Party Time in Harbor Island

Harbor Island, Eluethera.  What can I say...it's known for the 3 1/2 mile long pristine 'pink' sand beach on the ocean side of the island.  It was once the capitol of the Bahamas and the second largest city to Nassau in the 1900's.  Dunmore Town is the only city on Harbor Island and its current population is between 1500 and 2000.  It just so happens to be one of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas.  It was a small and quaint village where New England meets the Caribbean.  It was best known for its ship building and sugar refinement back in the day.

 Following Patronus from Spanish Wells to Harbor Island.  We hired a captain, Bandit, to navigate both our boats through the dreaded Devils Backbone.   Navigating the Bahamas is challenging with its shallow waters and reefs surrounding the islands.  One thing we learned and altered plans accordingly, was to make sure we entered or exited an anchorage in the middle of the day when the sun was high and we could see potential hazards in the water.  Devil's backbone is no exception, unless you have the local knowledge of a captain.  It might seem straight forward when looking at the chart, but if the wind is the wrong direction or the waves too choppy or the sun at the wrong angle, you could end up awash on a reef.  Devils backbone is a very narrow passage between land and reef.  One wrong move or perhaps your chart plotter is not as accurate as you thought, it could be over.  Do you want to take that kind of chance through the Devil's Backbone?  Would you mess around with a channel name like that??

 As we pass around a point and enter into the Devil's Backbone, I thought this sign was pretty funny. Actually, this gazebo was on private property.  There was a resort on the other side.  That sign is not for the locals!

 Phew, we made it safely through the Devil's backbone and for future reference, our chart plotter was spot on as far a 'trail' to follow.  Next time we can trust our chart plotter software.  As we approached the anchorage in Dunmore Town on Harbor Island, this was the wall of water we were racing to beat.  I got everything ready.....had the bridles unhooked, had the anchor chain safety line removed and ready for deployment and had the windlass on.  We motored into the anchorage a bit faster than we normally do, spun the boat around in the increasing wind, Craig and Maggie ran up on the bow, dropped the anchor, got it secure and were back under the bimini with only a few raindrops on their backs!  No sooner did they step foot into the cockpit, the rain came down in sheets!  It was an incredible team effort if I ever saw one.

 This is our fellow Manta friends on True Colors just after the squall passed through

 License plate art 

Golf carts are the mode of transportation on this island.  So much more quiet and easier to find a park space!

 Even the sunsets are pretty here

Porter celebrated his 7th birthday at a water-side Italian restuarant and invited us!  We were so honored and thrilled to celebrate with him.  His family traveled by golf cart but we, however, traveled by dinghy.

 Chris had an assemblage of family members visit and we were thankful to be included and hang out with them.  Here, the kids playing at the resort pool.

 View of the pool with harbor in the background

 Craig was excited to be invited on Irish Wake - a beautiful 65 foot sport fishing boat owned by Chris's- sisters's-husbands's dad,Tom.  Did you follow that??

Bryson holding up a Mahi they caught!  I think the fish get bigger when the boat gets bigger.

This is what happens when you jump in after one's sunglasses (Craig) with your phone in your pocket

Another storm a-brewing

 Another party...this one was held poolside.  Chris, Craig and Tom

 Sashimi tuna caught that day (on Irish Wake)!!  It doesn't get much fresher than that.

 Stone crab - holy cow batman, now that's what I call delish!

 The whole gang:  Chris's mom, sister, in-laws, captain, first mate, kids, poachers (us) are all represented

 Reese and Maggie learn some sticky tricks from Eddy - first mate on Irish Wake.  Thanks a lot Eddie!

 Sparkler fun

Kate flies her kite on the pink sand beach

All in a days work

It was time to leave the beautiful Exuma Islands and make our way to Eluethera.  We loved the Exumas and would have loved to spend a lot more time exploring the rest of the islands.  But we had to keep moving and there was no way we could see all of the 700 Bahamian islands!  Even if we tried real hard.  I have said this before and I'll say it again, we now understand how people can spend an entire cruising season or years exploring the Bahamas.  It's a tough choice sometimes and more often than not, we reluctantly leave wishing we could stay longer.

On to Eluethera; the two mile wide, pencil thin island that means "Freedom" in Greek.  That's a fitting name since it was promised to be free from cruise ships and crowds, just like we like it.  It is natural, untamed and much of it still undeveloped.  Eluethera is known for its pink sand beaches as well as the high cliffs on the eastern side, where the Atlantic Ocean crashes onto the rocks.  We made our way across the Exuma Sound, starting at the crack of dawn and dropping the hook that afternoon in the southern end of Eluethera, called the Bite of Eluethera.  The 'Bite' just means shallow waters.

Fish on!  I never get tired of sharing our fish catching pictures and stories.  Sorry if it seems like we are shamelessly rubbing it in, gloating or just plain showing off.  Well, ok, perhaps we are not that sorry! The truth is, after arriving to the BVIs from Virginia we were known as the skunk boat.  We were the only boat that we knew of in the Salty Dawg Rally that didn't catch a single fish on the 1500 mile passage south.  Well we could't live with that!  So, we had to up our game and become serious about this fishing biz.  So after a lot of reading,  new gear and probing people for their fishing secrets we have become very successful cruising fisherman.  It's a lot of FUN for the whole family.  Everyone has a role.  

Notice Kate nonchalantly reading her book while Craig fights to reel in the fish.  She waits until the fish is just about ready to be pulled out of the water before she snaps into action.  Her role is to pour the rum into the gills.

Working hard in my pj's and bed head hair.  Geez!  My role is usually to slow the boat down and be an extra pair of hands if we catch multiple fish at once.

Isn't she a beauty?

I can't remember exactly how many we caught on this 70 mile jaunt from Warderick Wells to Eluethera.  I think it was 3 Mahi Mahi.  Not bad for a days work eh?

 I also did 2 loads of laundry (bucket & plunger style) and baked 2 loaves of whole wheat bread.  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

First stop:  Governor's Harbor

The big, well protected semi-circle anchorage was all but deserted except for our 2 boats and 2 dinghies

Walking through the cute town, we visited the 3 small grocery stores, the bakery and the hardware store.

Walking across to the eastern side of the island to the pink sand beach

One of the few gorgeous homes that dotted the street along the way.

Named one of the best beaches in the Bahamas

Can you see the pink hue?

Chatting with Porter about why he thinks the sand is pink.  He says it's from the sun - like a sun burn.  Perhaps it should apply sunscreen next time.  Really it's from the teeny tiny pieces of broken coral pounded by the surf.  There is more 'pink' near the waters edge.

Bathing beauties ready for their Sports Illustrated photo shoot

Even the best beaches have a nasty side (especially if it's a windward side).  Sad but true.  99.9 percent of the trash we find washed up on shore is plastic.  

Wow!

A simple game of poker anyone?

Near Gregory Town - that we didn't visit because the wind created a very rolly anchorage.  We were curious how an Airstream trailer wound up on this beautiful beach.  It will have to remain a mystery, because we never made it ashore to investigate.

Yummy oatmeal butterscotch cookies.

As we prepared to move to Spanish Wells, we zipped up to Glass Window.  You might be asking yourself why this is called Glass Window.  It doesn't look like much more than a bridge over water (no pun intended).  However, it used to be an extraordinary natural stone bridge connecting North Eluethera to the Mainland of Central Eluethera.  It is the narrowest part of the island with a striking color contrast from the sapphire blue of the Atlantic on one side and the aquamarine of the Exuma Sound on the other.  The natural stone arch was destroyed by a hurricane.  A modern, man made bridge stands in its place (also repeatedly destroyed by storms).

Walking along the road to view both sides from the bridge

The Caribbean side where we anchored our boats temporarily

The Atlantic side

Peering over the edge

photo courtesy Discover-Eluethera-Bahamas.com

Ariel image of the Glass Window bridge illustrating the phenomenal contrast between the two sides.  The lighter blue is very shallow at less than 10 feet deep.  The deep blue side drops from the cliffs to 300 feet, reaching 3000 feet at the drop off.  It was dramatic to be standing on the bridge and experience the power of the pounding surf smashing into the rocks and then turn around to complete silence and calmness.