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Western Eleuthera and Hatchet Bay to Rock Sound
Western Eleuthera and Hatchet Bay to Rock Sound
We left you as we started to explore Hatchet Bay, a small community on the northern end of Eleuthera. Our explorations of the area, unfortunately, missed the caves there, as we didn't discover that they existed until picking up an Eleuthera tourist guidebook, after we'd left, when we arrived in Governors Harbour... Those of you following my logs for a while will recall that I have "Dad's Chandlery" - a conversion from my shoreside life's "Dad's Hardware Store" where friends and offspring would come when they needed something - aboard Flying Pig. One set of the friends we made in Hatchet Bay were the owners of the Front Porch, a bar and restaurant right off the dock into Hatchet Bay. During one of our chats, Francis, one of the owners, had commented that he used to have a VHF radio, but it had been stolen. He shared with us that he'd eventually like to set up a real base station, with a fixed unit and a mast for an antenna, but it was outside his budget to even consider it at the time. As I am a big one for spares, I had a new-in-the-box replacement for our helm radio. As I could obtain another when I returned to the states, I offered to bring it to him to consider. I also thought I'd had a replacement for our nav station radio, a less expensive unit, but it's still in the box waiting on our friends with the private plane's arrival and delivery. (We went to the states this summer and on our return exceeded our baggage weight allowance very substantially, so we had to make difficult decisions about what to leave behind for the kind offer of transport by our friends when they flew over to cruise with us.) I called Francis to relate my internet search for a replacement for my other fixed unit, and he said that was way beyond his budget at this time - due, mostly, to the renovations he was making to the restaurant currently. However, he shared that the stolen unit was a handheld, so, into the Dad's Chandlery I go to fetch out the couple of units we've not used, due to their bulk, in preference for some smaller ones. I took them over for inspection, and he pulled out another very good handheld, saying that he didn't have a power supply for it. As chance would have it, the two units I took over were of the same make. The rechargeable batteries had long since died, and no longer made, thus irreplaceable. They had cartridges for regular AA batteries, but both units had come with 12V plug-in (like in a cigarette lighter) charger supplies. I'd given another to a cruiser in Georgetown last year with the same problem. So, I thought that the other might work for his unit, and brought it back to the boat to try, and, if it worked, to charge his handheld unit. Sure enough, it did work. Ever the packrat, I knew that I also had a couple of plug-in "bricks" which I'd cut off our Vonage phone charger bases, connecting those to our computer's power supply. As the 12V cigarette-lighter charger was the same voltage as the plug-in bases, I could splice that for him, allowing him the ability to recharge inside the restaurant instead of relying on his car, his only other means of 12V. However, those were very well buried in my computer supplies bin, so it would have to wait. As you saw in my last, we set out for Gregory Town, about 10 miles up the road, via hitchhiking. We're very thankful that "hitching" is alive and well (and not incidentally, very safe!) throughout the Bahamas. We soon caught a ride, on that hot and brilliant day, to very near the entrance to "Surfer's Beach" - along which road was one of the two highly recommended spots for our coming dinner. As we'd learned from another of our set of friends, it was a long hike up to the beach, but we got there after first stopping to check out the sign on the (closed) restaurant. That sign promised a veritable groaning board of a feast, with 5 or more choices of each of meats, vegetables, desserts and other goodies, making our mouths water. Good thing, too, as, while we'd hauled our water and lunch with us, we were going to save that for when we finally reached the beach. A surfer was in the water when we arrived, and another couple came along just after we finished our lunch. The waves, of course, were very much smaller than they would have been during the rage. Never the less, this was known as a very desirable surfer's location, as witnessed by our new arrivals who'd flown all the way from Jackson Hole, Wyoming to get there (it would have been as easy to fly to Hawaii!) and we enjoyed watching for a time before we headed back out to the road. We immediately caught another ride into Gregory Town. Our objective there was Elvina's, known locally as THE place to come on Tuesdays and Fridays, when there were open mike sessions. The owner, "Chicken," who'd come to the Bahamas for a few weeks nearly 20 years ago, but got stuck there when he met and married Elvina, had progressively added more and more to the stage which now featured a full drum set, many guitars, bongos, and a very serious sound system. Lenny Kravitz happens to live in the area, and while he'll occasionally visit, he doesn't play. That doesn't stop any of the three band members who ALSO live in the area from taking the stage! There have been many other notables who have also played and/or sung on past occasions, so, it's a great place to go. However, the immediate reason we'd gone there was that we'd been told that this was also THE place to go for Thanksgiving dinner. When we asked how much it was, and what would be on the menu, we learned that it all complimentary - just buy your drinks. Our kind of price! We made plans to return... Before we left, we toured the town a bit, including the place where we'd been dropped off. That featured ice cream, we learned as we encountered a couple just about to leave with their cones. A substantial cone was all of $2 - unheard of in the Bahamas. Needless to say, at least for those of you who've been reading these for any time, we made a beeline for there. Walking along down the hill on which Elvina's was perched, we stuck out our thumbs a few times, to no effect. We figured the cement mixer wasn't likely to stop - and didn't - nor the big delivery truck, so we didn't bother. However, the delivery truck pulled up next to us, and asked us where we were heading. "Hatchet Bay." "Well, let's go - come on and get in!" It was a beer delivery truck on the way back to Governors Harbour, driven by Huey, a most gregarious fellow. He dropped us right at the Front Porch. However, along the way, we learned that he worked for Kalik, as seen by the Heineken sign on the side of the truck - but he preferred Busch, as demonstrated by the open can in the cupholder on his dash. He sipped at it as we went, a common occurrence here in the Bahamas. We'd learned from the Sands folks who'd taken us to see the rage at Glass Window that unless you killed someone, it was highly unlikely that anyone driving under the influence - or having (and actively using!) an open container in the vehicle - would ever come under the influence of traffic laws. As he appeared in full control of his faculties, we didn't give it a second thought... Along the way, however, we learned that Governors Harbour was a considerably better place to seek out Thanksgiving dinner, if for no other reason than its size. So, that being Tuesday, as Thanksgiving approached, we shifted gears and made ready to leave. I burrowed into my computer supplies and came up with one of my cut-off plug-ins for Francis. Wednesday morning, I dinghied in and dropped it off, being assured that he could do the splicing, and we set about to depart. By 11AM, we were off our mooring and under way out the narrow cut in the rocks which had converted this inland lake into a seaport so many years ago. As has been our very good fortune of late, the weather was nearly ideal for sailing. Our course had us at 131*T with 45* apparent wind of 6-10 knots. That produced a speed of 3.5-3.8 knots. We continued to find our newly tuned rig doing beautifully, other than that our forestay, on which our genoa furler is mounted, being far too loose for my taste. We'll have to tighten the backstay a bit, because, under way, we have a slight forward lean to the top of our mast. That's just the opposite of the usually favored shape of a gentle curve to the stern. We put out the fishing lines, ever hopeful, but were shut out as usual. However, by 11:30, the wind had shifted slightly, allowing us to improve our heading to 121*T. Easing the sails to accommodate that change also improved our speed, now up to 3.7-4.2 knots under a brilliant sky and light chop. Sailing as close to the wind as we do makes for constant watchfulness, and the light airs became fluky, to boot, so one moment's inattention had us backwinded, requiring a 360* turn (a penalty turn, as you'd say in racing, for our inattention!). That all worked out immediately, of course, and we were soon back under way in the right direction. Unfortunately, that wind shift required us to bear off to 150*T, not getting us closer to land, as you'll see on the SPOT locator page (tinyurl.com/flyingpigspot). By noon, the wind had died enough that we were seeing only 4-7 knots of apparent wind, dropping our speed to only 3.4-3.8 knots again. As I took over from Otto (autopilot) and hand-steered, I was able to pinch our way back up to 129*T, using my friend Roger Long (the Titanic researcher who also designs workboats)'s technique of "full and bye" - bearing off, and gently pinching back up until the sails start to luff, and doing it again. That technique, described in one of his articles for Down East magazine, is the best course, despite it's being a bit snaky, for the best CMG (course made good) speeds. With only a 6-12" chop, our progress wasn't impeded by wave motion, but we'd have to tack to make our harbor. Fortunately, we'd left in plenty of time to make that happen, enhanced by just a bit more wind, allowing us an increase to 5 knots just before 2PM, albeit at a course of only 150*T. The entrance to Governors Harbour is to the NW, so we'd need to make two tacks to enter it under sail. Our first tack, taking us to 357*T, was at 3:20. Continuing on that line until 3:40 allowed us to make the turn into the harbor, where Troubadour, our buddy boat, had already arrived. The harbor has several moorings marked on the chart, but the charts also allow that one may have to use their own tackle. That caution proved to be accurate, as there were no mooring balls visible. Our diver friends had already located and secured theirs, but stayed in the water to find another in the crystal clear water, to which they attached one of their fenders, as we approached. When I picked up the ball with our dock hook, we discovered that the line to the chain was too short to allow us to connect directly. No big deal, I put our mooring lines we'd used successfully before on the line, secured our boat, and had returned their bouy to them by 4:15. A great day sailing was completed by our inviting our benefactor, who'd saved me from having to get suited up and dive for our line, over for dinner. I tell ya, it's hard to beat this lifestyle - good friends, good sailing, and a secure mooring sure go well together! Thursday saw us ashore relatively early, ready for exploration for our Thanksgiving dinner. This being the Bahamas, it wasn't a holiday, so everything was open. Our first stop was the library... This is a historic building renovated and given to the town for use as a library. The history was detailed, inside, which we found interesting. We asked, as we entered, about dinner, and one of the local resorts had a menu less broad than the surfer's beach road restaurant had, at half again the price, let alone the freebie of Elvina's, tacked to the door. Uh-oh! Did we make a mistake coming down for today? The library has a book exchange which doesn't require an even-swap for what you remove. As a result, Troubadour and Flying Pig left with many new books each. Dropping our books in the dinghy, we continued our exploration and search for dinner. We wandered around a bit, asking locals for recommendations, and checked out a couple of them, some of which would be doing nothing other than the standard menu. Arriving back at the crossroads, who should we meet on the corner but Huey! He recognized Lydia and me immediately, and was not only very firm in his recommendation, but noted that it was all of $15 for all you could eat, with a drink included. That was enough for us, so, even though it was only 2PM we trooped off to Harbour Inn where, true to the recommendation, we had 4 meats, 4 veggies, 4 desserts, all you could eat, and a soft drink - with beers and other drinks economically (by Bahamian standards, anyway!) offered. They were doing a brisk business with locals who stopped in to take out the ubiquitous styrofoam containers laden with their Thanksgiving suppers. So, despite it not being a "holiday" there, the locals embrace the concept, or, perhaps, just the opportunity to have a huge variety and quantity of food at an unusually affordable price. We finally waddled out after doing our best to get our money's worth (well, we surely did - perhaps I should have characterized it as "making them wish we didn't have quite the capacity we did"), and continued our explorations. Guess who? Pay the contestant, you're right - Huey! He tells us that tomorrow, if our stomachs have sufficiently recovered, that we MUST not miss the fish fry which happens every Friday night. Thus forewarned, we headed back to the boat, so full that thoughts of ANYTHING to eat were the furthest thing from our minds for the rest of the night. Still a bit stuffed from all that excess, we stayed on the boat during the day, but planned to go in for the fish fry, based on the accurate recommendations of Huey from the day before. It became apparent that preparations for the event were well under way early in the afternoon as supplies arrived, entertainment was set up and sound checks made, and the wood fires which would stoke the deep fry bucket and barbeque oven were lit. By 7 we were ashore in a moshpit of activity. Clearly this was a social event well appreciated by the community, as it was packed. A choice (not all you can eat, but a three-section styrofoam take-out container groaning under the weight of LOTS of peas and rice - a Bahamian constant with most meals - and another choice-of-three side dish plus your meat) of barbequed chicken or pork chop, or deep-fried fish (in this case, barracuda, our favorite fish) plus the side dishes proved well worth the $10 they charged, as we found a picnic table to eat our dinner. However, that wasn't all, as there was a digital DJ set up in the back of a panel van, with a dance area of street blocked off with sawhorses. He mixed LOTS of songs expertly, moving from theme to theme, stitching together dance tunes which lasted over 5 minutes while giving you a flavor of a dozen or so artists' most notable moments from their songs. Thus, what sounded like it was going to be "Pennsylvania 6-5000" merged after only a few moments into some other swing tune, followed on its heels in the same fashion by artists from many decades - all in the same style, and all in the same "set," nonstop. After watching the many dancers in awe we learned that there were prizes attached, as one couple was awarded a bottle of wine, and the 4 runners-up a free drink from the bar. We're continually amazed at the variety and originality of the Bahamian lifestyle, including celebration of community. We also find, without exception, the most beautiful, caring, kind and warm folks, everywhere we go. Being cruisers, "midnight" is about 7-8PM, so we made an early night of it with our friends. However, as we're making our way down the beach to our dinghy, we see another coming in. That turns out to be other friends, who we've meet or spoken with over the airwaves in several places in the past year, on Boto, a Jenneau 40. Chatting reveals that they're headed to Palmetto Point to visit some friends, soon. Hm. That wouldn't be Skip and Sharon Warner, by any chance? Of course! That is the couple with whom we shared a shelter from the rain up in Spanish Wells. They'd insisted we come visit them if our travels took us that way - and Boto was on their way to see them the next day! More examples of the small world cruising turns out to be... As we wanted to go visit the beach on Saturday, we'd not be joining Boto on their trip down, but we resolved, the weather being forecast as appropriate to do so, to follow them on Sunday, after church. Our visit to the beach was a bit roundabout, as we confused the directions on how to get there. As a result we got in a nice long walk to get to the OTHER end of the 2-mile or so long, totally deserted, beach. Walking down the beach, we passed what we surmised might have been the wreckage of the prior Club Med which had been destroyed in a hurricane in years past, and eventually wound up at yet another resort. This time, we'd forgotten to bring water, so we indulged ourselves with a thirst-quencher at the bar, and headed back to town. Sure enough, we scarcely get out of the door before we're offered a ride by a couple who split their time between Eleuthera and the states. Amazing how short our walk would have been if we'd been able to figure out the route - we'd actually crossed the road we SHOULD have taken, on our way to the beach! Sunday we went to church. Well, that is, we went to THE church. One day a year, they have a celebration on the island, as seen in the pix of the dinghy races which were held in the harbor, and this year it was this church's turn to host the ecumenical service - so there was no regular service. Well, what to do? It's still early - so Troubadour and we trooped off in hopes of finding the tradtional Sunday sweet rolls. No such luck, and nearly everywhere you MIGHT have found such a thing was closed, but we met someone who directed us a mile or so down the road. No such luck there, either, but it WAS a very inexpensive place to have a snack and a drink before we headed back to town and a bit more exploring before returning to the boat in preparation for our trip to Palmetto Point. We'd called the Warners, but got a machine, on Saturday night. When they returned, they called us back. They'd come to Governors Harbour for dinner with Boto! - and half expected us to walk in the door while they were eating :{)) Expecting us, then, mid-afternoon or so, we set about getting under way. Raising the sail beforehand, I soon had our mooring lines aboard after undoing them in the dinghy and, catching up with Lydia as she came about to aim at our exit, came back aboard after securing our dinghy's tow line. We were under way at 2:45 for the brief trip. We couldn't have asked for another nicer day, once again, as we saw apparent wind of 4-8 knots at 30-45* - giving us 2.8-3.4 knots on a 150*T course directly for Pineapple Cays which were immediately offshore of our destination. A short tack put us off their beach, where the other "Skip" stood waving his arms at us to tell us not to get too close due to the sand bars out front, at 4:15. Dinghying ashore, we found out the seriousness of his alarm, as even the dinghy scraped the engine long before we got to shore. They offered to have us for dinner, which we gladly accepted (a home-cooked meal is a nice change from boat fare). We set about taking the tour of the amazing property, their home having been built entirely from ground to roof, by themselves, while they lived in the guest house they now have available for holiday makers. If you're looking for a relaxing vacation, you should give them a try. You can get a good view of it by clicking www.thebarefootbeachhouse.com ... My tour was mostly of the construction elements of the property, while Lydia's was of the artistic enhancements which Sharon had added, but - of course! - one of the most interesting to me was the huge shop Skip had below their home. Every imaginable tool, including a tile saw, was there, along with what we learned over dinner was an entire pallet of Travertine tile, cut from solid stone, left over from a production error which was cured by the manufacturer shipping a replacement, but not wanting to pay the freight to have it returned. So, while they used the new pallet hugely throughout their new home (Skip's artistry with the tile saw to perform amazing cuts, including rounded inside corners, and hand labor to modify some of the pieces to round edges is jaw-dropping), including tile floors throughout their home and vacation units, there was still lots of it left over. My mind eventually stumbled upon the fact that we'd had lots of recommendations for fixing our onboard oven's irregular temperatures having to do with putting tiles on top of the thin stainless steel plate in the bottom. It turned out that these tiles were nearly exactly the width we needed, and more than needed for the depth to accomplish that with a single piece. So, over the scrumptious pork loin dinner, we agreed to take one of the worst (cosmetics are of absolutely no concern to the function here) of the leftovers and cut off the excess on the morrow. After breakfast, and bringing them aboard to have the tour of OUR home, I took them ashore and we cut the tile to size. The single piece is absolutely perfect for the application, and the cosmetics are of no interest, so it was a perfect use for what otherwise might have been considered "defective goods." While I was there, I helped him change his home's local WiFi router's transmission to a different channel than the repeater he used to provide his signal to the guest units so it wouldn't be in conflict with their home unit's signal, and we said a fond farewell. The Warners are like some of the Seven Seas Cruising Association folks who have "swallowed the anchor" in that they go out of their way to be friendly to cruisers, offering help from a shower to a ride to the store or other helps difficult to accomplish from the boat. If you'll be in that area by boat, be sure to contact them via their website and get acquainted! Our trip to Rock Sound looked like it would be ideal, with a bit more wind, and a good point of sail for our course of 187*T. Sure enough, with the wind at 11-15 knots over the 70-80* apparent direction, we were seeing 5.4-6.2 knots in very light seas as we departed at 11:45 following our tile installation. Another day for visitors, the seas were kindly, the sun was shining, our level of heel was a gentle 15* and all was right with the world. Of course, as you've seen frequently in these pages, everything's subject to change, and at 2:15 we were rewarded with a bit more wind, allowing us a brief period of 7.5 knots. By 2:45, as we cleared Tarpum Point and headed upwind to 137*T, we were seeing apparent wind of 16-18 knots due to our change in direction yielding a tack of 20-35* apparent. Some of that wind was due to our forward speed of 5.5-6.0 knots as we pinched along. Sailing that close to the wind made us heel further, and put a great deal more pressure on the furler due to how tightly I had to pull the genoa in to keep it flowing the air properly. Thus, I was easily able to see the considerable curve in the furler, and renewed my resolve to tighten the backstay, which would both tighten the genoa but also take out some of the negative mast curve (forward, over the spreaders). In the end, I took 4 turns on the backstay turnbuckle, and all looks well, as both the backstay and furler seem much more appropriately tensioned by feel in addition to my having cured the negative curve in the mast.. Because our route into Rock Sound would be from the Exuma Sound (the body of water between Eleuthera/Cat Island and the rest of the Exumas), we'd have to pinch up even more. As the genoa was already as tight as it could go, we rolled it in as we turned to 120*T, pulling the mainsail to the center on the traveler and pulling it extremely tightly. Due to our 6 full battens, which curved out making an airfoil, we continued at a VERY close beat, with 15-20* apparent wind of 15-18 knots yielding 4.9 knots of speed. By 4:10, following the recommendation of Boto, who'd preceded us the prior day, we'd dropped the hook near to the dinghy dock only a couple of blocks' walk away. Another wonderful day at sea, with an anchorage well sheltered from the worst weather we might experience, based on our forecasts, a nice internet signal - and the sun hasn't gone down yet. What more could you want? Well, I'll tell you, but this has gone on way too long already, so you'll have to wait for our next installment. In the meantime, you can see our photos from Harbour Island (featured in my last log) onward at these links: http://picasaweb.google.com/lafell/TripToHarbourIsland# http://picasaweb.google.com/lafell/HatchettBay# http://picasaweb.google.com/lafell/G...dSurfersBeach# http://picasaweb.google.com/lafell/T...ernorsHarbour# Until next time, Stay Tuned! L8R Skip, lying Rock Sound Morgan 461 #2 SV Flying Pig KI4MPC See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery ! Follow us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog and/or http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog "Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing, messing-about-in-boats; messing about in boats-or *with* boats. In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not." |
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