We did leave Spanish Wells on Wednesday in a flotilla of about five boats all headed for the dreaded Current Cut. We had been advised to be very cautious going through, as like most cuts down here, they can get pretty nasty if you do not get through with the right current and winds. Believe me, I dream about this stuff we talk about it so much!! But planning is Hugh's thing, so I know I am in good hands.
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| Current Cut |
So we got through Current Cut with no issues and then started heading south down the coast of Eleuthera. We were traveling with Her Diamond and had talked about anchoring in some little cove along the shore, but once we started heading down we quickly realized with the bigger than predicted winds and waves (of course) that the best place to go would be straight to the bottom and into Rock Sound Harbour. Which is what we did.
Rock Sound Harbour is a large, well protected harbour with a small town. We anchored in sand and made sure the anchor was well set, and settled in for a couple of days. Since we have been in marinas so much it was a pleasure to anchor again. Although I am really missing our lovely fresh water lakes. The salt water gets very nasty and the boat gets so crusty once it dries ... its something we are not used to and when we get into a marina the first thing Hugh does is wash down the boat.
We spent three nights in Rock Sound. Thursday we walked up to an Ocean Hole that apparently is 600 feet deep and somewhere below goes out to the ocean. It was full of fish and we had been told to take bread to feed them. We all did and by the end I think they were pretty full!
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| Ocean Hole |
We walked down the Main Street and went into a couple of stores. Then Hugh and I returned to the boat to get ready to go out for dinner. One of the things suggested by the cruising guides, as well as people we had talked to, was to go to dinner at Rosie's. The restaurant is actually called Nort' Side Restaurant but it is owned and run by Rosie, so everyone calls it that. It is a couple of miles from town, across the island to the Atlantic side. When you call to a make a reservation she arranges to pick you up and drive you there and back. She also takes your order ahead of time so she can get everything ready. The choices were fish (snapper), conch, chicken or pork chops. We also had a choice of sides, which were coleslaw, mac'n'cheese, rice'n'peas (always!) and plantain. Hugh and I ordered one of each to share. Seven of us from the anchorage all went together. Rosie met us at the government dock, where we could tie up our dinghies, and took us over to her place in two trips. While we were waiting for the second load we watched a local fisherman cut up his daily catch of fish.
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Fisherman's catch with Rosie |
The road to Rosie's is pretty rough, but once we got there, very worth it. It really is just her house, and the front porch has been converted to a dining room, with a little bar area built on the side. It has a beautiful view of a lovely sand beach and we would have watched the sunset if it hadn't been so cloudy! We all enjoyed our dinners, and had a lovely time getting to know new cruisers who had come along with us.
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| (L-R) Bob, Sheila, Hugh, Madeline, Karen, Roy and Tony |
Friday morning Hugh spent in the water doing some maintenance on the propeller (replacing zincs for fellow sailors) and then we dinghied to shore and walked over to the grocery store to take a look. We don't realize how lucky we are at home, to have everything available whenever we want it. Here, everything gets shipped in on a barge, usually once a week, and if you don't time it right the fresh produce is gone. Today was our lucky day as the fresh produce had just been put out on the shelf, and there was an actual sign that told people when it would be stocked. We bought a few things and headed back to the boat.
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| The produce is in! |
Hugh had decided that he would go back into the water and try to clean the boat bottom as it was growing some weedy stuff after being in the water for seven months which the poor thing is not used to, as well as being in salt water! So in he hopped and proceeded to clean the bottom, with me on the boat as lifeguard. He must have been in the water for about an hour, and despite the fact that we are in the Bahamas the water is still cool, and when he finally got out I'm pretty sure he had a slight case of hypothermia. Silly stubborn man, his wet suit was in the cupboard! So I tucked him into bed, with three blankets, a toque and a cup of hot tea to try to stop the shivering, which took a while. Lesson learned!! But we did eventually make it to happy hour!
Since we felt we had seen all we needed to in Rock Sound, it was time to move on. Saturday morning we left with Her Diamond and headed a short distance (two hours) to Cape Eleuthera Marina for a night to get ready for the jump over to The Exumas. Laundry, water top up and boost the batteries and we were ready to go first thing Sunday morning. Once again the timing was an issue and another cut needed to be entered, this one from the Exuma Sound (very deep) into the Exuma Bank. (very shallow). Once onto the Exuma Bank it is much easier and calmer to hop down the Exuma Chain. This chain is made up of many many little islands (Cays), with hundreds of anchorages and coves to tuck into and explore. It is not very populated, and towns and stores are few and far between. It is approximately 100 miles from top to bottom. But this was our goal, to get to the Exumas, on this trip and we have made it! Its very exciting!!
So we made it through the cut, with a squall hitting us just before entering it, so we waited for it to pass, and made our way through. It was a little "narly" as we had missed slack tide so had a 3 knot current against us, but once through we were greeted with water so turquoise, a picture doesn't do it justice!
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| Turquoise water! |
Tomorrow we will start heading down the chain, going into the Exuma Land and Sea Park for a few days. This is a protected area, with no fishing and "no take" which means you are not allowed to take anything, shells, etc, dead or alive. Also no stores or cell service!! Can't wait!
We are looking forward to exploring the Exumas ... one day at a time.
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