Cruising Up Eleuthera Island; Heading to Abacos

Wednesday, March 17:
Left Highbourne Cay at 7:55 a.m. We motored at 2600 rpms and SOG was 5.5 knots with 11.6 knots of wind. We were in Exuma Sound and that deep navy water again. The water was so pretty. It was 5,000 ft. deep at one point.

The sound was eerily calm. No wave height at all. I went down below and made Chuck and bacon and egg sandwich on toast. Wayne called to say he got reservations at Cape Eleuthera Marina.

At about 12:30 p.m., we could see the island in a distance. Wayne caught a Mahi-Mahi and said he would be a while getting it into the boat. We turned the motor off and sat and watched. I took some photos of him getting it on board. While he cleaned it and filleted it, I went down below to make some lunch.

We got underway about an hour later and soon arrived at the Powell Pointe Resort and Yacht Club at Cape Eleuthera. We topped off our fuel tanks, since we may not be able to get it again until The Abacos. We docked in slip #128, right near the fuel dock. There was a nice provisioning store and Bahama Coffee House, which was a Starbucks in disguise.

Patti made baked chicken, homemade potato salad and corn for dinner.

At 8 p.m., Chuck rebuilt the head. First he changed the duck bill, which was shot. It worked for a minute, then starting flowing water in again. He reopened the bottom where the duck bill is and a piece of conch shell was sucked up with the sea water, holding the duck bill open. That was a first!

Thursday, March 18:
We ate breakfast in the Bahama Coffee House for a change of pace. It was expensive and only so-so.

We launched at 10:30 a.m. and headed for Rock Sound anchorage. It was really rough getting through the mouth of the harbor, but fairly calm once we got through. It was sunny and 72 degrees. We motor sailed at 2000 rpms with half the main out. SOG was 4.6 knots and wind speed was 10.5 knots. Visibility was 3.8 nm. We saw a big shark swim right past our starboard side. It was fast!

Chuck caught a little bluefish and threw it back. Just before noon, we turned the motor off. Winds were 9 knots and SOG was only 2 knots, but we weren’t going far and were enjoying the day.

At 1:45 p.m., we arrived at Rock Harbor and dropped anchor near the town dinghy dock. We spent a few hours uptown and I did a lot of provisioning at the first supermarket we’ve seen since Nassau! I was thrilled to find a case of Crystal Geyser water for $19.99 for 35 bottles!

The Exumas only had little mom and pop “convenience” stores, no supermarkets. A worker from the store drove me back to the dinghy dock and I called Chuck on the portable radio to pick me up.

We loaded up the dinghy in the choppy waves. That was challenging, since the tide was low and I had to hand the bags down, then the case of water with the dinghy bouncing up and down. Then I climbed down four steps of a ladder to get in for the wet ride back to the boat.

I put the groceries away and we pulled anchor and moved the boat to the Northeast side of the island near the beach. There was going to be a bonfire on the beach with several other boaters later that night and we wanted to go.

We took the dinghy over to Bum’s Rest for dinner. Patti cooked again while the Mahi-Mahi was fresh. She breaded it and pan-fried it. It was delicious! She made rice with pigeon peas and string beans. We haven’t been having coffee at night to save water.

Chuck and I went to the bonfire on the beach and met other cruisers from Makana, Cookie Monster, Sun Cat, Tortuga and Wayward Wind. Cookie Monster is from Barnegat Bay, near us at home! What a small world!

We got back to the boat and realized Chuck’s remote that turns on the lights in our bimini was missing. He used it to turn our lights off when we left for the beach, but wasn’t in the dinghy. Guess it went overboard. Damn.

Friday, March 19: Chuck jumped in the dinghy and went back to the beach where the bonfire was to see if he could be lucky enough to find his missing remote. He looked all around the beach and where the bonfire was. Just as he was ready to give up, he spotted a tip of the Boat U.S. lanyard the remote was on. It was his lucky day!

It must have fallen out of his pocket when he helped put sand on the fire to put it out and it was buried in the sand on top of the fire! Miraculously, it still works. The embers must have kept it dry.

He came back to the boat and I made sausage and French toast, using the Bahamian bread left from Highbourne. It was yummy. He took Jazzy and I to shore and we walked about a mile to the bank near the grocery store to get cash from the ATM. No luck. My bank refused any transactions. We were able to see my balance, but that was it. I notified them before we left that we would be out of the country and wanted to use our ATM cards. They said no problem. And I was able to use it in the grocery store yesterday. I was so frustrated. The teller was so sweet and tried all different options, but nothing worked.

I walked back to the Batelco office (Bahamas Telephone Company) to use my pre-paid Batelco card to call TD Bank. The phone company had two pay phones outside. One was totally gone and the other didn’t have a hand receiver! I went inside and was told the only pay phone on the island is at the airport, which is at the other end of the island, way past the Market Place, where I had just come from. I didn’t want to pay $10 for Internet, since we’re leaving in the morning and we wanted to do more exploring this afternoon.

So, guess I’m out of luck until we go to The Abacos, where I’m hoping to be able to get a flight to my niece’s wedding next week! If I’m fortunate enough to be able to get a flight, I’ll get cash then.

I was not prepared for The Bahamas and their cash only policies almost everywhere you go. And we’re getting low on cash. Note for next trip: LOTS of cash before leaving home and small bills. Many places cannot break big bills. We’re fine, but since credit cards are rarely used on these little islands, we won’t be spending much money.

It was my turn to cook. I made boneless chicken breast dipped in panko, rosemary potatoes, fresh steamed broccoli and fresh strawberries with cool whip for dessert. I splurged and made coffee.

Tomorrow we’re moving to an anchorage in Governor’s Harbour.

Sat., March 20: We anchored in Governor's Harbour overnight and left for Hatchet Bay on Sunday morning, where we are anchored. I'll update in the next few days.