Month: March 2020

Well Caroline’s vacation has ended and she has returned to Toronto. We had a great visit with Caroline and explored Spanish Wells and Harbour Island. Lots of sun, fun and laughs (also lots of food and drink!)

Our journey continues with Jim as crew. A cold front has moved into the area so we decided to head to the northern part of Eleuthera where there are some really nice anchorages that have good protection from north to south east. We headed out from Rose Island on Friday (March 6) and had an amazing downwind sail. We used the spinnaker and the main sail in the light winds and made great time. We also did some fishing and caught what we think was an amberjack (or banded rudderfish). The fish was awesome – we had quite the feast last night!

We are currently anchored at Goulding Beach, a nice settled spot in these strong northeast winds. It’s great to be back on Eleuthera. Mark and I explored parts of this island last year but not this section. Today we walked to the Glass Window (a bridge that allows you to see the ocean on one side and the Great Bahamas Bank on the other) and the Queen’s Bath. Both are amazing examples of the power of the ocean and the environment.

There is a nice restaurant close to our anchorage called Daddy Joes. We had lunch there today and it was very good. Our server was very chatty so we found out lots about her and the Bahamas. It’s always interesting talking with Bahamians and getting their take on tourism this year. Tourism is down everywhere in the Bahamas – Hurricane Dorian has made a big impact and now the Coronavirus is causing people to stay away. Not great for a country that relies on tourism as one of their main source of revenue.

Lots of photos for you this time! Enjoy

The best part of having a sailboat is being able to share our adventure with family and friends. Caroline joined us at New Providence Island on Feb. 23. We were anchored in West Bay during a very windy front coming in from the north. It was so rolly that it was difficult to sleep at night. Once Caroline arrived, we quickly realized that the anchorage was not a great place to stay, so we moved into a marina.

Nassau Harbour Club Marina was recommended to us so we decided to move there until Jim arrived on Thursday, Feb. 27. The marina was very nice with a pool (which Caroline really liked!) and a very nice restaurant. We had a great rest at this marina (especially after 4 nights of intense rolling) and we did laundry, grocery shopping and a bit of sight seeing.

After Jim arrived on Thursday, we headed to Rose Island (about 7 knots away) for a night. After that we sailed east to Spanish Wells on Saturday, Feb. 29. The day started with major burning smells from the engine room. Turns out the new alternator Mark bought in Nassau couldn’t handle the load of our battery system (it’s a car alternator not designed for our batteries). Mark had to disconnect the alternator so we could use the engine to get sails up. It was a rough sail with high winds and waves about 5 – 6 ft on the side. We were all very happy to get into our anchorage at Spanish Wells and with the big wind, we were anchored by 3pm.

We spent today exploring Spanish Wells. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and very few things were open, except for the 2 liquor stores! We had a great lunch and spent some time on the north side beach. It was a very good day.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Harbour Island (where the pink sand is) and maybe spend a bit of time in Spanish Wells. Tuesday we will head back to Rose Island and then we’ll be back at the Nassau Harbour Club Marina to get Caroline on her flight home on Thursday. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!