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The wind was lighter and from the S in the morning. The motorboat next to us
ran his engine for quite a while and then left his mooring. We thought he had
left but half an hour later he was back at the mooring. We pulled up the anchors
at 11 and motored down to Governors Harbor. Going out the harbor entrance there
was the same sponger with his small boat beating his sponges with a club. The
wind was light and directly ahead. About half way there we passed a group of
small boats looking for sponges. One person ran the boat and another with
snorkel gear was dragged behind looking for sponges and dove down when he saw
some. The water was 30’ deep. Just before we arrived at the harbor Jill caught
another fish, the same kind as yesterday but much smaller. She let it go. At 4
PM we anchored at Governors Harbor next to a 40’ trawler. A green inter-island
cargo boat was at the town wharf, it turned out to be the Eleuthera Express. There
was a long cloud stretching E and W across the island and it started to sprinkle
a little as we put the anchor down. It rained on and off for the next 2 hours
but never heavy and then the cloud dissipated and the wind died down to 5 Kt. We
still had the hook in the water and something tugged on it but got away. Several
small catamarans sailed around the harbor and one small outboard pulled a
water-skier. The Eleuthera Express left around 6. We split 2 rounds of spite and
malice in the cockpit during happy hour. At 7 we heard loud music coming from
town, they had set up a small stage and a large set of speakers. After a few
rounds of music the MC played games for the kids gathered around, After sunset
there was some live music from nearby and we heard music coming from a church in
town but by 9 everything was quiet.
We left Hatchet Bay. I got a good picture of the sponger beating the
sponges. A few miles from Hatchet Bay we saw 8 - 10 small boats sponging. There
were 2 guys in each boat and one would dive down in 35 - 40' of water. The one
in the boat kept the engine running! We motored and sailed. The Eleuthera coast
is 100 - 160' coral hills and cliffs. Rugged and beautiful. There are quite a
few houses, resorts, retreats that can be seen from the water. And the water! -
deep cobalt blue right u to the shore. As we arrived at Governor's Harbor, we
could see the orange canopy of poinsettia trees and tall palms. There are
several large churches. The Eleuthera Express came in for an hour soon after we
anchored. I took a picture of it because its the boat we tried to get our FedEx
package on when we were at Spanish Wells :). We ate the rest of our fish for
supper - the jack. I used the corn bread mix - too sweet!
The stayed light all night and we got a good rest. In the morning the trawler
pulled up its anchor and left us alone in the harbor. We put out the second
anchor for security and rowed to the N end of the beach. There are several poles
there where we could tie up the dingy. A ramp runs down to the beach from the
bay front road there and we saw a baby stroller at the end of the ramp. A lady
was swimming with her young child as we rowed passed. We carried the dingy up
the beach and tied it to one of the poles. Across the street were 2 liquor
stores and next to it we found the visitors center. They had a pamphlet with a
town map in it so we could find our way around although it is not a very big
town. We started up a hill and looked in one souvenir shop and then walked S to
the bank to get some more cash from our plastic. Along the way we saw quite a
few black and orange butterflies. A welcome sight after seeing nothing but moths
at Royal Island. We went to the bakery next and bought a loaf of fresh bread.
They had a number of other items in their display case and we also got 2 cherry
filled donuts which were delicious. Next door was a fruit shop and we bought a
few limes and a sapodilla to try it out. It was getting towards noon so we
headed to Cupids Cay which is attached to the mainland by a short causeway and
the map said they had several restaurants. On the way we passed the local
library which is housed in a nice old 2 story house. It was closed but the sign
said it was open today so we decided to try later. A convoy of 3 cruisers came
into the harbor and anchored. We walked around Cupid Cay an found a pair of
phone booths and called home. I think this is the first time we have come to a
phone booth and were able to use it without waiting in line while a group of
Bahamians used the instrument to tell their life stories. Shortly after we got
there a Bahamian drove up to use the phone. We walked to the end of the Cay and
then back down a different road and found the Harbor Inn. Another restaurant was
closed and a third looked like a local dive, we could smell cigar smoke coming
from inside. The Harbor Inn was open and we were the only customers. They had a
dinning room a bar room and a patio looking over the harbor. There was a little
breeze blowing and we could watch our boat so we ate there. We ordered cokes and
their fish from a choice of chicken, fish or lamb. Three other customers came in
while we were there. After lunch we continued our walking tour. There are 3
churches within a stones throw of each other, all substantial buildings. One is
in the center of Cupids Cay, one is on the E end of the Cay, next to the
causeway to the mainland and another is on the other side of the causeway. We
crossed back to the mainland where the library is but it was still closed. The
church has a graveyard along the bay front and we walked thru it. Just S of the
graveyard is the administration building and a crew was painting the steps and
flagpole. We walked around to one of the unpainted steps and asked where the
post office was. They said in front. We finally found that only part of the
front steps was wet paint and made our way to the post office to mail our
postcards and buy more stamps. We stopped at a grocery store and got a few
potatoes and another drink to get us back to the boat. At the ramp down to the
beach we saw a group of people standing around a small outboard. They were
selling conch and we bought 3 for dinner. What luck, now we can try out our new
conch bruiser. Back at the boat we swam and cleaned the bottom for a while. We
can keep up with the growth by brushing once a week. Another sailboat came in
after we finished swimming. We had seen it at Hatchet Bay. A third sailboat
anchored just before the son went down. Jill cleaned the conch and we took turns
banging on it. We used the wood cutting board and put the conch in zip lock bags
and beat on it till it was thin and lacy. The conch bruiser is easier to use
than the monkey wrench we used at Chub Cay but the wrench gives it a certain
special flavor. Jill fried the conch and served it with French fries and corn.
It tasted great. Just before dark a small freight boat came in, dropped off some
supplies and left an hour later. The wind had been 15-20 Kt from the E in the
afternoon but died to 5 Kt when the sun went down.
I rowed us to shore! We tied the dingy to a pole near the town's only street light. We walked part of the way up a hill - A very high hill. We stopped in at a visitors' center, bought a couple of gifts - Mom's pot holders and a barrette for Liz. We got bread at a bakery and a great donut with cherries on top. We went to the Banc of Canada and got $500. We had a map of the town with numbers - It was certainly old - The public restrooms were RUINED. Few restaurants. The children that we said hello to would not answer or smile back. They often would not look at us. Quite different than most other places we've been. It was super hot - 95°F+. We went into a Episcopal Church - 100 years old. The churches have cemeteries all around them. That church looked totally Catholic - stations of the cross; confessional; the alter. The building was cool ... We decided swimming was a good idea ... When we got back to the dingy some natives were there cracking conchs. We bought 3. We had to clean them ourselves.
BACKTRACK For lunch we went to a restaurant out on Cupid's Cay. It is a small island hooked to the mainland by a causeway. It makes up the town's deep water dock and right portion of the bay. There was no menu. We chose the jack fish , slaw, peas and rice and macaroni. It was good fish. Only $7 each - diet cokes were $1 each. We had 3 cokes but the bill was $15 OH, well.
I cleaned the conch - good practice for when we catch our own! :) We used our new conch bruiser ... Worked great. We put them in a plastic bag to beat them so it wasn't too messy. They were delicious - with French fries and corn - peaches for dessert :).
After another peaceful night at anchor we slept late and did not get going
until 10. A few days ago I noticed that the bracket that tensioned the
refrigerator compressor had broken. I used a mast wedge to tension it but this
did not work well and the refrigerator was not cooling properly. This morning I
tried to find a better fix. First I tried to pound the wedge in tighter but it
would not stay in place with the engine vibration. The bracket broke at the
mounting hole where it attaches to the engine mount. The belt appeared to have
stretched and the bracket was not long enough to get the proper tension. I
turned the small broken piece around and the rest of the bracket pushed against
it with a small piece of rubber from the dingy repair kit in-between to keep it
from rattling. After tightening everything we turned on the engine and it seemed
to work OK. We don’t have to drink warm beer yet. After lunch we pulled up the
anchor and sailed out of the harbor. The breeze was 10-15 Kt from the E but
varied from SE to NE. We reached Ten Bay about 7 miles S of Governors Harbor at
5 PM. After a delightful but slow sail. We sailed 17.6 miles to windward and the
wind seemed to shift against us no matter which tack we were on but the breeze
kept us cool and the autopilot worked just fine and the waters were all deep so
we could relax and enjoy the sail. We saw only 2 motor yachts heading N all day.
There were scattered homes along the shore and at the bay there was a number of
houses on the S shore and one almost hidden behind pine trees behind the beach.
We anchored off the middle of a long beach. Two people in a yellow raft were
swimming and exploring the rocks on the N side of the beach. We played cards
(Jill won twice) and RummyCub (we split 2 games). We ate dinner in the cockpit
and watched the stars come out. There was a lightning show to the W where we saw
a large cumulous cloud at dusk but the wind has dropped to a very light breeze
and the sky overhead is clear. There are only a few lights from the houses
around the bay and until the moon rises the sky is very dark and millions of
stars are visible. The Milky Way is easily visible. Because it is warm and there
is not much breeze I sleep part of the night in the cockpit and see several
shooting stars.
After lunch we went off to Ten Cay. We sailed from anchor ! :) Beautiful day. Both sails up. Rich worked on the frig this morning. We have frost, but are using the perishables "in case". Rich put a new lure on our line and cut some of it because it was twisted. I had a small jack on when we were going into Governors Harbor and didn't know it - the line was twisting.
It's about 2 PM. We can see Ten Cay at shore. There is a nice breeze out here. We sailed right to the anchorage - 15 ft.
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