Governor's Harbor and Spanish Wells

June 16, 2009

June 12, 2009;

     We left Cape Eleuthera with wind under 10 knots.  We sailed wing on wing for awhile proceeding to Governor's Harbor.  It looked like we were going to have a storm, but it missed us. There were scattered squalls all around us.  Governor's Harbor is a big open harbor with no dinghy or other usable docks.  One has to dinghy into the beach and wade ashore as it is quite shallow.  We arrived on a Friday which is when they have their famous Bar-B-Q and Fis

h Fry on the causeway beach between Gov. Harbor and Cupid Cay.  The music was playing and the crowd was gathering.  We just followed the sound and the cars.  Loc

als and tourists all come.  We left about 9;30-10p.m. but it went on until about midnight. We met two families from Houston area and one from Pittsburgh. 

 June 13, 2009:

     When we went ashore to search for grocery stores, we met a couple originally from Canada who had started a junior sailing program at Governor's Harbor.  They teach the children to swim and to sail opti, sunfish or lasers. The age range is from 8-17.  We went exploring to two grocery stores and eventually found the bakery.  We also found an excellent liquor and wine store which enabled us to restock our wine "cellar".  We made several trips 

back and forth to the boat at anchor. Governor's Harbor has some nice big homes, a restored library and restored Methodist church.  We  went back ashore to eat lunch at The Buccaneer, a favorite local spot.  We were told of the beautiful beach on the ocean side where Club Med used to be, but it was uphill amd then down again and about a 3-4 mile walk.  As the temperature was in the 90's, we decided not to do that.  Later in the afternoon, we did take the dinghy about 2 miles north of the harbor to explore a beach.  We discovered two , substantial concrete docks, now abandoned. Since the water off the beach was very shallow for a long way out into the water, they were not good swimming beaches. The beaches in this area are also very rocky.  That night there was another function with music and Bar-B-Q and probably a sports match as we could hear the whistles blowing.  We could see the cars and lights from our anchorage. Since our dinghy is still leaking air,  we put it on top of the boat before our journey to Spanish Wells.

June 14, 2009

     We left early so we would arrive at the Current IS Cut at high or slack tide.  Trying to figure out just when that would be was a challenge.  Everything is based on the tides in Nassau, but there is not chart telling you what the difference is from one site to another.  Charlie guessed by what the tide was supposed to be a Royal IS.  We did a pretty good job as there was very little current going through Current Cut when we went through.  Evidently the current can be as much as 5-6 knots through there.  Safely through we proceeded on to Spanish Wells.  The entrance channel to Spanish Wells is very narrow and very short.  It is less than 1/2 the size of Shem Creek.  It is also about as long as Shem Creek but is very shallow and has many shoaling areas.  We arrived at the Spanish Wells Yacht Haven marina.  We met the couple next to our 

dock. They are on a 37' Pacific Seacraft which they bought in Puerto Rico.  They are taking it to the Chesapeake  though they are from San Francisco.  It poured about an hour after we arrived making it even more muggy.  

June 15, 2009

     We rented a golf cart to use to explore Spanish Wells and Russell IS.  Most of the houses here are one story block covered with stucco or concrete, and all are painted bright colors. They each seem to have a garden.  There are several marine stores here but they still have very little inventory. We also discovered that Spanish Wells is liquor-free. We found one big grocery

and another smaller one near the docks.  There are no laundramats so I wont' get any done here.   We had lunch at the Anchor Snack Bar.  There don't appear to be many real restaurants here. Spanish Wells is smaller than Mt. Pleasant Old Village ( or Zionsville old village).  I amazed at how small it really is. It reminds me of an inland lake village.  We saw bigger houses on Russell IS.  There is a nice small public park with a sandy beach at the end of Spanish Wells.

June 16, 2009

     I rained most of the night and very hard early this morning for two hours.  Rain kept threatening for several more hours  so we got a late start on further exploring .  We went to buy some meat, lettuce and water at the larger grocery.  Spanish Wells has well water and it is not very good.  They do not have reverse osmosis water so we will not fill our water tanks here. We got in touch with a pilot to take us through "The Devil's Backbone" which is a chain of reefs on the way to Harbor Island.  One hears the pilots being hailed constantly on channel 16. They are in high demand especially right now as there is a tuna fishing event being held here. One of the pilots also catches and sells stone crabs.  We ordered some and I waited until late evening and he never returned with the crabs.   Charlie left me waiting for the crabs while he went to the small public beach to take pictures.  We were both hoping to visit the park before dinner.   We tried to go to dinner at a restaurant we saw that was opened for lunch but found that it was closed.  We went instead to Norma's Take Out which is the local hamburger joint where everyone hangs out.  Most call their order in and go to pick it up.

     We will meet the pilot, Woody, tomorrow at about 10 a.m. and will follow him through the reefs to Harbor Island.