Eleutheran Island Road Trip

While staying in the Park, we made plans with Doug and Marlene (s/v Solar Eclipse) to start a new adventure. We would sail to Eleuthera and explore, explore, explore. The large area includes the island of Eleuthera plus Harbour Island, Spanish Wells, and Royal Island and a few smaller cays.

Eluethera Island would be our first destination. Founded in 1646 by the Eluetheran Adventurers, who came from England seeking religious freedom, the island is rich in history. It boasts pineapples, quaint villages, friendly people, and, more recently, prosperity. Some descendents of the Adventurers live on the island along with many descendents of loyalists' slaaves.

From Warderwick Wells, we motor sailed through the cut into the Exuma Sound. We turned off the engine, raised all the sails, and sailed northeast in a brisk wind with following (but rolly) seas. Soon our depth finder quit functioning; we were in very deep and cobalt-colored water. We had been cruising the shallow Bank side of the Exuma’s for nearly a month, and we were once again amazed at the purple-blue water of the Sound, so very dark, it can look black, depending on the angle of the sun. Everything is more on the Sound: more wind, higher waves, bigger sea swells and faster speeds. We made excellent time crossing the 29 miles on the Sound; then we were in The Bight, the shallow water on the west, the side we were on, plus the south and north sides of Eleuthera Island. The east side is the Atlantic. The Bight is turquoise but lacks the clarity of the Bank in the Exumas, perhaps because the long island of Eleuthera has only one cut for the ocean water to rush through the area, causing a good flushing and cleaning. The southern end of Eleuthera is shaped like a whale’s tail and our first waypoint in The Bight, Powell Point, is right on the tip of the port side of the whale’s tail. The next ten miles covered three more waypoints, each one requiring a course change that helped keep us off the shifting sand bars and the scattered coral heads. For protection from the south south/west wind, we anchored in the Starved Creek area. We were well protected from the wind for the night.

The next morning, we weighed anchor, motored two miles into Rock Sound, and again dropped the hook. The wind would be clocking and we had good protection from the west, north, and east. The middle of Rock Sound is less than six feet at low mid-tide; we joined the other three sail boats in 7.5 to 8 feet of water not far (but far enough) off the rocky east side.

Rock Sound is a good stopover for provisioning; the community businesses welcome boaters and will deliver supplies to the dingy dock. We shopped the well-stocked grocery and liquor stores and filled our empty 20 lb. propane tank (we carry two). In the central part of town, an attractive park area surrounds a natural blue (ocean) hole. Said to be bottomless by the locals, it is really an inland salt water lake, a mile from the ocean, yet it is filled with salt water and sea life and has ocean tides, so some connection (though as yet unknown) exists between this amazing hole and the ocean. Swimming is allowed, but not fishing. Dozens of fish hang around the outside edge waiting for a handout of breadcrumbs.

To see more of this diverse island plus Harbour Island, we rented a car for a road trip. Our query about how long it would take us to reach Harbour Island was met with, “it’s a long way, at least an hour and a half.” Living on an island that is about 60 miles long and narrow, except on both ends, creates a life style that is far different from the life style that most of us are used to. An hour and a half would get us out of Oklahoma City, but would only be half way to Lake Texoma. Of course, a road trip of any length is now a rarity, but traveling an hour and a half in a sailboat is a very short trip.

The drive up the island was fairly slow. The Queen’s Highway on Eleuthera is narrow and curvy with no shoulders or center line, though it does have good signs, especially for the curves. Larry did a great job of driving on the left side, though he and all of us had a few starts when seeing a vehicle coming around a curve driving on the left. It would be on the correct left side, as we were, but it looked completely wrong. None of that stopped us from enjoying our scenic drive, with constant views of either the Bank on one side or the Atlantic on the other, sometimes seeing both easily.

After passing through several villages, we stopped at the Glass Window Bridge that was once a natural arch undermined by the ocean, thus forming a “look through” window. Several years after the natural arch broke through, a narrow manmade bridge was constructed across the rock gorge, once again allowing locals and tourists access between the north and central parts of the island. Every few minutes, an Atlantic roller surges in or a powerful swell hits the rock spine beneath the bridge, foaming and throwing walls of water, ending in a cascading waterfall. Almost yearly, the Glass Window claims at least one victim, carried off the bridge by walls of water 100-120 feet high.
We finally dragged ourselves away from the magnificent views and the glimpse of the power of the 3,000 miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Our next stop is Harbour Island, known for its gorgeous pink sand beach.

Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

With our fuel and water tanks and storage jugs full, we enjoyed a leisurely sail of 19 miles from Sampson Cay to a mooring ball at Warderick Wells Cay, home to the headquarters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park . Because we had waited so long for the fuel, we arrived late in the afternoon, just past low tide (shallow!). The tidal current was already strong, so picking up the mooring and holding on to it long enough to tie on to it was challenging. Tied up to mooring, engine off - Coctail time.

Covering 176 square miles, the Park is the first land and sea park in the world. It includes 20 named cays and stretches southward 22 miles from its north boundary. The Park is a no-take zone by both land and sea – nothing living or dead can be removed from the Park. This year we explored only Warderick Well Cay; future visits to the Park will include checking out other areas.

The Bahamas National Trust builds and manages the nation’s park system. Throughout the country , 25 national parks exist, covering 700,00 acres of land and sea. In addition to providing opportunities for people to experience a national environment, the Trust organization also supports environmental research and education, historic preservation and sustainable development planning.

Established in 1958, the Exuma Park is one of the largest and is an extraordinary natural area. Whether exploring the underwater beauty of the coral reefs or the pristine beaches, whether hiking the trails to observe the many species of birds, fish, or other wildlife, whether having a cocktail with friends watching the spectacular sunsets ----- this is the perfect place to be.

We snorkeled all the reefs around Emerald Rock with Marlene and Doug (s/v Solar Eclipse). We saw more varieties of coral and much healthier, colorful coral than we’ve seen thus far in the Exumas., though we did see some bleaching and green algae growth which is attributed to warmer waters caused by global warming. The barrel and vase sponges also were colorful and healthy looking. The Sea Fans were large and beautiful,; a conch and a crab were moving about. We also saw a nice variety of tropical fish as well as snapper, yellow fin tuna, and other game fish. Thunderball Grotto at Staniel Cay has a far greater number and variety of tropical and game fish, but those tame fish stay in the cave area and are fed by and surrounded by snorkerlers on a daily basis. So, while the fish in the Park aren’t scared away by snorkerlers, they do not congregate in large numbers and they are not expecting a hand-out, mainly because since feeding them is not allowed.

Going at slack tide to avoid the strong tidal currents, the four of us also snorkeled The Rangers Garden. The large reefs are cleaned twice a day by strong tidal currents and were more colorful than the reefs around Emerald Rock. We had been exploring the reefs for quite a while when Larry swam over to me and said, “Shark!” at which time I immediately swam toward the dingy while Larry got Marlene’s attention and she was quick to alert Doug. Just a few minutes later, we were aboard our dingy’s! Larry then told us the shark was eight to ten feet and he wasn’t sure what kind it was, but he was sure it was not a Nurse Shark, known for rarely being aggressive. We all voiced that the shark was probably not the least interested in us but we all agreed we were through snorkeling for the day. From the poster at the Headquarters, Larry identified it to be a Lemon shark and, apparently, there are many of them around the cay and they do not bother swimmers. We ‘knew’ that, but the next time we see one swimming close by, we’ll probably take the same action.

The Park provides information and location of several other good snorkeling spots, places where swimmers can observing large lobster ‘walking’ on the bottom or explore fragile reefs formed by stromatolites, the oldest evidence of life on earth,.

A trip to the Park would not be complete without hiking the Boo Boo Hill Trail. Started as a commemorative to drowning victims of a ship wreck just off the cay, the Hill is now the spot where cruisers leave a piece of wood
marked with their vessel’s name, the date, and any other information they wish to add. Boo Boo Hill provides magnificent panoramic views of much the central Exumas. We spent a couple of hours hiking many of the trails, enjoying the plants, trees,
wildlife. The little lizards are close enough to touch.

Saturday’s are Sundowners on the Beach with the Park providing the ice. Nearly all the cruisers staying on the moorings and in the small anchorage show up. The gathering provides an excellent opportunity to catch up with other cruisers that we’ve met in other areas. We may not have seen them in a month or we may have just seen them in the last place we were and we’re traveling in the same general direction. Get-togethers are also the perfect place to meet new friends.

No facilities exist for trash disposal or for acquiring groceries, fuel or fuel. While there is no phone service, wireless internet can be purchased at the headquarters, which also features a small gift shop, welcome center, book exchange, and displays, very helpful in identifying the Park’s marine and land life.

Information from the Park literature:

If snorkeling: Take Only Photographs – Leave Only Bubbles

If hiking: Take Only Photographs – Leave Nothing but Footprints

Water, Water, Everywhere and . . . .

Our Water Maker does not work! It came with the boat and has never worked. We were told to not start it up in the murky waters of the Chesapeake or the ICW, so as soon as we arrived in Florida, Larry replaced all the seals and the membrane and tried everything else the company suggested. With no other options, we bought five water jugs while in Florida. He checked through the whole system again in Georgetown, replacing some seals again, but it still functions poorly. So, we make plans to fill our water jugs and our tanks. Pulling into a marina and just filling up our tanks seems like the logical step. But we rarely go to a marina in the Bahamas. The routes leading in are often to shallow for us (though some we could get into at high tide). Plus, most of the cays we visit have no marina.

Here are our five water jugs and two gasoline jugs.
(Reminder -just click on pics to enlarge them)

We hold approximately 88 gallons in our tanks plus we carry about 30 gallons in our jerry jugs. We average under seven gallons a day, and we avoid getting too low on water. We’re always planning our next ‘water collection’ as soon as we begin using our second tank

Filling our water jugs in Georgetown was free and fairly easy. The Exuma Market has installed a water hydrant at the Dingy Dock. Cruisers may have all the Reverse Osmosis water they need for no charge.

In Black Point, cruisers needing water tie up at the Dingy Dock, carry the jugs up the ladder to the dock, carry the jugs to the city hydrant, and then reverse the process with the heavy full jugs. The six foot ladders that go straight up to the deck are tricky enough without carrying jugs full of water. Of course, once at the boat, the jugs are lifted onto the boat and used as needed. The Reverse Osmosis water is free, but the settlement asks cruisers to make a donation both for water and for the trash that they leave. We were in Blackpoint twice, so each time we collected water.

The next time we needed water, we were able to pull into a marina. The marina at Staniel Cay was doable, but not easy and too far from our anchorage. Four miles after we left our anchorage west of Big Major Cay in the Staniel Cay area, we turned toward Sampson Cay Marina. The route is straight forward and deep enough for us to easily pull up to the fuel dock. A beautiful anchorage is just outside the marina, and several sail boats were anchored. The marina has many boats in slips, but they are luxury yactts with a few large power fishing boats. We filled up our tanks and jugs and paid $ .50 a gallon for the water.

Marinas in the Bahamas frequently run out of diesel and gasoline. The fuel boat at Sampson Cay Marina was unloading fuel when we arrived, so we filled up our diesel tanks. Since we rarely go to a marina, we carry diesel jugs as well as gasoline jerry jugs for our Honda motor that makes our dingy go fast, so we filled those up as well. We don’t go through fuel as fast as water, but we grabbed the opportunity. Larry didn't mind buying the two red jugs, but he was really reluctant to buy the seven diesel jugs. But so many cruiser told us that we should have them on board that he gave in and bought them. They may not look too pretty, but we are glad we have them.

Lots of cruisers have a working water maker and many others desire one, though there are those who choose not to invest in an expensive water maker that uses precious amps and requires regular maintenance. We on Lapidus are looking forward to having a working water maker.

OK! Enough about water makers. and fuel as well. I'd rather just share tales and pics of all the beautiful and fun places we are lucky enough to be visiting. But, we also have to deal with 'real life' necessities.
Bottle of rare wine? Steak? We can only imagine why this sea plane landed just long enough for a crew member from the Mega Yacht to pick up something that apparently was much needed by the owner. Our anchorage just off Big Majors often had more Mega Yachts than sail boats and smaller power boats. Fowl Cay Resort and its $100 dinners is close by. Its ‘reservation only’ dining is rarely visited by cruisers, but stays busy with guests from its five bungalows and the luxury yacht owners.

Thunderball Grotto
This picturesque hollowed-out cave was the location for the filming of the James Bond movies Never Say Never Again and Thunderball, as well as Splash. A varied and beautiful assortment of fish live in and around the cave. The grotto is best visited at slack tide and low tide. At low tide, swimmers have enough room to enter the cave with heads above water; otherwise, a quick underwater dip is required. Due to our long walk on the ocean side, we arrived a little later than planned, and, while it was still low tide, slack tide had passed and the current had already become strong. While Larry easily maneuvered to the other side and back, I would snorkel to about the middle and then be pulled back at the entrance by the current. I just kept swimming back in! Thousands of colorful fish swim all around you and they do like to be fed. Fish food or even cooked rice in a water bottle with a small hole in the lid is easy to shake and the fish rush to the treat and to you or they will eat out of your hand.

Sunlight shines through the natural skylights where rain has eroded the rock. Natural entrances are on both the east and west end. The next time we visit, I'll enter one end and flow with the current out the other end. This natural fish bowl is amazing. The Thuderball islands are protected by the Bahamas National Trust, so no fishing allowed.

Thunderball Club is a short boat ride away and is packed with photographs taken during the 007 filmings. Sean Connery looks so young -and gorgeous! With a daily Happy Hour and lots of atmosphere, the Club is a popular spot for cruisers.

Nurse sharks and rays are numerous around the docks at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. They are great subjecst for photos, but their interest in the area is far more primal.

Fishing guides and their paying anglers usually come back from a fishing trip in the Exuma Sound with a nice catch of mahi mahi, dorado, and tuna.





Dinnertime






Lovely rental cottage avail- able at Staniel Cay Y.C.


This area covers several islands. Small reefs with good snorkeling are found around the islands. We snorkeled and walked the trails to the Ocean Beach and to the Ocean Park. We are seeing cruisers that we met in Georgetown, which then leads to sundowners and catch up time.

We also had two days of too much wind and rolling plus some much appreciated rain. My skin needed a break from the sun and these were good days for boat maintenance.

Catching up - then Staniel Cay

While in Little Farmer's Cay, we visited J.R.'s shop. After careful selection from so many choices, we purchased a Phoenician Bahama Mama. A wood carver extrordinaire, J. R. specializes in various Bahama Mamas as well as eagles, owls, parrots, osprey, and fish. He is well-known throughout the Exumas for his beautiful carvings from Wild Tamarind wood.


Our last full day in Black Point was perfect for a snorkeling adventure with Jeff and Tessa (s/v Inamorata). After our long dingy rides, we stopped on Gaulin Cay South. We were surprised when Iguanas came out to the beach to great us. We had read that the next cay north, Bitter Guana Cay was home to a protected Iguana habitat. A narrow cut separates these two cays, but the cut does not keep the iguanas from crossing to Gaulin Cay South. They seemed pretty tame and expectant of a snack, but we were empty handed; they soon grew bored with us and climbed the rock wall of the cay and hid in the brush.



Just north of the cut, a regal osprey was on watch
guarding its nest on this well-selected cliff.

As we snorkeled and free-dived (no free diving for me, but I want to!) several small reefs, we saw a variety of colorful fish from just a few inches to over a foot. Purples, blues, yellows, and oranges from the reef fish along with the coral, sponges, fans, and sea urchins plus a few crabs - like swimming in an aquarium.

Leaving Black Point, we had fast and rolly passage to the Staniel Cay area. A favorite spot for cruisers, this busy area has much to offer the cruiser. Taking advantage of the flights from Nassau and Fort Lauderdale landing daily on the 3,000 foot airstrip, cruisers arrange meeting dates to pick up their family and friends who are coming to visit. In addition to the the Staniel Cay Marina facilities, moorings and anchorages offer lots of locations and protection choices.

We are anchored west of Big Major Cay. We have a bit of a dingy ride over to the Staniel Cay Village. We can go to the south of Big Major or the north, through a little cut by Fowl Cay Resort. The north route is a little longer, but is so much drier. We pack our computers in waterproof (not completely accurate) bags and then put them in our backpacks (which we wear), but arriving somewhere with only a little damp 'dingy butt' is surely preferable to being soaked with waves coming over the bow or side.

Visiting Pig Beach on Big Major Cay is a must and we are just a short dingy ride away. 'Wild' pigs roam the the south part of the island, but are always close enough to the beach to hear a motor. They are so glad to see what you have brought them and they will swim out to you and your dingy. We took raw carrots (which they loved) and cauliflower (which they finally ate).

We are enjoying the area and activities and will be back soon with more tales and pics.

Little Farmer's Cay

Little Farmer's Cay is south of Blackpoint (on Great Guana Cay) so we backtracked about nine miles. Because we were a little concerned about the shallow route leading into Farmer's Cay, we by-passed this beautiful area after we left Cave Cay. Nancy and Jim on Solitaire know the area, so they offered to lead us and three other boats into Little Farmer's Cay. Our planned departure time insured that our arrival would be at mid-tide, so with adequate water under our keels, we all made it safely in and were soon on mooring balls.

Jim and Nancy know many of the 54 residents and our especially close to Terry and Ernestine, who own and operate the exceptional Ocean Cabin Restaurant and Bar. Terry and Ernestine also own six of the mooring balls and cottages for rent. They are the main promoters of this small cay that is largely undeveloped and maintains an independent, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Once we there, we were quickly hooked on the island, its residents, and the residents (four houses) on Big Farmer Cay.

In addition to our group of five boats, other cruisers arrived over the next several days. Eating at Ocean Cabin always included many of the cruisers. Lunch one day happened to be on my birthday. Selections included Grouper Fingers, Chicken, and Conch Burgers -plus a little birthday cake.

Lobster was the main event for a large gathering one evening. Earnestine and Charlene remove the tail from the shell, marinate the tail, replace it in the shell and bake it until it is pure perfection. The addition of Bahamian side dishes and wine completed the meal.

One fun excursion was a trip by dingy to Oven Rock Cave, a 90 foot land cave on Great Guana Cay that has a natural swimming pool and limestone 'art gallery' plus many interesting stalactites. Jeff and Tessa (s/v Inamorata), Nancy, and I enjoyed a swim in the cool, clear water while Jim and Larry took pictures. Before we left the area, we walked to the ocean side for a little beach exploring.

Saturday was a fun and fundraiser day for Little Farmer's All Age School. The twelve students in the school, all the cruisers, and residents from Little Farmer's and Farmer's Cay celebrated the day with great food, fun games and activities, plus plenty of socializing. Larry enjoyed a fried Hog Snapper while I had Roti and Curry Chicken; both dishes were new to us, but, of course, delicious. Grilled like a tortilla, Roti is thicker and contains shortening or lard. The Hermit Crab races offered us a chance to place bets on our choice(s) for win, place, and show. The crabs that were trying to climb out of the bucket before the race started were often not the ones who took off for the finish line once the bucket was turned over and the race began. A fun day celebrating the importance of education!

Jeffery and Aiden (plus others) spear fish and catch lobster and conch for a living. We were thrilled to purchase eight lobster, two grouper, and three hog snapper that Jeffery had recently caught, cleaned, and frozen. Jim and Nancy filled their freezer with lobster from Aiden. Lobster season ended March 31, so we timed our purchases well.