Sailing Arcas: Eleuthera - Spanish Wells and Harbour Island

We finally made it out of the Abacos! We crossed to Eleuthera last Monday. The crossing was completely uneventful - light winds and easy swells. I even stood watch, accompanied only by Sinbad, our trusty autopilot, while Hill took a nap.

We sailed across with two other boats, Wind Dancer and Zampano - we got to know the owners of each as we all waited at Lynard Cay to cross. We checked in with each other as we made the crossing, which helped calm my anxiety about the trip. After completing the passage, we spent the night at Royal Island, a uninhabited island that nevertheless has a fully protected harbor. Our chartbook said that construction of a marina and resort were underway on the island, but it was clear when we arrived that the construction had slowed in pace with the U.S. economy.

The next day we motored to Spanish Wells, the first town in the Bahamas we've visited where tourism is not the dominant force in the economy. Spanish Wells is the center of the Bahamaian lobster industry, and is clearly a working harbor much like ones in New England.

Hill and I spent the afternoon checking out the island and identifying things we would need to return to over the next few days, such as the grocery store and laundromat. We had a very weird encounter at a dive shop/video store in town. The Devil's Backbone reef around Spanish Wells is supposed to have awesome snorkeling and diving, and we were hoping to arrange a trip. I also need a new mask, because mine leaks under my nose. Anyway, we walked into the dive shop and Hill asked the guy behind the counter about their rates for dive trips. We don't do dive trips, the guy responded. Okay, Hill countered, could he hook us up with someone who leads dive trips? Not really, the guy responded, and added that the stores here primarily cater to the fishing and lobster industry. Which was fine, except that much of the gear in the store was designed for tourists and cruisers, not commercial fishermen.

So maybe he just didn't like us? Except that on our way out, Hill stopped to check out the DVDs for sale, and the guy behind the counter said, "If you come back tomorrow, I'll probably have Watchmen." (This is a movie that was just released in theatres - and certainly not legally available yet on DVD.) SKETCHY! Later that afternoon Hill and I tried to figure out what was really going on in the store. I posited that they downloaded and sold porn to the lobster fisherman for the 2-3 months at a time the fisherman are offshore working. It seemed more likely than the owners making a profit from selling dive equipment. (And no comment on whether we're going to go back and pick up any DVDs).

On Wednesday, Hill and I decided to spend a night on land in Harbour Island. The northern edge of Eleuthera is bookended by the island of Spanish Wells to the west and Harbour Island to the east. In between is the stretch of reef I previously mentioned called Devil's Backbone. To sail through it requires hiring a guide who can thread one through the reefs. However, there's a ferry that travels daily between the two each day. We decided to take the ferry over Wednesday morning, spend the night in Harbour Island Wednesday night, and return on Thursday.

In character, Harbour Island is about as far as you can get from Spanish Wells. As the ferry pulled into the dock, our first sight was a marina full of megayachts. But the town is still very Bahamian - a nice mix of resort comforts and local flavor. Part of the "local flavor" are the chickens that have free reign of the island. We heard roosters crowing at least five or six times an hour.

After walking through town, Hill and I headed to the ocean side of the island and stopped for lunch at a place overlooking the beach called Sip Sip, where we ate the best food we'd had so far in the Bahamas. After lunch, we applied ourselves to the task of finding a place to spend the night. We quickly discovered two things: 1) the Lonely Planet guide book is ridiculously out of date in terms of prices, and 2) the economic slowdown hasn't yet hit Harbour Island. We were hoping to negotiate a price for a room, but didn't have any power to do so. Still, we ended up at a great hotel called The Landing that is a converted 19th century home. Our room had creaky wood floors and a four poster bed, and we also had access to a library, pool, and outdoor patio.

For dinner, we made reservations at a nearby hotel/restaurant called Rock House. It's the sort of place that is featured in hip magazines. We ate outside in a covered cabana near the pool. It was sweet. I took a few pictures that aren't the best but hopefully came out well enough to inspire some envy.

On Thursday, we ate breakfast in a nearby deli housed next door to an upscale liquor store. We realized that this combination had two things that Spanish Wells and every other place we'll be visiting for the next month lack - good food and wine. We could barely restrain ourselves from cleaning out the entire cheese section of the deli (brie! chevre! port salud!). We also replenished our wine stock and also found a liter-sized bottle of Macallan single malt scotch for less than it costs at home.

After dropping off our cache at the hotel, we spent the rest of the day down at the beach. Harbour Island's claim to fame is its pink sand beaches. (Personally, I would call them pink-ish, but that doesn't sound as good in the marketing brochures.) In my pictures, the sand actually looks more pink that it really was. We finished off our beach walk with a drink at the Blue Bar, part of another upscale resort called Pink Sands. The lobby had an awesome Morocco-meets-pink-beach decor - including a pink pool table - that was pretty sweet.

Harbour Island was a wonderful diversion, but we were both happy to get home to the boat. In a few days, we'll be underway to the rest of Eleuthera and the Exumas. From everything we've heard, this section of our trip will have less civilization and more natural beauty. As long as we're blessed with good weather, it should be awesome.