Part II of our time in the Bahamas. We visit Eleuthera, Spanish Wells, and spend over a week at a tucked away resort on Grand Bahama waiting out weather. Then it’s time to come out of our trance and face the return, realizing that our time in the islands had given us a bit of a philosophical shift.
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We were a month into our time in the Bahamas, and had cruised the Exumas as far as Staniel Cay and back. By now we had completely succumbed to the hypnotic culture of cruising the Bahamas (not that we put up much resistance in the first place). Still traveling with No Worries, the daily routine was down to bare-bones simplicity and centered around at least two shore runs a day for the dogs and meals. If we weren’t moving a short distance to the next stop, we found something to explore where we were. Around that was beach time, reading, napping, watching for sea life, chatting with other boaters, and dinghy excursions. It was a simplistic, day-to-day existence. Did I mention how wonderful it was? Current events were a vague background noise, easy to tune out. Life maintenance stuff such as taxes, renewal notices, and future appointment scheduling could all wait until we got back. We were indeed under the spell of the gentle breeze, blue skies, and even bluer waters.
Now with a couple weeks left before needing to head back to the US and a few days of good weather in the forecast, we headed east to Eleuthera, the birthplace of the Bahamas.
Eleuthera
Rock Sound - March 16, 2024
Governors Harbor - March 17
Eleuthera is a long and very narrow island. It was here that a ship full of English Puritans escaping religious persectuion – known as the Eleutherian Adventurers — wrecked on the large reef at the northern end of the island in 1648. Thus the colonization of what would become the Bahamas began. They named it Eleuthera, after the Greek word for ‘freedom,’ and found friendly Lucayan Indians, beautiful beaches, and abundant fishing there. So they stayed. Well, some of them eventually did decide to make their way back to Jamestown VA, apparently preferring harsh winters and famine to tropical paradise. (Strongly suspect the descendants of this group of American colonists went on to establish Minnesota.)
It was a lumpier ride than we had anticipated as we departed Highbourne Cay and crossed the deep water of Exumas Sound. Cape Eleuthera appearing on the horizon was not only a welcome sight, but the differences from the Exumas island chain were immediately obvious. Instead of rocky low hills, scrub vegetation, and small beaches, Eleuthera is more tall palm trees, very long sandy beaches, and much more populated. But the beautiful, clear turquoise waters are the same.
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We tucked into the anchorage in Rock Sound and quickly set out to explore this small community. It had more of the traditional Bahamas feel with brightly colored homes and wildly uncontained pink and magenta bougainvillea storming fences, but overall looked a bit worn. We met Warren the Artist in his small studio, with his many very large and almost all unfinished works lining the walls and floor. He insisted on telling us the stories of his various portrait subjects and pointed us in the direction of Ocean Hole, one of the local natural attractions to which we were headed. It was hot out, so once there we did a quick look to verify that it was indeed a water filled hole, then headed back to the cool breezes of the anchorage. Dinner was at Wild Orchids, a local restaurant with great food and ambience, but the noseeums were so bad that Ciaran offered to trade a kidney for some bug spray a woman at the next table had.
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The following day we were in route to our planned stop when I read they had a problem with aggressive stray dogs there. After our experience in Bimini, we quickly diverted to Governors Harbor. This was where the shipwrecked Eleutherian Adventurers first settled and is still an administrative center of Eleuthera. It was Sunday, so almost nothing was open. Walking through town, we noted the seemingly disproportionate number of churches for the population and an equal number of bars/liquor stores. There were several of the classic-pink Bahamian government buildings, from police stations to libraries to Administrative Buildings (aka Town Halls). People were extremely friendly, always greeting us or tooting the horn and waving as they passed by.
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We had now been at anchor or on a mooring ball for 15 straight days and had become very good at beaching the dinghy. At least twice a day I drove four humans and two dogs to the beach, watching the depth reading. Once at 2.5’ depth, I raise the engine while Dave and Ciaran jump out and pull the dinghy to shore. Dogs get off next, then Patty and I while Dave anchors the dinghy so it didn’t float away. I was supposed to keep an eye on Roxy so I can scoop the poop, but sometimes — okay, often – um, usually — I got distracted by shell-hunting and Dave has to chase her down. Once we finish walking the beach, the dinghy is loaded in reverse while trying to get as much sand off the dogs as possible (futile). Dave pushes us out far enough I can lower the engine then bellyflops onto the bow while kicking his feet a few seconds to get the sand off. Then back to the motherships. It’s a finely choreographed yet comical exercise, but unfortunately I was always too busy driving to capture it on video.
Spanish Wells Mar 18-19
Mar 18-19
With some weather moving in we moved further north to better protection in a marina in Spanish Wells. As the last stop of the Spanish Treasure Fleet, this island was named for the fresh water wells the Spaniards dug to resupply for the return trip to Europe. But other than the wells and enslaving all the native Lucayan Indians the Spanish didn’t have much interest in the Bahamas in general. Later, with the British colony of the Eleutherian Adventurers fully established, Spanish Wells became a refuge for British Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution and the population remains predominantly Caucasian.
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Spanish Wells is lovely, densely populated with well-kept homes and buildings in a rainbow of Bahamian colors. Golf carts dominate the roads. It did have the largest grocery store we had seen since being in the Bahamas, which was welcome. There were also some great beaches, but the weather precluded a visit – the first day in over two weeks we hadn’t set foot on a beach, and I’ve got to admit it felt weird.
We woke our second morning to thunder, and Dave made a dash to shore with Roxy and got back to the boat just as the skies opened up. Once it cleared a few hours later, we rented a golf cart for the rest of the day and Ciaran proved his mastery of left-side driving as we toured the island.
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While waiting out the rain that morning, we strategized with No Worries what our next steps were to be as a big storm was heading directly for the Bahamas. The marina at Spanish Wells was fully booked, so we couldn’t stay there. One option was back to Nassau, but the idea of bouncing around at the dock there for several days was not the least attractive. So we reserved a week at a resort and marina in the town of Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island, about 150 miles northwest . It was well tucked back in a basin, surprisingly cheap, and we figured if we were going to spend our last week holed up in one place we might as well go out in style at a resort.
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Checking out of the marina early the next morning, the manager at the desk overheard us making the usual boater small talk about the day’s destination, and asked the guy if he would take something to the marina in Nassau where he was headed. Apparently they had sent the manager there some seafood earlier in the week, but were short 5 lbs of lobster. When the guy agreed without hesitation (but could only guarantee 4 lbs would arrive), the manager ran off and came back with a bag of lobster tails. This was so typical of both island and boating life: you come up with creative solutions because you must, no hesitation to ask a stranger for a favor, and no hesitation to say yes if you are asked. You do things simply because you can.
Soldier Cay, Berry Islands
Mar 20
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An intermediate stop on the way to Lucaya, the Berry’s are a small group of tiny, mostly uninhabited cays and boast untouched beaches, marine wildlife, and remoteness. Rounding the northern tip of tiny Soldier Cay, the anchorage stretching in front of us had some of the bluest waters we have seen and a white sand beach. No Worries and See Level had it all to ourselves. As our last anchorage in the Bahamas, this couldn’t be more perfect.
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About three miles south of the anchorage was the Blue Hole at Hoffmans Cay, and humans and dogs hopped into the dinghy in search of it. The three-mile three ride down skirted along beaches and limestone shorelines of tiny cays, and wove between sandbars and dark patches of sea grass. A couple of dark patches that moved turned out to be sea turtles or rays. We beached the dinghy, and after a short hike shaded by dense growth, popped out and looked down 20’ to see a few humans and one golden retriever swimming in the huge round pool. Clambering down to get to waters edge, we found ourselves in a large, cool cave-like area. After an hour or so there, we returned to the beach for a bit before making the return trip to the boats. It was an awesome afternoon excursion.
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Lucaya, Grand Bahamas Island
Mar 21-30
Continuing across the Northwest Providence Channel to Lucaya the skies were clear, winds light, and swells gentle as we cruised 80 miles; at one point, No Worries had dolphins jumping on their starboard side. Hard to imagine that in 24 hours a major storm would be passing right over us.
On arrival at Ocean Reef Resort and Marina there were no dockhands, but other boaters came flocking as they saw us approach so we had plenty of expert help. It required some creative line arrangement – because the piers were short and winds were expected to e high the next day – but we felt secure for whatever Mother Nature might deliver. We had periods of heavy rains, and there were some very strong winds – but we barely felt anything even as the wind clocked around a full 360°. Meanwhile, we heard from friends and saw in social media postings how everyone else was getting pounded for several days while we went about exploring the area and hanging out at the pool. Coming here had been a great decision.
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From here the plan was to cross back to Florida, but it was looking like there would not be a weather window for at least a week. Woe was us, stuck in the Bahamas at a resort with two pools, hot tub, daily activities, a gym, nearby beaches, tiki bars and restaurants in the resort or walking distance. It was small, privately owned, and had a much more ‘local’ family feel. Everyone was friendly and helpful, from the staff to the other boaters to the weekly resort guests from the mainland. We got in a lot of pool time and a spa day, saw yet another SpaceX launch ovrthead, did a little boat work, dined on whole fried fish at the signature Wednesday Fish Fry at Taino Beach, and sampled Gullywash, the signature drink of Grand Bahama. We also attended karaoke night (observers only) and watched as it got more spirited the more people drank — from ‘Sweet Caroline’ on it was quite rambunctious.
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Even in the tourist resort world, everything is laid back and impromptu in the Bahamas. We signed up one day for a three hour tour of the Lucaya/Freeport area. Hayward, our driver, was at the resort playing the piano because he trained as a pianist and when he’s waiting for a fare he sits and plays by the the pool for fun. So the activities person asks him if he’d like to give a tour in a couple hours to No Worries and us. There’s no set itinerary, and he drove by all the different local beaches and points of interest, telling us his life story interspersed with info about what we’re driving past. He took us to his backyard to show us all his fruit trees. Another stop is his favorite bakery because he needs to pick up his weekly raisin rolls. ‘Bakery’ was a very loose term in this case – more like a house where a woman bakes and sells bread from the large kitchen window. We had some of her raisin rolls ourselves, and they were the best.
West End, Grand Bahama
Mar 31
For 10 days boat travel almost anywhere in the Bahamas, much less crossing back to Florida, was severely restricted by high winds and seas from a series of fronts. After our first day at the resort with rain, we barely noticed it. From the beaches we could see all the whitecaps and rollers, and we were happy to stay where we were. But as always, the weather eventually changes and a crossing window opened up. We moved the 30 miles west to the very tip of Grand Bahama Island to stage for an early morning departure. We arrived about noon to the half-full Old Bahama Bay Marina, receiving a nurse shark escort to our slip. A steady stream of boats arrived throughout the afternoon. By end of day, the marina was full and there were more boats anchored nearby, all enjoying a final sunset, Bahama breeze, and more shades of blue in the water than one thought possible.
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Crossing Back to Stuart, FL
April 1, 2024
We were ready to come back, but we weren’t. The lifestyle is intoxicating and neither Dave nor I was ready to give that up. But better to depart wanting more.
We joined the massive exodus from the Old Bahama Bay Marina and anchorages as most everyone set out at sunrise. The number of boats crossing was impressive, as this was the first window in almost two weeks. The Gulf Stream gave us a nice push, allowing us to take a more northern bearing to Stuart and covering the 80+ miles by noon. Coming in the inlet, we were greeted by dozens of small and larger boats waking us from multiple directions and overall boating chaos as the inlet and ICW met, typical of Florida boating. Our Bahamian spell was definitely broken.
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Final Thoughts
Our six weeks in the Bahamas ended up being completely different from what we originally planned. The whole time was supposed to be in the Abacos, yet ended up being everywhere but there because of weather. But while the weather was terrible in the Abacos, we had a glorious two-plus week run in the Exumas and Eleuthera.
See Level itself over performed throughout the trip. Our new solar panels worked superbly — we didn’t need to run the generator at all and had excess capacity. With the watermaker, we didn’t have to practice extreme water conservation or purchase water. Roxy far exceeded our expectations for 15 straight days at anchor, and our worries about how she would do with just two daily shore runs proved needless. Traveling with Patty and Ciaran (and Ella) on No Worries was not only fun, but provided ‘backup’ for each other with mechanical and decision making issues.
A few months ago we saw a boat in Ft. Pierce named ‘iiwii’ (written in all lower case). When we asked the owner (a fellow Gold Looper) about it, he said it was ‘EE-wee’ and was an acronym for… It Is What It Is. This perfectly describes our time in the Bahamas, and it is our new mantra and has morphed into an adjective as well. Weather is always iiwii – no control over that. Boats are iiwii – you can keep up with maintenance and everything else, but they break by nature and you just have to deal with whatever comes up. The Bahamian people and culture are intensely iiwii; life seemed to be about that moment, that hour, that day. Tomorrow may be different, or it may be the same: iiwii.
The simple living was incredibly contagious. We enjoyed more and appreciated what was before us by abandoning expectations. That was the Bahamian spell. And though it was broken upon entering the St. Lucie inlet, it feels like we are left with a different lens through which to view how we live now and going forward. Back in the States, we will immediately be heading north on a speed run to get to Norfolk. Let’s see how it looks through our new glasses.
Pops’ Stats Corner*
- Tot No. of Days: 17
- Travel Days: 7
- Miles Traveled: 397.0 (345.2 nm)
- Days at anchor: 3
- Days at the pool: 5
- Days we got to a beach: 9
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*Pops is the family’s affectionate name for Dave’s dad. He had a mind for sports statistics, earning him the nickname Numbers from the coaches of several Stillwater teams with whom he worked. This regular section of the blog is in his honor, because it’s the kind of thing he would love.
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What a life! Love the colourful houses.
Just amazing!
It was a fantastic trip. We have been to Bahamas before and stayed at a resort. There’s soooooo much more to it when you’re cruising by small boat. Looking forward to going back next winter.
Wow, loved to read about this part of your journey! The colors! The water! The iiwii! Happy life, kiddos. Be well; be safe!
Wow! Little known history..
“…descendants of this group American colonists eventually established Minnesota.”
Very funny!
That iiwii word had me wracking my brain to translate to Hawaiian, before you explained it was an acronym.
Enjoying sharing your adventures
We also thought when we first saw it that it was a Hawaiian or some other native word.
The link from the map in the first figure is not working correctly…
Dangitty-dang-dang!!! Thanks for letting me know. Should be fixed now.