Eleuthera, Part I: The Inside Coast

May 17, 2013  (Norwegian Independence Day)

What better way to celebrate the day of Norway’s independence than by sailing 60 miles in the clear Bahamas water while catching Mahi Mahi and Cero?  It was a long day of sailing and, in addition to hitting 700 miles on our engine, we learned something new…

A little background…The Bahamas are known for gorgeous coral reefs and shallow water.  Sailboats like ours draw 5’8” (the distance between our waterline and the bottom), so we need to carefully plan our routes using charts.  In addition, we need to keep a sharp lookout for random shallow spots, just in case.  One way to do this is to look at the color of the water.  The water is crystal clear in the Bahamas, but appears darker over the reefs or shallow areas of grass. Ok, got that?  We did, because we had been avoiding dark areas by sailing to the port or starboard of them for a few weeks.  So what’s so new today?

As we approached Cape Eleuthera, we knew that there was a narrow and unmarked channel in which to enter this part of the island.  Chris was down below, taking a rest and making some lunch while Bryson and I drove the boat.  Bryson would shout to me to go to the port (left) or starboard (right) if we approached an area of darker water.  We took our job very seriously.  You don’t want to be the one responsible for running the boat aground while the captain is down below!  We were following the charts in addition to what we saw with our eyes and it wasn’t really making sense.  There were so many dark patches cropping up as we made our way slowly but surely through the channel.  The chart didn’t make it look THAT shallow, but we didn’t want to take any chances.  The water appeared REALLY dark and that could only mean one thing…DANGER….!!!!

After a while, Chris came up and took a look at our path on the chartplotter.  Apparently, it looked like two drunk people were driving the boat.  We were swerving all over the place for miles.  I pointed to all the dark areas up ahead and told him that we really didn’t have much choice.  It was then that Bryson walked back slowly from the bow and said, “Um.  Mommy?”

“What, Bryson?  Why aren’t you keeping an eye out for shallow patches?!”

“Yeah.  Well, I just realized something.”

“What’s that Bryson?”

“I’ve been noticing that the dark patches are moving around a little.  Then I looked up and realized that the dark patches are just the shadows from the clouds above us.  The water isn’t shallow at all.”

“Oh.  Okay.  Thanks, Buddy.  Um, you can go play now.”  Chris just looked at me and laughed.  Oops.  Don’t you wish you were one of those clouds, darting around the sky, playing tricks on me all day and laughing hysterically?

I decided to go down below and make bread.  My work up there was done.

1505: By afternoon, the bread was made, our route was straightened out, and Chris pulled us into Governor’s Harbor.  Wendy, Craig, and I went into town to check on things.  We found the bakery and grocery store, and talked to some local fishermen.  Chris stayed back on Patronus to do some generator troubleshooting.  Our Fisher Panda generator didn’t sound good.  He found an oil leak, a crack in the elbow joint, and clogged filters.  Chris fixed it all, which continues to amaze me.  You can’t just say, “Uh-oh.  It’s broken,” and call in the professionals down here.  Every captain has to be a well-rounded handyman, plumber, electrician, and mechanic.  Having a middle name of MacGyver doesn’t hurt, either.

We had a late dinner, because in order to get to the generator, everything had to be pulled out of Reese’s cabin, which meant that the galley and saloon were full of homeschooling books, clothing, and engine parts.  The late dinner didn’t stop me from catching up on our website.  It was the first Internet service we had had in over a week.  The people of Eleuthera are probably still talking about the “Internet Blackout of May 17^th”…

May 18^th, Break out the Whomper!

After school in the morning, we walked to the Pink Beach for which Eleuthera is so famous.  The sand was truly spectacular.  Where the waves washed across the sand, streaks of pink were left behind.  We all played in the water, walked along the beach, and just soaked up the beauty.

 

On the way back, Wendy and I enjoyed the local architecture and Reese took notice of the native flowers for her Flowers Badge in Girl Scouts.  Don’t ask me how we have managed to do work for Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Girl Scouts this year…

 

We stopped in at a few more stores, but it wasn’t a tourist town, so the grocery store was the most exciting spot on our radar.  We noticed a road side barbecue chicken stand and, of course, had to get some to go.  We love supporting the locals in such a direct way and you seriously can’t get more bang for your Bahamas Buck.  You get an insane amount of food at these road side stands, in addition to some local flavor by talking to the interesting folks who run them.

After our BBQ lunch, Chris and Craig went to town to check out the tackle shop.  I took on the fabulously glamorous job of removing rust stains from all the towels.  After all that work, I floated around in the water with Wendy for a bit while Reese and Kate did a science project for Girl Scouts by making scented bath beads and Bryson and Porter went to Anything Goes to play poker.  Wait.  Does any of that sound like slightly irresponsible parenting?  Oh well.  Tough!

After Chris’ amazing dinner of breaded cero, we went to Anything Goes to watch the quintessential sailboat racing movie of all time….That’s right.  WIND.  Break out the Whomper!

 

Eleuthera II: Annie Bight/Mutton Fish Point

May 19, 2013

The inside coast of Eleuthera would prove to be pretty, but elusive.  We had a really hard time finding an acceptable anchorage.  At least we had a great time getting there!  Patronus flew her spinnaker for a few hours on the sail north from Governor’s Harbor.  We had some isolated showers while Reese and Porter played their survival imagination game, inspired by the novel series My Side of the Mountain.

We attempted to anchor in Annie Bight, but it was windy and there were big waves coming in from the south on top of reverb waves from the north shore of the bight.  Not only would it be uncomfortable, but there was no room for Anything Goes.  We radioed AG and they sailed past, heading north, looking for a better spot.  They settled in at Mutton Fish Point, 3 miles north, then called us to let us know that it was a good spot.  It’s nice having a buddy boat!

We found a spot nearby them, but further than we usually anchor from one another.  After diving on our anchor to make sure it was secure in the sand, I decided to take the long swim over to AG.  Months later, I can still remember that swim.  It was the farthest that I had gone at that point.  I was a little nervous.  It was REALLY far.  The water was clear and the bottom was sandy, but every once in a while, there were patches of grass and some weird shell/animal things that were making me a little nervous.  I rarely get nervous in the water.  (The times that stand out were when I saw sharks in Great Inagua and when I was on my SCUBA test and saw giant tarpon, which stare at you in a freaky way.)  Also, the water was choppy due to the strong winds and the reverb off the shore.  Chris and Bryson came by in the dinghy to check on me.  I had the opportunity to climb in and get a ride the rest of the way, but I waved them on.  I could do this.

I focused on relaxing my shoulders and tried to remember to kick.  I forget to do that sometimes.  And yet, despite my amateur technique, I felt once again like I belonged in the water.  I thought about swimming with the dolphins in Les Saintes and how I could emulate their grace under water by imagining I was a dolphin, too.  I pushed my collarbone down and felt like I was swimming “down” instead of forward.  Breathing became easier as I let go of the panic that I wouldn’t make it all the way there.  When I reached the swim platform at AG, I was all smiles….but I did accept a ride back home on the dinghy!