The Rock Sound skyline 

February 10-12 

     We enjoyed Rock Sound and know that we still have more to do here but as we all learned from Mary Poppins when the wind changes it’s time to go...and it’s changing in our favor. We’ll have to come back! Removing an anchor that has held through a storm can be interesting. It always seem to pull 20 pounds of whatever bottom has encased the spade then we drive forward leaving a trail of dirt in our wake as it gets cleaned. Today we travel about 20 nm North with wind and waves going with us to Ten Bay Beach.

there are a lot of caves in the shore line of Eleuthera  

The waters of Ten Bay

Tucked in close to shore we set well and are off to visit another beautiful spot by 2:30. Sheri enjoys the beach and I locate a fine snorkeling spot on the north shore. Snorkeling here is like floating in an aquarium as swarms of little silver fish move in unison. New angelfish species, groupers, snapper and a light colored ray are a few highlights. I meet a man from Minn spending his last afternoon of vacation here that said he recently retired as a bridge inspector and that repair of the bridge at the glass window was some scary work. I posted some pictures of that earlier. As the sun sets we return for steak and potatoes on the grill with a sunset view.

Watching the tide go out 

a long way

We’re headed north and we’ll eventually get to Nassau but Tuesday we stop at Governors Harbor the Capital of Eleuthera. We arrive early because some of the reviews talk about how difficult it is to get the anchor to set so I wanted plenty of time...it set well the first try. We tie and lock the dinghy to a telephone pole and head for the handsome library building near the harbor. We met a couple from NC and got advice on the route to the pink sand beach called French Leave. They asked twice if we were going to walk all the way across to island. We hadn’t walked a quarter of a mile when they squeezed us into their rental Jeep. “It has 240000 miles” he said as he slowed over a rough patch in consideration of a tire with a slow leak that couldn’t be changed cause one of the 3 remaining bolts holding the tire on was frozen. Some say sailing is dangerous...danger is everywhere!! We thanked them and walked onto a beautiful big beach with a pink hue.

View from library towards Steadfast 

St Patrick’s Anglican Church and library building.

First floor of library

Pic of dinghy from Jeep as we rode off

French Leave Beach is really pink

Even close up 

Or at different angles...still pink

The adjacent property was a Club Med destroyed in a late 90’s hurricane which they decided not to replace. It was possible to imagine it’s prior glory and kind of sad. After a picnic on the beach we walked over the hill back to town. We located the bakery and got the prized coconut bread and a few grocery items then returned to the boat. We were getting ready to go to a local restaurant for happy hour food and tropical drinks when Jim from Blackthorn showed up. We caught up a bit and accepted an invitation to visit after returning. 

What once was a pretty swanky place is now laid to waste

I love February flowers even more 

A hilltop retreat 

Yellowbird and Goombay Smash were the tropical choices for our HH. These names are great. After that and a couple of appetizers we were set for dinner. While pulling the dinghy back into the water we saw Bob and Maria as they were headed out with friends to dinner. He has been cruising the Bahamas for 30 years and always has thoughts and recommendations. We return to steadfast after a couple of hours with Jim and Sue and said our goodbye/see you laters as our paths certainly could cross again.

There really was water here a minute ago 

We had reviewed the numbers for the current flow in current cut and we were quite sure that arrival after 1230 would be in our favor. As we traveled the six hours North from Governors Harbor we heard different boats talk about conclusions that were different than ours. We even heard one ask what the current would be because he had no idea. I like to have an idea. When we went through the current increased our speed by five knots up to 10.5. Fast for us!

The clouds show where the island is

The much anticipated coconut trench toast 

We chose the anchorage west of the cut for wind protection and because it moved us a little bit closer to our destination the next day. We slowly picked our way in avoiding coral heads. The anchor held well and we took the dinghy into the beach to spend the next hour snorkeling the shallows. Sheri moved to the beach chair to give the no see-ims a snack. They don’t seem to affect me that much but Sheri often has well itched bites. We have bug spray but she forgets to use it till it’s too late. Makes me itchy just thinking about it!

By using subtle hand jesters or wild indiscernible screams the gifted spotter guides the ship around coral heads

We are enjoying the last of the day when a dinghy comes by. The engine sound is akin to someone knocking on the door of your house and if you come out on deck then you want to engage with the visitor. We come out and talk with Woody,the capt, and Harry one of his guests/friends. Woody’s thick brough sounded almost Scottish. We listen to their tales especially going back-and-forth across the ocean and coming to rest 200 yards short of the destination today because the fan belt broke. So many great folks with good stories... “good times noodle salad” (who spoke this line and you could wind a cruise) We are again against a lee shore with a half moon lighting the night.

The boat is not quite to scale...but we had fun there