FOUR DAYS IN HATCHET BAY, ELEUTHERA.......

Four days of foul weather, rain, dark grey clouds and winds up to 42 knots. Not fun at all, and to make it worse, we were anchored with the stern some 20 feet from a rock wall...................... but that was yesterday, and now that the wind is down, life looks good again......... Time to go out and smell the flowers here in Eleuthera Island. We came in to Hatchet Bay through the narrow cut (on the right), which was man-made in the 1920's....... Hatchet bay, a lagoon really, is the only protected anchorage on this whole island coast from southerly, westerly and northerly winds. The whole island of Eleuthera has protection from easterly winds, but the holding in the bay is poor and of fine silt and ooze on a rock bottom. During the same bad weather period, the owner of this yacht (below) had rudder problems and could not make it back to Hatchet Bay. He has since flown back to the US with a bag of personal possessions and his yacht and dream have been written off. A monument to the hidden danger of sailing in Paradise....... The Hatchet Bay entrance is just around the point. So close, yet so far. He could have steered his yacht under engine, by dragging a sailbag on either side of the hull......................



While in Hatchet Bay, we got wind (of a different kind) that there was Chilean wine on sale at $5.00/bottle, back in Governor's Harbour. We hitch-hiked 40 miles for the round trip to prove it, and while the house on the right is not the liquor store, it is however, right next to it. ......... We bought two cases, and packed them into the wet/dry backpacks. I've never ever carried 48 bottles of red and white wine like this, nor will ever do so again........ then again we are taking it to the wedding in Hope Town in the Abacos.............. Bad weather necessitates reading, and four days of it has meant a book-a-day for both of us. Check out the cute " Mother of the Bride " in full reading mode................



And when the sun comes out it is time to go EXPLORING.............. Alicetown, the small settlement alongside Hatchet Bay also has its seaside cemetary. .......... A final resting place with great views...........Cemented coral-rock burial chambers above the ground, for the sub-surface limestone is too hard to excavate.............. Sad and forlorn, with many headstones laid flat and facing inland from past storms.................... We'd be guessing that the coffin, or the remains of one, in the photo below on the right is only inches beneath the ocean washed surface.............(double-click on it to enlarge)...OH,..AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE DO MORE THAN JUST VISIT CEMETARIES...................or should I call them "cementaries"............



The more recent burials are further inland away from the waters edge........ more solidly built with wave deflecters (I think).....................And the use of cement block instead of coral rock................



And here is something that doesn't happen everyday..............


We also got wind of a local fishing boat that goes out to collect 'stone crabs' from its pots set out on the ocean floor. When the catch is brought to the surface, only one claw is removed from the crab and the crab is released and in time regrows the missing claw............The vessel is easily recognised when it comes in to the harbour because its Caterpillar diesel engine is missing some oil rings, and it may not have a muffler.............. sound and sight recognition from afar, allows you to jump in your dinghy to go and meet it............. Now for a mere two bottles of beer and $15.00, you get this awesome batch of crab claws, cooked onboard the fishing boat for just the right time and temperature................ The happy and smiling Bahamian Captain watches over both the thermometer and his Mickey-mouse timer.............. So here's what we had for dinner last night.... How about you?

Do a double-click on the bowl and then eat your little heart out.

A REAL TOUGH "AUSSIE" ........................

We made the jump across the EXUMA SOUND, a passage of 50 miles from the Exuma Island chain to the island of Eleuthera. With so many cold fronts passing through, you have to time it just right. One day of sailing, then two days hiding from tremendous winds in some anchorage, then hope for the seas to go down, before making another run for the next hiding place. ........ Great cruising...... bit like crossing the freeway.............. The photo to the right is through our little porthole in the head in a "safe" anchorage, while the wind outside hits 35 knots, and you get ready to sleep on the floor, as the yacht does incredible contortions...............Beats bull-riding every time..................because you can get off the bull.

Now getting back to the tough "Aussie", well, double click on the photos below on the right and the left. That is a 'Casuarina' tree growing in a crack in the cement cap on an entrance pillar for a seaside restaurant at Rock Sound Harbour, Eleuthera. You might call it "The seed that refused to die"....... This one is really going for it. Casuarinas normally grow to a height of about 150-200 feet, so it has a while to go..... Look closely (do the double click thing) and you will see that even its stem base got a good lick of pink paint ...............and that didn't kill it. Casuarinas are better known as "Australian Pines" and this one is truly a 'tough Aussie'.......... and I bet you thought I was putting tickets on myself......................



Before leaving the Exumas we passed through some very shallow water near Stanial Cay and even saw these 'Nurse sharks' lying on the sandy floor.



Now Mr. Steve Smith (below) is one of those famous traditional Bahamian boatbuilders with some awesome credits to his name. This year they will hold the 57th Annual National Family Islands Regatta in Georgetown, featuring the Bahamian sloops as shown below. Steve here, next to his new mast for "TIDA WAVE", with one hand on an electric plane, the other on a cell-phone, has laminated this mast from imported Oregon pine, in readyness to once again win the event on his sloop "TIDA WAVE" or his other sloop "LADY MURIEL". He has won this 'Bragging Rights" event 19 times in the 56 year history, and I have a T-shirt to prove it.



To keep these boats upright "TIDA WAVE" will be loaded with 7000 lbs of lead ingots (that's more than 3 tons) and a whole bunch of people as counter weight. The sloop "LADY MURIEL" (above on the right) will give you some idea of the incredible mast height of solid pine.

The locals no longer use these Bahamian sloops for travel.........Heck No, they now drive to the local island airstrip, generally made of compacted crushed coral rock and jump on a four or six-seater aircraft, like this one below, secured against strong winds with some string and a cement block or maybe just half a block. Not that the 'Airport Fire Service' is much and better............... "Its Island style, I'd be guessin"...............



And it pays to be vigilant. This yacht dragged its anchor during a bad blow after anchoring in a place that is clearly marked on the charts as "POOR HOLDING".........



The island of "ELEUTHERA" has been established the longest, with its better soil and higher ground and was the hub of the original plantations. Many of the buildings date back to the early 1800s with the classical colonial looks. Today we visited the library, the oldest in the Bahamas, which dates to 1890 as a functioning library. Below right, is the pink Government Office in "Governors Harbour", the former capital of the Colony of the Bahama Islands. The waterfront cemetries are something to behold............. ravaged by storms and time, they are too sad for words.............



But life goes on, and there is wholesome bread to be baked................right in her own kitchen, and for the whole community.............wheat bread, raisin bread...... dough on her face, and in her hair and a beautiful golden smile. We walked away from this Bahama Island Queen with so much more than just bread....................

And truly a rare sight is this Mango tree in flower above on the left, especially for those of you who have never seen a Mango tree in flower. (Do a double-click on this one and the photo below)....Equally beautiful are these seed pods........... a work of art in nature.....And so our day ends on "ARITA" with an incredible sunset.............. The calm before the storm, for tomorrow we will need to be in "HATCHET BAY", twenty miles further north, when the wind will clock from the SW to the NW at 37 knots.................... and stay at 30+ knots for two days................. There is a price to pay for all this incredible beauty.




........................AND SO THE DAY ENDS WITH A SKY FILLED WITH WINDS IN TWO DIRECTIONS.....

PIGS CAN'T FLY..................RIGHT..............

Probably not, but they sure can swim............Have you ever seen such blue-blue water with juicy porkers swimming in it...................... Well, now you have........ What a sight. Call it " SALTY BACON ", or perhaps " PORK-IN-BRINE " or even " FLOATING HAM ". ......We first spotted these wild (questionable?) pigs sleeping in the sand on a beach, but as soon as they heard the outboard motor, they were up,.... and off.... into the water and on the way out to us, looking for food. They tried to climb right into our dinghy, and when that didn't work, the four of them began pushing us around with their snouts. Fifteen horse-power versus four-pig power. Now if you still have a straight face after seeing these photos, then you really need to go and see someone.......... In the end we got away, and they swam back to the beach. Never a dull moment on this cruise............... The location was at 'Big Major' Cay, in the Exumas.............The pigs certainly looked well fed and happy, and definitely the cleanest pigs I've ever seen, but when Laurie cooked this beautiful Sunday morning breakfast, we both looked at the bacon in an entirely new light........(Feel free to double-clik on any of the photos to enlarge them).



Just before all this 'pigging out' though, we had anchored off "Rudder Cut" Cay for the night, and in the morning took the dinghy into what appeared to be a cave. There were holes in the ceiling through which rain has slowly eroded the limestone to create this stalagmitic formation. The sea-ward half of the original cave has obviously collapsed and has disappeared, but the back half shown in the photo above was awesome. Everywhere you look you will see how the wave action has undercut the rock formations giving the 'mushroom' effect to the shoreline. We even found this 'yoga' rock, superbly balanced, in sync and in harmony............... There are some more screensavers in there............somewhere.............



And even before that, we had invited other cruisers from the catamaran "Nauticat" on board ARITA for drinks and dominoes. This is a national sport in the Bahamas (both, in fact) and is played with gusto, each piece being slammed down and 'driven' into the table. We played with much more finesse, and we certainly need the practice, for this game is to be played in Hopetown at Anne and Tony's wedding, and we had better know what we are doing by then...............



And even before that, we were part of the 'parking lot' outside of Stocking Island near Georgetown, the southern end of the Exumas..................... And even before that still, the "Queen of Florida and the Bahamas" had been collecting shells and making 'ice' in our baby fridge............ and I mean real ICE. ......the chunky kind you can put in a drink............. Miracles will never cease.........................



Still no real news from Glenn and Spense other than they are getting the medical runaround..... Keeping fingers crossed that this week they will find a doctor who will get things done....