Category Archives: Eleuthera

Skip, Hop and Jump Through Eleuthera

After leaving the cruise ship island of Little San Salvador we set sail for Eleuthera. Our plan was to stop at Cape Eleuthera Marina at the southern end of Eleuthera. However, we got there early and decided to “skip” it and continue on to anchor at Tarpum Bay, a little farther north. When we arrived there we motored in towards the shore and discovered it was very shallow so the plan changed again and we “hopped” another 14 miles to Governor’s Harbour. It was mid afternoon when we anchored and went ashore.

Governor’s Harbour is a busy town, the seat of government for Eleuthera. There are shops and restaurants a block or two from where we bring the dinghy ashore. The homes are built on a steep hill and on the other side of the hill on the Atlantic Ocean side of Eleuthera is the beautiful pink sand beach of a Club Med Resort that was partially destroyed in 1999 by Hurricane Andrew. It has not been rebuilt but some of the buildings and the beautiful landscaping remain.

image

The next morning we went out to breakfast with Cathie and Tom (Interlude) at the Buccaneer Club, where we had delicious food in a uniquely decorated restaurant. 

image
 image
 image
image
image

Below are photos of the Governor’s Harbour Library, near our anchorage, and several homes on the hillside.

IMG_8054

IMG_3727

IMG_3725

After breakfast we decided to leave and sail to Goulding Cay. Our next destination was Spanish Wells and while we could leave from Governor’s Harbour the next morning and get to Spanish Wells in the afternoon, we wanted to time our entrance through Current Cut for slack tide in the morning. Goulding Cay is a lovely anchorage near the Glass Window in northern Eleuthera a short distance to Current Cut. We spent the night there and left in the morning for the “jump” to Spanish Wells. On the map below, the narrow Glass Window is just below the top arrow from the word “Eleuthera Island.” Goulding Cay is a very short distance south of that.

image

One of the houses on the beach has a surfboard table in the yard. I guess Sailor is practicing surfing. You can see Seas the Day anchored off the point of the cay. Goulding Cay has a great shallow swimming beach, usually deserted, and the perfect place for Sailor to fetch his ball in the water.

image

This was our quickest visit to Eleuthera in the four times we have come here. Other years we have also stopped at Rock Sound, which we skipped this year, and spent time renting a car to drive the length of the island, visiting a number of beautiful pink sand Atlantic beaches. Once in Spanish Wells, we are only a short $8 water taxi trip back to Eleuthera so we’ll be able to rent a car for a tour of the island.

Our goal was to reach Spanish Wells by the middle of April with a month available to stay there before returning to the States at the end of May. When traveling on a boat, plans are written in sand, but in this case we had good weather and were able to adjust our stops to reach Spanish Wells. We were lucky the weather cooperated because that is always the determining factor on when and where we go. 

Car Tour of Eleuthera

After a comfortable motorsail across the Exuma Sound from Warderick Wells to the town of Rock Sound in Eleuthera, we went grocery shopping, took Sailor to a beach and rested for the remainder of the day.  The next morning we motorsailed to Governor’s Harbour and decided to rent a car to tour some parts of Eleuthera we hadn’t visited in the past.

First we drove to the northern end of Eleuthera and stopped at the Glass Window Bridge. The narrow bridge, which is very high above the water, falls away to sea level on either side, dividing the island in two with the dark waters of the Atlantic on one side and the turquoise water of a bay off the Exuma Sound on the other.  Driving over the bridge is a little scary, especially knowing that in 1991 a huge rogue wave knocked the bridge askew by seven feet. The photo below was taken from the bridge looking down into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s impossible to  take a picture of both sides without being above the bridge, so here is a link to some photos taken from an airplane http://www.eleuthera.com/glasswindow.html

image

We stopped for lunch at the Rainbow Inn in Hatchet Bay, which we highly recommend. Luckily for us almost all of the restaurants here have outdoor deck seating, usually looking over the water, because Sailor is always with us. In this case we ate on the deck but they were so dog friendly we could have eaten inside the restaurant.  We had an enjoyable conversation with cruisers who live in Palm Beach and we learned we had anchored next to their home on Lake Worth where they also dock their yacht.

image

We visited two beautiful beaches with pink powdery soft sand on the Atlantic.  The first, called Airport Beach, is at the abandoned US Naval Station which is a few miles north of Governor’s Harbour and close to Alabaster Bay.  It is also near Surfer’s Beach, which is north of this beach where breakers can be seen in the photo. The beach looks like this for miles. There is a very interesting story about the Naval Station on the following link which also includes several hundred photos of the ruins. http://voices.yahoo.com/an-adventure-abandoned-united-states-naval-11874013.html?cat=37

image

The second beach is at the old Club Med, which was destroyed in a 1999 hurricane.  Ruins of the buildings are still there on the hill above the beach. The area is now called French Leave and apparently the new owners are  going to build a “marina village” on the property. Of course, we were alone on both beaches. These are only a few of the gorgeous Eleuthera beaches.

image

Below is what is left of the huge swimming pool at Club Med. Much of the property still has intricate stone walkways and lovely landscaping.

image

We also stopped at a small beach by Gauldings Cay, a tiny island in the Sound.  The sandy beach is great for swimming and there is a nice little park by it for picnics.  I had to take a picture of this unique table in the yard of one of the houses on the beach in case my son would like to do this with one of his old surfboards.

image