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The day started with a light wind from the E and lots of sun. We prepared the
boat and did a final load of laundry. At 11:30 we cast off and motored out of
Spanish Wells. The wind had shifted to W at about 10 Kt. The pilot Bradley was
in his skiff going out the inlet at the same time to meet another sailboat and
we waved. It was just a short motor to Royal Island and we anchored with 2 other
sailboats and 3 cruisers. One cruiser and one sailboat left later in the
afternoon and the wind shifted to SW but still light. It was very warm until the
sun went down and then it got very pleasant. We played cards in the cockpit and
split 2 games of spite and malice.
I washed a last load of clothes in the AM. Did I tell you that Rich took great manatee movies at the Yacht Harbor dock? Before noon we were off to Royal Island. Relaxing day...
The wind blew strong all night, 20 Kt from the W. It was quite cloudy and squally and I thought it might rain today. In the morning only one other sailboat was left. Another small sailboat came in later, went ashore and left. The wind remained strong until late afternoon and then decreased slightly and the clouds slowly dissipated without a single rain drop. We took a long swim in the afternoon. The wind kept it from getting real hot but the water was still refreshing. A motorboat from Spanish Wells came in and asked to use the radio. He was looking for a boat with engine problems but could not reach them from his boat. He tied up and got information that the boat was near Egg Island. He left and later towed a 28’ powerboat into the anchorage and left with the people on board.
Two other sailboats at Royal Harbor. "Bad Dog" from Spanish Wells came on board to use our radio to rescue a dead in the water fisherman. Towed him in. Swam and enjoyed the peaceful harbor.
The other sailboat left in the morning and we were alone with the motorboat
that was towed in yesterday. We pulled up the anchors and left at 10 so we would
be at Current Cut around high tide. The wind was from the SW at 10-15 Kt and we
had a good sale for a while but then had to turn more into the wind and dropped
the sails and motored to the Cut. A good sized local motorboat was headed
towards the cut from the SW and went thru just before us. There were a bunch of
people on shore with snorkel gear. The motorboat went to a pier just on the far
side of the cut. The current was still flowing thru the cut fairly fast and we
flew thru. the water was deep and the cut seemed to be plenty wide. Once thru we
overshot the turn to the SW and went back to find the deeper water close to
Current Island. We followed the channel and then turned E towards Hatchet Bay
and set the sail. We had a good beam reach with both sails up we did 3-4 Kt.
About 5 miles from the bay a fish hit our line and we reeled in a 5 lb. Spanish
Mackerel. We filleted it in the cockpit and Jill fixed part of it for supper.
Towards 4 the wind started shifting further SE and dropped. It was almost calm
as we motored into the bay thru the narrow entrance. Two fishermen were on the
bank inside the inlet pounding on sponges. We motored around the harbor, there
were many more boats here than when we were hear earlier by car. We decided to
anchor in the N bay with several other boats. The bay is covered with heavy sea
weed which looks strange from the surface. We put down 2 anchors just to be
safe. The wind shifted to the SE and blew stronger, 15 Kt at dusk and was gusty
all night. The GPS woke us up once around midnight but it was a false alarm.
Had our drinks and left Royal Harbor about 10 AM. Hot morning. I put the shade u at 0800. Other 2 sailboats left before us. We motored and then sailed. Went 180° until we passed thru The Current Cut. That was exciting! A narrow fast passage - about 100' across and it looks like it's boiling. We passed the channel to South and had to come back. I watched for rocks but we had no problem. We sailed toward Eleuthera - down the coast - I was fishing - dragging a hook with salami and a silver spinnaker. We passed The Window - It looked like a square window. I was sunning on the bow and reading. A little while later we caught a Jack Mackerel! :) About 5 lb. We cleaned him. Soon after we got close to Hatchet Bay. The coast is rugged. You can see those old grain elevators that we drove past. We came thru the 90' wide entrance of Hatchet Bay about 5:30 PM. There were quite a few boats. We have anchored in about 8'. As we entered the Bay - we saw natives beating sponges to the right and left. There is a big deep cave toward the right of the bay. I took a picture of the entrance and the cave. We had Creole fish for supper :). The stars are beautiful There is a strong breeze blowing. We have 2 anchors down.
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