island where we have sat for the last couple of days and are now enjoying our first sunny morning in a while.  With the storm developing to the north of us the wind has been sucked away and we are left with barely a zephyr.  So we will sit here and wait some more for the wind to fill in so that we can get a fair sail on up to the Abaco’s.

The fishing fleet in Spanish Wells

There are lots of strange displays in people's front and back yards

Out for lunch at the Budda Snack Shack with Hunda and friends

With so much rain it has to be laundry time!

The manatees were so cute

It was sad to see all the propeller scars on their backs

Apparently it is seagull mating season - never have I heard such a raucous.

Sim dealing with all the surplus water

Yet another thunderstorm coming.

Finally a bit of calm after all the storms!

The Devils Backbone to Harbour Island -The Devils In The Details

The easy start to the Devils Backbone over the bank of shallow turquoise water

Sim and I recently took Wandering Star through the perilous passage of Eleuthera’s north coast known as the Devils Backbone. Locals advise you generally need a pilot to take you through this bit of treacherous coast but having read about a few people doing it on their own we decided we would like to try it by ourselves too.

The explorer charts showing the route through.

This trip isn’t for everyone, if there is any doubt about your ability to read the water then its best to take a pilot. We would not hesitate to take one if we felt it necessary. But Sim and I felt given the right conditions we should be able to do this with suitable planning and research.

One of our first thoughts was that it might be a good idea to take the ferry across from Spanish Wells to Harbour Town primarily to check the route but also to see if it was worth the trouble to get there.  But when we found out it cost over $50US each we decided against it for the time being.  In the mean time Sim studied the charts and read and understood the directions in the guide book and plotted the course onto the chart plotter. We then watched boats on the AIS go through the Devils Backbone. One of them was a 130 foot cargo ship with a 30 foot beam and an 8 foot draft.  We noted their positions against what we had plotted. There was a little variation between them but it gave us an idea about which way had more water.

You need to know if the dark patches are weed or coral

Finally, we trusted our ability to read the water.  It’s not always easy but we trust our instincts. We have been sailing together for 11 years and have navigated the coral strewn waters of Mexico, Belize and the San Blas.  I stand on deck while Sim captains the boat reading out depths as we go so I can confirm what my eyes are seeing.  We have been practicing this for many years and while we try to do most of our communicating by hand signals, those who know us know that sometimes there is a little shouting involved as well....but we try to keep that to when there is no one else around. ;-)

A morning arrived that the weather was perfect.  Not a breath of wind, no clouds in the sky and the sun was high, we were lucky that it was timely with almost a full tide as well.  I stood on the bow the entire time.  There is no denying I was a little anxious, this kind of thing makes me nervous but that’s a good kind of nervous, the type that keeps you safe. Sim was his usual cool as a cucumber self. First we motored over the most glorious stretch of turquoise blue about 3 meters deep and then the water changed colour to greens and browns where the ocean was filled with coral.  A lot of the coral must be avoided but you need to go over some of the deeper reefs and have the confidence to do this.  Most of this area was 5-7 meters deep.  We passed a couple of other boats coming the other way, but we had made sure we left after the ferry so we didn’t have to deal with him squeezing through as well. And finally we arrived in Harbour Island.

The shallow banks we passed over on the east coast of Spanish Town

And that is how we made it through the coral ridden coast of the Devils Backbone.

Harbour Island is worth the visit.  We anchored first at Man Island.  Spotted eagle rays swam around the boat and we enjoyed walks on the small island with interesting rock formations on both sides and small pieces of sea glass for me to add to my collection.  The sand here was actually pinker then the infamous pink sand beaches on Harbour Island itself.

Cave on Man Isand

Dunmore Town is known for its rich and famous clientele so we were prepared for the expense that so often goes hand in hand. But we were pleased to find that it also caters to those with a slightly slimmer wallet.  We enjoyed conch and burgers for $12 each at the Conch Queen on the front and BYOB beer from across the road cheaper than anywhere in the Bahamas so far. In fact buy 3 beers for $5 and they gave a Kalik lemon shandy for free!  The pink sand beaches were stunning.  Posh boutique hotels are hidden away from the beach but you know they are there by the onset of private loungers for patrons only! There is no riff raff on these beaches.  When we were there it was quite grey and overcast.  Still it was pretty impressive.  Back in town golf carts are the main mode of transport zooming along narrow streets lined with quaint loyalist cottages and pretty terraced house fronts, dotted palm trees and bougainvillea.   The supermarkets are hugely expensive but we found a great bakery called Arthur’s with wifi to happily while away a morning.

Cute houses with cute golf carts in Dunmore Town

We would have loved to have spent more time there but being aware how tricky and necessary it is to have the right weather to get in there and with inclement weather forecast we felt we should probably leave while the weather was good.  We are now anchored at Meeks Patch just south of Spanish Town to sit out a few stormy days.

The start of the Devils Backbone

Caves on Man Island

As always in the Bahamas there is a trail leading to the other side.

Large Chitons found in the rocks at Man Island

Wandering Star.

Spotted eagle ray swimming around the boat.

The beach at Man Island

On the infamous pink sand beach at Harbour Island.

It was a grey day but still pretty impressive.

Hotel loungers scattered along the beach for patrons only.

Colourful Bougainvillea brightens Dunmore Town

Enjoy a BYOB at the Conch Queen on the sea front.

Burger and Cracked conch - the usual mammoth sized Bahamian portions 

Outside Arthur's Bakery - a nice (and reasonable) place to hangout

Car plates and driftwood sculptures 

Probably something I could learn here :-)

Driftwood trees from a long ago hurricane

Dunmore Town is lovely to walk around - sadly we saw no famous people

Looking out from Harbour Island

The waterfront at Dunmore Town