Spanish Wells to Hatchet Bay

Monday 2.8.16

Time to leave Spanish Wells for a little while.  We left the mooring ball mid morning, in a very light breeze out of the NW.  We motored to Meeks Patch, since it was just a couple of miles away. We approached Meeks Patch and once again were taken aback by the most gorgeous water and beach. We spent a couple of days here, exploring the shoreline in LilBit and walking the beach. 

Meeks Patch

Rock formations along the coastline

After a couple of days at Meeks Patch, we decided to head back up to Royal Island for the night, before going South and East to Current Pass.  We had planned to go through the pass and explore a little of the island of Eleuthera.  We were expecting Ed’s sister Georgeanne to arrive on 2/17 and we had several options of where to be when her plane landed.  Anywhere on the island proper would be good, as she was flying in to North Eleuthera Airport.  

However, all plans are subject to change... Ed had been hearing a chirping in the engine room.  It had been bothering him for several days.  He wasn’t sure if it was an internal water pump bearing, or something as simple as the belt.  On the short trip from Meeks Patch to Royal Island, the engine was running hotter than usual.  After we anchored, the engine did not cool down in its normal time before shutting it down. We discussed our options and decided it would not be wise to go further south at this time.  We decided we should look into the engine issue while we were close to Spanish Wells. We would spend a night in Royal Island Harbor and the following day head back to a mooring ball at Spanish Wells.  As we were discussing this between ourselves we received a radio transmission from Walter on PuffCard (the boater we met at Great Harbour Marina that knew all about the Fantasia 35).  Walter suggested we flush the heat exchanger several times with 1/2 gallon of vinegar.  He explained the whole process to us, which was actually very easy to do.  Since I always keep vinegar on board, we were able to flush the heat exchanger several times before we weighed anchor.  We watched lots of white milky stuff come out in the raw water exhaust and low and behold the engine started running at a lower temperature!  Sweet!  But the chirping was still there, and we maintained our decision of addressing that issue before moving on.  

So, back to Spanish Wells we went.  As we approached the small inlet into the mooring field, Ed (as he always does) announces a security on the radio, that we were entering the harbour.  We got no response, which should indicate there is no oncoming traffic.  As we made the sharp turn between the government dock and the shallow sand bar, we were greeted by the Sea Express II, a (rather large) supply freighter, coming in from the opposite end of the channel.  There was very little room for us both to be in the channel.  Ed hailed him on the radio, no response.  We didn’t have time to grab the mooring ball, so Ed decided he would just try to stay out of his way and let him go around us.  An instant later, we stopped moving and crap! ran aground on the sandbar!! 

Phillip and Teresa on “Sea Ya” were watching and immediately offered help with their dinghy and 4 hp engine.  We were watching the freighter get closer and closer.  It was about 20 ft off our port quarter.  We were wedged up against the sandbar. As the freighter revved his engines to turn into the dock, he just pushed us further onto the sandbar.  As Phillip was getting into his dinghy, the ferry “High Hopes” came barrelling across the channel, yelling “throw us a line!”.  Within 30 seconds he had a line and pulled us off the sandbar and immediately disappeared back to the other side of the channel and behind the freighter.  

We proceeded onto a mooring ball, and breathed a big sigh of relief.

After relaxing a little bit, we went into town.  We were looking for a commercial product that might clean the heat exchanger better, but were advised to stick to vinegar, since we were dealing with a 35 year old engine.  We purchased a gallon jug of vinegar from Pinder’s Grocery for $12.77!! Yikes! After consulting with the mechanics at Pinder’s Tune Up (Yanmar dealer), we went back to Manatee and changed the belt (with ease!) The chirping was gone.  All systems smooth once again. We had a couple of relaxing days, had a couple of nice dinners with Phillip and Teresa and rented a golf cart to explore the island.  We found a great spot on Russell Island for lunch. We walked the beach and took lots of pictures of the local hang out spots. 

looking down a street

And looking the other way, towards the waterfront

Anyone?

The locals hangout, on the beach:

Lunch!

Sappadilly fruit

Noni Fruit, they are sweet, but the white milky stuff is sticky!

Then along came another big blow. 30-40 kt winds.  I had just pulled out my sewing box and taken the jib bag off the bow to pattern out and sew a new one.  Ed pulled out soap, water and a scrub brush and was going to go in the water and clean the hull up a little.  As Ed was going up into the cockpit, he realized something wasn’t right.  We were aground!! Up against the sandbar!! What??? We were on a mooring ball, thats not supposed to happen! As luck would have it, the mooring ball chain broke!  We were dangerously  close to another boat, “Anania” who had previously been injured by a loose boat down in Georgetown.  Tom, the captain of “Anania” and Anthony, his friend on “Magnolia” came to our aid immediately in Anthony’s dinghy. They dropped Ed’s 45 lb Bruce anchor out and using the winch and the anchor rode we were able to kedge off.  We then had the mooring ball guy take our other anchor out so we were secure until another mooring opened up. Ed sat in the cockpit for the next few hours diligently watching to ensure we didn’t drag into Anania. Magnolia left its mooring ball and we took that ball for the rest of the week.  A little nervous now about the integrity, or lack of these mooring balls.

Kick into gear, fast!

This is where the mooring ball WAS!

The meeting of Dory (the cat from Anania) and Geary (the dog from Navigator) , with Laurie making sure the meeting goes well.

Georgeanne arrived on Wednesday via American Airlines to North Eleuthera airport to Pinder’s taxi service to Manatee!! Easy!

There she is!

Ahhh, the beach!!

Lunch at Budda's, Sands Beer and a Conch Burger

The winds died down and we are ready to leave the mooring ball.  We motor sailed over to Royal Island Harbour for a day or two. We walked back up to the settlement and explored it again with Georgeanne.  Georgeanne brought up the fact that their grandfather flew seaplanes in the 20’s, and did some rum running in his day.  They figured it was very probable he roamed this land and partied in these very ruins!!

                                                   We placed our conch shell! 

In the afternoon Georgeanne and I to wanted to fish.  Ed told us there were no fish to catch in the harbour, but after a few of Ed’s rumrunners, we didn’t care.  We had a blast.

A rope fish?  She pulled a rope off the bottom!

We left Sunday morning and had a beautiful sail!  The winds were 10-15 kts out of the ENE.  We timed the floodtide and rode the 6-7 kt. current through the cut.  The water was running and churning, reminisent of the Mississippi adventure!  We got through the cut and made the sharp turn to go between the sand bar to port and the rocks to starboard.  We continued sailing along the Eleuthera Bank.  

Current Cut

The wind picked up, whitecaps on the water, but lovely sailing.  We approached the tiny cut into Hatchet Bay by 3:30 pm and got settled on the mooring ball.

Hatchet Bay

More adventures to come!

Great Harbor Anchorage to the "Elusive Eleuthera"

1/29/16
Several of our friends from the marina came out in their dinghies to chat with us over the next couple of days. We met a couple, Wally and Trish on PuffCard, who stopped by because they recognized Manatee as being a Fantasia 35.  He was the first person since we got Manatee to know this boat!  He knew it because his parents owned hull # 3, back in the 70’s, and he spent a lot of time on the boat, cruising with his parents as a child!  We chatted with them in the cockpit for a while, and enjoyed their company.  Perhaps we will see them again.

Saturday morning came, we weighed anchor at 7:00 and headed out the cut and headed down the islands once more.  We had a decent motor sail, close hauled into an East wind and averaged 5-5.5 kts.  We got to the beautiful anchorage behind Cabbage Cay and set two anchors, bahamian mooring style. 

First Mate Mo at the wheel

Coming into anchorage behind Cabbage Cay

It was early enough for us to drop the dinghy and tool around the anchorage.  We were totally out of fresh seafood, so we were in search of either conch or a ledge where lobster might be hiding (although the water and air was a tad cool to go snorkeling).  Within a few minutes of motoring slowly down the first beach, I spotted a big conch and yes! It had a live conch inside!  Supper! 

Conch fritters and cole slaw.... at Cabbage Cay, appropriate

We weighed anchors at first light again, and off we went southeast to Rose Island.  It would be a long day, as once again we had to pinch into a Southeast wind of 18-22 kts. This kind of day I did not enjoy. It was not a comfortable sail, we were heeled over so much that we had to brace ourselves the whole time, and forget about going down below to use the head or get anything out of the fridge.  Luckily I always have cut veggies and cheese and crackers for times like this.

Lighthouse on Nassau, New Providence Island

Casinos on Paradise Island

Beautiful architecture!

We arrived at the anchorage at Rose Island, after navigating very carefully around rocks and reefs to get into the anchorage named West Bottom Bay.  The winds were pretty strong and there was somewhat of a current, so Ed decided to try the bow-stern anchoring system.  It was approaching sunset, so we had to move quickly.  He needed to get the nicely stowed Danforth anchor out of the bow bilge locker and put it back together and design the lines to place the anchor off the stern, using the dinghy.  He had it all worked out in his head, and the system worked like a charm!  Since we basically have two “bows” on Manatee, this worked to keep us into the wind and not sail off the anchor when the tide changes.

I was exhausted and somewhat discouraged with the weather and the winds all coming from the directions we wanted to go.  But a quick review of the WindAlert forecast confirmed the winds would be still out of the ESE, and our new heading would be  Northeast. The passage over to Royal Island (Eleuthera) would be do-able.

And it was a great great day!  We motor sailed (to keep up our speed) on a SE breeze and made great time over to Eleuthera! We averaged 6-6.5 kts most of the day.

Chub Rock, the cutest little island

At the last10 miles, we encountered a nice squall, and the winds picked up.  But we still arrived at the anchorage around 1:30 pm and found a sweet spot to anchor.  Again, it was beautiful and so calm with protection from all directions. We rested well.

Sunrise at Royal Island Harbour

The following day we explored the island.  There were signs of an old settlement.  We dinghied over to a very old jetty/pier and tied up.  The following pictures are all of the settlement.  There were several very old structures, appearing like they were built in the early 1900’s. We were told by locals it was built and used by the Bahamian Rum Runners.  We hiked a trail leading away from the settlement and ended up on the other side of the island, overlooking the ocean.

A very old rock wall

Lil'Bit up against the old jetty

Steps through the woods, leading up to the "fort"

Rifle holes!

Conch shells left by previous visitors, think we will go back and leave one too!

Very neat old old homes

                                                

The tile floor must have been added later, still looks good!

Bitter, but was definitely an orange tree!

The Beach!

Conch shells imbedded into roots of an overturned tree

A bathroom, complete with a fireplace and bathtub!  (too bad graffiti was all over the walls)

After exploring the land, we set back out in the dinghy and went in search of supper again.  We fished off the inlets of the anchorage and caught enough Snapper (Mutton and Yellow Tail) for three meals. 

The following morning we weighed anchor around 9:00 am as the winds were picking up and we wanted to move the 5-6 miles over to Spanish Wells and pick up a mooring for a couple of nights. We motor sailed, again close hauled into 15-20 kt SE winds. We arrived around noon and obtained the mooring ball without issue.  We hopped into the dinghy to explore the area and found a spot to tie up along the seawall.  Spanish Wells is quite a busy little harbour!  The waterfront is buzzing non-stop with water taxis and ferries, carrying people from Eleuthera to this small island. The town itself is very clean.  There are more golf carts zooming down the streets than cars.  The homes are well kept with beautifully landscaped yards.  We located the facilities we were looking for:  the bank, the grocery store, Pinder's Tune Up for propane refills, and of course the ever popular liquor store. 

Spanish Wells, from outside the cut

Sunrise at the mooring field

We dinghied into "town" the following day and once again got points and chuckles about LilBit, how tiny she looked.  As we were strolling down an alley way that led to the beach, we were approached by one of the men that saw us in the dinghy.  He was in his golf cart and we were chatting about our cruising plans when he said “I have to leave in a couple of hours and I have 3 cold beers in my fridge, would you please join me for a beer?” Of course we did.  He lived right there at the house on the beach.  “Skip” was his name and he is part owners of 22 Palms, a vacation rental house.  We sat on his porch and had great conversation while watching the palm trees sway, overlooking the beach. We got a tour of his house, and my, was it beautiful!  It looked like a perfect vacation party house!  Then he gave us a ride to the bank, our next stop.

Small road leading to the beach

Road leading to the waterfront

Taking a walk down a street in town

Nice homes!

22 Palms, from off shore

The liquor store on 12th Street is owned and operated by a guy named Buddha. He is well known in this town for being the original “bootlegger”,  until a few years ago when alcohol became legal.  He operated a liquor store out of his garage and delivered it to boaters in his golf cart.  He has since obtained a liquor license and has a successful operation going.  He has a liquor store and a nice patio restaurant.  Buddha insisted on giving us a ride down to the dinghy (seeing as we spent $150 bucks at his store!)

Just to show the clarity of this water!

We went fishing in the mangroves

A home-made catamaran, with a young family on board, a young couple with a baby and a dog! The engine was a dinghy with an outboard, under the bridge deck, between the pontoons!

Tying up to the seawall

We met the other cruisers in the mooring field over the next couple of days and made plans to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday at a beachside restaurant and bar.  We will stay on the mooring ball until Sunday’s big blow (40+ mph winds) and the ball game, and see where the wind blows us Monday!