Category Archives: Spanish Wells

Georgetown to Spanish Wells

On April 2, 2019, we left Georgetown and sailed to Big Majors Cay. The next day we sailed further north along the shallow bank of the Exumas to Highbourne Cay. Friends Len and Isabel from SV Nocturne were there, on their way to Nassau and then back to Florida. We had a wonderful dinner with them at the marina’s Xuma Restaurant. Mark ordered a fantastic lobster tail and I had lobster salad, probably the best meals we’ve had in the Bahamas this year. The HIghbourne Cay anchorage always has a terrible swell and is uncomfortable but the beach is beautiful. We were there for one night.

On April 4, 2019, we crossed the deep water Exuma Sound to Governor’s Harbour in Eleuthera. We have never had a calm crossing to Eleuthera from the Exumas, but this was the worst. The next day we motorsailed north along the coast, went through Current Cut and anchored just outside the entrance to Spanish Wells. The following day we tied up at a private dock we were renting behind a home.

This was the first time we have stayed at a dock in Spanish Wells. Over the past few years, several people who own homes on the harbor side of the town have built sturdy docks behind their houses to rent at affordable prices. During our six previous visits we stayed on a mooring ball in the small mooring field in town. The private dock was only slightly more expensive, and much cheaper than the newly remodeled Yacht Haven Marina. We had unlimited well water at the dock, which we used to wash off the boat and to bathe Sailor. It was not potable but we were able to make RO (reverse osmosis) water to fill our tanks. We also had shore power for fifty cents a kilowatt. We used minimal power and it cost an average of $5 a day, which was well worth it. We never used air conditioning, the microwave, the toaster, the breadmaker, or any appliance that used heat, thus drawing a lot of power. We didn’t use our hot water heater since our solar heater worked great with lots of sun. Most of the boat’s electricity is on a 12V system powered by a bank of batteries, including the cabin lights, the water pump, hot water heater, fans, refrigeration, etc. We are able to charge electrical devices using our 12V outlets, aka cigarette lighter outlets. With shore power, all of the 110 outlets work and our batteries stay fully charged. Without shore power we have to turn on the inverter to use the 110 volt outlets and this uses up battery power. The dock is located on a channel that leads from the Spanish Wells harbor between St. George’s Cay and Russell Island out to the ocean. Just before the water reaches the ocean there is a short bridge between St George’s and Russell Island so only small boats can exit to the ocean past the our dock.

Spanish Wells is the town on St. George’s Cay, but everyone calls the entire area Spanish Wells. (An island is a landmass completely surrounded by water formed by volcanic action or a continental plate floating on top of the Earth’s mantle. A cay, pronounced key, is a sandy low elevation landmass formed on top of coral reefs.) It was very peaceful at the dock. We had beautiful sunsets and it was great not to have to get in the dinghy to go ashore. Most of the boats that passed by observed the no wake zone and we even had some surprise marine visitors. The sunset view in the photo below is looking down the channel towards the ocean with mangroves on one side and houses and docks on the other.

As mentioned in the previous post, Spanish Wells and Georgetown are our favorite stops for extended stays in the Bahamas. We were in Georgetown for three months this season and usually spend one month in Spanish Wells. However, this year we were there from April 5 to June 19, two and a half months! There were several reasons why we stayed this long, and not all of them were good.

When we arrive in Spanish Wells we rent a golf cart for the entire time we are there. It is necessary to get around the town, to buy groceries, to get to the beach, to go to restaurants, and of course to go to Papa’s Scoops almost every night. It ‘s possible to walk or ride a bike around the area, since Spanish Wells is only 2000 ft wide by 9,380 feet long, and that works for cruisers who are only here for a few days and who don’t need to take a dog with them. Sailor goes to the beach twice a day and once a day I go with Mark and Sailor. While they are on a shallow beach, shown in the first photo below, I go around the corner to a park with a deeper water beach and practice water aerobics. A few months before we arrived this year, a large pavilion for people to sit in to watch the beautiful sunsets over the water was built. It also offers shelter from the sun. While Georgetown has two nice grocery stores, the Food Fair in Spanish Wells is similar to what we have in the US and much larger than the Exuma Market and Shop Rite in Georgetown. Prices are higher than in the States, but the selection and quality at the Food Fair is great. It is actually a coop owned by the local people.

This year Sailor decided he was going to “fish” instead of just chase the ball and swim at the beach. Some days he would walk back and forth in the water looking for fish for up to 1/2 hour. He never puts his mouth in the water but his nose is always sniffing so I assume he can smell the fish. After his workout, Mark and Sailor come over to where I am doing water aerobics and Sailor gets rinsed off at the park from a hose that has well water. This saves us a tremendous amount of water on the boat. Everytime Sailor returns from a beach in other parts of the Bahamas, we have to use our RO water to bathe him and wash off the salt water. In Spanish Wells at this dock, we don’t have to do that.

Sailor always remembers his goat friends when we return to Spanish Wells and he likes to visit them. They are in various empty lots around Russell Island and Spanish Wells. One evening we were sitting next to the dive shop on Main Street in Spanish Wells eating our ice cream cones and we heard a loud “Mooooo.” Thinking it couldn’t be a cow in the city, we drove down a side street towards the water and there was a cow in a wooded empty lot. She belongs to a religious, possibly Mennonite, family that lives next to the wooded lot. I missed a good photo opportunity that night when she was on the edge of the lot because every other time we came to see her she was always farther into the foliage but in the photo you can see her black and white spots. There is no fence, but she might be tied up because she stays in the small wooded lot and doesn’t wander around the neighborhood or cross the road. Apparently there are no zoning laws in Spanish Wells or if there are, livestock is allowed. However, she seems to be the only resident cow in Spanish Wells. Incidentally, unlike all the other Bahamian islands we visit, there are no stray dogs, called potcakes, wandering the streets in Spanish Wells. There are, however, many pet dogs and cats who live with families and are well taken care of, groomed, and healthy.
My son Peter has come to visit us several times in the Bahamas. One year he met us in Miami and spent a month on the boat as we sailed to Georgetown where he then flew back to his home in California. Another time he flew to visit us in Spanish Wells and sailed back to Florida with us. This year he had less time so he flew to Spanish Wells and stayed with us for a week. It was especially nice to have Peter here with me for Mothers’ Day. To get to Spanish Wells, you have to fly into the North Eleuthera airport, then take a land taxi to the northern end of the island, then a water taxi from Eleuthera the very short distance to Spanish Wells. We always arrange this through Mr. Pinder’s taxis and the cost is a total of $30 for both taxi rides unless there are more passengers and then the cost is split between them. In one of the photos below, Peter is on our standup paddleboard right next to our dock. Across the channel from us are mangroves and this area is usually very calm, perfect for kayaking and paddleboarding. On the morning Peter was leaving we heard a loud splash near the boat. Going out to check on it we saw a family of three manatees under the boat, a male, a female and a baby. We gave them some well water and they kept drinking until we turned off the hose. The male positioned himself right under the stream of water from the hose. There was a leak dripping water further under the boat through the trampolines from where two hoses were connected together. The mother and baby were drinking that and every time one of them came to drink where the dad was drinking, he pushed them away. He is doing that in the second picture below. A few weeks later I had a chance to swim with one of the manatees when he or she joined me while I was doing water aerobics.

It’s been nice to use the new My Island Wifi hotspot this year, which offers unlimited wifi with a very strong fast signal to multiple users. The monthly fee is $75 and the hotspot costs $50, which is refunded when you mail it back to a US office when you return to the States. It’s a game changer for people who need a strong signal to work from their boats and of course also for cruisers and people living in the Bahamas who want to be online without worrying about using up costly limited data. It works up to ten miles offshore and we’ve been able to use it everywhere we’ve been this year. Additionally it was useful when we had visitors on the boat.

Every night from 7-10 pm, Papa’s Scoops is open selling homemade soft serve ice cream. The two featured flavors are announced each afternoon on Facebook and on an erasable board on Main Street. Usually four to five times a week we like the flavors and go for ice cream.

This year we planned to have Seas the Day’s bottom painted. It needed it last year but we didn’t go to the Bahamas and prefer to have it done in Spanish Wells. We were hauled out the last week of April and were on the lift for five days. We stayed in a rental apartment for the duration at a cost of $125 a night. We could stay on the boat, but can’t take showers or run water since they are working on the bottom. Also, it’s a nice break to have air conditioning, a full size kitchen with a reliable oven and a large refrigerator/freezer, a shower with unlimited hot water, and a washer and dryer. While we have a washer/dryer on the boat, we never use the dryer and everything is hung out to dry on lines. It was a nice change to have soft towels after being in a dryer. Everything on the boat got washed while we were at the apartment. There was no charge for using the washer and dryer in the room. When there is a laundromat available in the Bahamas, the price is usually at least $4 a load to wash and $4 a load to dry. It rained while the boat was on the lift so they couldn’t work every day which is why it took five days. Sailor enjoyed being in the apartment as much as we did, probably mostly because of the air conditioning.
While we were pulling into the slip with a lift under us our starboard engine stopped. Once a boat is in the slip, Robert, the owner of R&B Boatyard, dives under the boat and sets up the jack stands which hold the boat out of the water. When they are in place, a wooden lift is raised and the boat ends up out of the water in the slip. It was then we discovered why the engine died. The starboard sail drive was totally encrusted from galvanic corrosion. After the boat bottom was painted, we needed a small skiff tied to our starboard side to help us maneuver the short distance back to our dock and get us in the slip. We waited there while we figured out what to do. Below are photos of our two sail drives. The first is the port one that is pristine. The second one is the starboard sail drive which is very corroded. There is a device called a galvanic isolator used to repel the galvanic corrosion, which Mark installed. We have always had zincs on the props but they didn’t help avoid this corrosion.
We have two Yanmar SD50’s which were installed in 2012 when our boat was converted from a hybrid propulsion system to twin 39 hp diesel engines. Unfortunately Yanmar is now putting SD60’s in boats. We wanted to get an SD50 and after weeks of calling back and forth to various sources in the US we were told we could get one made but it would take 90 days or more. This would involve going back to the US with one engine. Yes, monohull sailboats have one engine and we do have sails, but steering in small spaces is difficult so we would need to be towed back to our marina once we left the ocean, then towed again in 90 days or more to be hauled out at a boatyard. We finally chose to get the SD60. It took a week for it to arrive in Spanish Wells at a cost of over $1300 for shipping, including 12% VAT. Luckily there is no custom duty on anything involving boat propulsion. The sail drive cost over $6000 and the installation was another $3000.

After the new sail drive arrived, we were hauled out again, with a skiff helping us maneuver back to the lift. The estimate was that it would take 2 or 3 days. Instead we were in the boatyard, hauled out and then in a slip by the lift for two weeks! We chose to stay on the boat rather than again pay $125 a night for an apartment. We had shore power, we could use our water and it wasn’t much different than being in a slip, except we had to use a tall step ladder to get on and off the boat. Not a problem for Mark and me but a big one for a 55 pound dog. Sailor was a trooper, probably because he realized this was the only way he was going to get to go to the beach. Going up the ladder, as shown in the pictures below, first Sailor would place his front feet on a ladder rung and start to climb up. Mark would hold onto his back feet and move them until Sailor got to the bottom of the boat’s sugar scoop steps where I was waiting to help him onto the boat. I also held onto his leash the entire time to gently guide him up. Going down was harder. Sailor would put his front feet on the ladder and turn his body sideways on the bottom of the sugar scoop. Mark put his arms under Sailor’s belly and carried him down. While we were staying on the lift, Sailor usually rested on the cushions on the forward deck and watched the people and cars go by. As it is wherever we go, everyone eventually knows Sailor.

The problems started right away when the workers couldn’t get the sail drive out. After a lot of pounding it was removed and then the next problem developed. The SD60 is a different size than the SD50 so the opening had to be enlarged. After multiple times of putting it in, taking it out, and making the opening larger, the sail drive was finally installed and sealed. We were put back in the water and there was a leak. Up on the lift again and that was fixed. Back in the water the next day and while testing the engines we couldn’t turn the engine with the new sail drive off. That was eventually fixed. There were problems with the throttle so we went in a slip next to the lift because another boat was scheduled to have her bottom painted. We sat there for five days, over a long weekend with holidays on Friday and Monday and no work on Sunday. Finally Mark fixed the problem with the throttle on Tuesday, June 17, we paid our bill, turned in our golf cart, stopped at the nearby fuel dock to fill our tanks, and motorsailed about a half hour to Royal Island where we would leave the next morning for Chub Cay.

We might have waited an extra month to leave Spanish Wells, but the weather forecast for going from Spanish Wells to Chub Cay to Bimini to Lake Worth and finally to Stuart was the best in the last month. There were numerous severe squalls and thunderstorms throughout the Bahamas and Florida for weeks in May and early June but they finally cleared up the day we were ready to leave. The forecast for the route we were taking on our return to Florida was winds 10 kts or less and seas 2-3 feet. We love Spanish Wells but this year our visit lasted too long and was way too expensive. Sailor has been to many places in the Bahamas and he remembers and likes every one, but I think like us, he is ready to leave all the beaches behind and get back to Stuart, Florida.

A Month in Spanish Wells

An early Spanish explorer found fresh water on an island north of Eleuthera, thus it got the name Spanish Wells. We arrived here on April 18 and took a mooring ball for a month. We also rented a golf cart and set up a time to have the boat hauled out and the bottom painted at R&B Boatyard. This is our fourth visit to Spanish Wells and we have always been on a mooring ball for a month. Spanish Wells is a nice transition for us before returning to Florida, after spending most of the cruising season in The Exumas. It’s still in the Bahamas so the town has a relaxed island feeling, but unlike most of the other islands where we stop, we can find almost anything we need here, including a large well stocked grocery store with reasonable prices, every type of marine service we might need, a large hardware store, several nice casual restaurants and a more upscale one, the above mentioned mooring ball and golf cart, Papa Scoops Ice Cream, a bank with a 24 hour ATM, clothing stores and gift shops, hair salons, a dentist, and even dog groomers.

We visit Papa Scoops almost every night and have their soft serve ice cream for dessert. They serve two flavors each night, available from 7:30 pm until 10:00. The evening’s flavors are listed on a posterboard sign on the main street near the shop or on the Papa Scoops Facebook Page, where there is a new photo of their current poster each day. (Notice the sign from Sunday that says they will be “open after church.” The Sunday night services last until 7:30.) The open air building is next to their house and a young daughter of the owners, who live in the house next door to Papa Scoops, comes to your car, bike, or golf cart, takes your order and makes your soft serve treat.

The first residents of Spanish Wells were English Puritans who traveled to Bermuda in search of religious freedom, but apparently they wanted more and in 1648 a group called the Eleutheran Adventurers left Bermuda, headed for Eleuthera. They were shipwrecked on the dangerous Devil’s Backbone Reef and the survivors lived in a cave, now called Preacher’s Cave, in north Eleuthera for awhile until some of them started a settlement in Spanish Wells. Most people living on the island are white Bahamians, descendants of those early Puritans and still very religious. They are a simple, hard working group of people with an unusual accent unique to this town. Until 1967 there was no electricity on Spanish Wells, more likely because they didn’t need or want it than they couldn’t have it. Now they have their own power plant on the island. The commercial fishermen make six figure salaries and there is obviously a lot of money on the island and plenty of opportunities for becoming wealthy but you wouldn’t know it from observing their lifestyles. The lobster industry is the main employer and the docks are lined with large fishing vessels. Young men buy into ownership of the boats when someone retires or dies. The lobster season runs from August 1 to March 31 and the fishermen are gone most of that time. The fishing fleet here provides about 80% of the lobster served at the Red Lobster restaurant chain. In the off season most of the fishermen work other jobs. For example, a chef on one of the fishing vessels caters meals in the off season. You can go to his house and take home a meal or eat it on his front porch. Each week he posts a different menu on the Food Fair Grocery’s bulletin board on Thursday or Friday with four or five choices of entrees and you call his house or stop by to place your order for the Saturday night meals. This past Saturday, Mark and I shared a delicious prime rib dinner. A captain of one of the fishing vessels repairs diesel engines. In addition the fishermen spend time during the off season building new lobster traps and making repairs to their boats.

One of Sailor’s favorite activities here is riding in the golf cart looking for goats. We’ve noticed quite a few goats in Spanish Wells and nearby Russell Island, which is connected to Spanish Wells by a short bridge. At first we thought some enterprising entrepreneur was renting out goats to clear property, but that’s not why they are behind fences on empty lots. Recently we found out they are raised to be eaten! (We won’t tell Sailor.) As we ride down the streets here, Sailor’s nose is constantly sniffing, looking for the goats. I think he’s figured out they are always behind fences so when he sees a fence he gets more excited. All we have to do when we are driving down a steet in the golf cart is say, “Sailor, where are the goats?” and his head starts spinning around looking for them.

Sailor also loves to spend time swimming and fetching a ball on the beaches. Since he sometimes likes to take off running down the beach, he has to wear a 20 foot long floating leash so we can catch him while he’s racing past us.

Until several years ago, Spanish Wells was dry. However, Eleuthera wasn’t and people regularly took the short water taxi ride there to purchase liquor. Now there are several casual restaurants that sell drinks and food, Budda’s and The Sandbar. Neither would be considered a “bar.” We had the best cracked conch we’ve ever eaten at The Sandbar. Besides eating and drinking, you can swim, rest in the beach lounge chairs, or swing in a hammock. An upscale restaurant, The Shipyard, also serves drinks and has a very popular “Happy Hour” as does Budda’s.

Last week we had the boat hauled out and the bottom painted. Due to rain, a three day job lasted a week. There is a unique lift system at the R&B Boatyard. We pulled into a slip that has a platform under it, a diver (the owner of R&B) dove under the boat and placed jack stands under the hulls to hold the boat upright and steady, the lift went up and the boat was above water resting on the keels and jack stands on the platform, ready to have the workers powerwash and paint the bottom then wax the hulls. (The photos below were taken right after we were hauled out. Seas the Day looks much better now.) We could have stayed on the boat, but since we couldn’t let water drain from the sinks and showers while they were painting, we decided to rent an apartment for the week. While it was an unplanned expense, having the following for the past week has been wonderful: long showers, unlimited electricity, air conditioning, cable TV with premium channels, fast free wifi, a bed you can walk around, a washer/dryer, and a full size refrigerator and stove.

We stayed in a one bedroom apartment on the second floor of the Harbourside Gift Shop.

Although there are a few apartments, cottages, and homes for rent in Spanish Wells, the tourist business is not the most important feature of their economy. They are very industrious, hard workers and their businesses seem to be successful. Unlike other Bahamian islands we have visited, there doesn’t appear to be an unemployment problem here. Everything in Spanish Wells is geared to the residents, not the transients like us. While quite a few cruisers pass through Spanish Wells on their way to or from Abaco, or on their way back to the States, most don’t stay too long. Without a bike or golf cart (which is the main vehicle on the streets) it is a long walk to the grocery store or some of the restaurants and beaches. I recently read a blog where someone said they thought the residents of Spanish Wells were not very friendly. We have found just the opposite. Everyone waves at us when we pass them in our golf cart. In stores or on the streets, they are very friendly and helpful. Two CLODs (Cruisers Living On Dirt) host a happy hour on their front porch every night at 5:00. Anyone can show up and join them. They also have a lending library in their living room. At restaurants, the owners stop by tables to visit customers. (That’s how we discovered the owner of Budda has a large belly, much like Buddha.) Our friend Tom on Interlude left his Crocs on the bottom step of our sugar scoop while visiting. When he was ready to leave, they were gone. We found one floating away, but the other was lost. I went on the VHF radio and asked if anyone saw a brown clog floating in the harbor could they come back to Seas the Day. Immediately we got a reply that one of the water taxis had it and would drop it off on our boat. The taxi driver told Tom he looked for the other one but couldn’t find it. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, we think the Spanish Wells residents are very friendly and welcoming.

The citizens of Spanish Wells seem to live comfortable lives, and many are well off, however their homes are simple and nicely maintained. We haven’t seen a single large mansion, but we also haven’t seen any partially completed abandoned houses or tiny shacks found on many other Bahamian islands. Below are a few of some of the lovely homes in Spanish Wells. The majority of them are modest ranch style houses or two story Cape Cods. Looking at real estate listings, however, these houses are not bargains. Simple cottages are $200,000 and up. Ranches start at $300,000. One large home listed with 2700 sq ft and a dock was 1.1 million. A two bedroom, two bath cottage on a 115 ft of beach is $2.2 million.

Finally, we have always been very impressed with the lack of crime in the Bahamas. (This does not include large cities like Nassau and Freeport which are dangerous.) A picture can be worth a thousand words, and the photo below is a good example. It was taken on a Saturday night after the local dive shop was closed, not to be reopened until Monday morning. Can you imagine what would happen if stores in most parts of the world left all of these “for sale” items outside for an entire day and two nights?

There isn’t exactly a big police force here. In fact, their police car is a golf cart. No high speed chases in Spanish Wells.

Last year I wrote an extensive description of our visit to Spanish Wells, which can be found here.

Rain Rain Go Away and Thunder Too

We’ve been in Spanish Wells, Bahamas for three weeks and until a few days ago the weather has been great, very windy but mostly sunny and always right around 82 degrees in the day dropping to the high 70’s at night. The mooring field is protected on all sides and the water is almost always calm even with high wind speeds. We haven’t experienced thunderstorms or even much rain since we arrived in the Bahamas in early March, but this week has made up for it. The photo above was taken this morning at about 0700 when Sailor went up on the forward deck as he does every morning, checking to see if anything happened while he was sleeping. Being the smart dog he is, I suspect the gray skies did not make him happy, realizing he might not get to fetch his Kong Wubba on the beach today. An hour later, he was inside and this was the view out of the same salon window.

The lightning accompanying thunderstorms is usually a concern when you have a mast sticking up over 60 feet from the water. However, we are hopeful that there are more inviting targets in the harbor, especially the many large lobster and shrimp fishing vessels on the docks with their tall metal outriggers. After awhile you just can’t worry about lightning because it’s out of your control.

The concern for us with these storms is that Sailor has suddenly become afraid of thunder. Never having a dog with this fear before, I looked to Google for answers and it didn’t disappoint me with lots of links for this subject. Of course, one’s first reaction is to comfort a frightened dog, but I read this is not a good idea. Apparently it simply reinforces the fear, so instead we should continue whatever we are doing and not make a big deal out of Sailor’s reaction. When Sailor hears the first “boom” he runs down the four steps to the master companionway, sometimes going into the bathroom or jumping on the bed to get as far away from the thunder as possible. He’s worried, but not shaking, panting, or in distress, therefore it’s not too difficult to ignore the behavior. I read on a site that one theory is the static electricity in the air from lightning might affect some dogs and they go to a bathroom where the pipes disperse the charge. I also know that dogs can hear or sense thunder long before humans do, although Sailor doesn’t panic until the noise starts. I found two items in his first aid kit designed to calm pets, Rescue Remedy and Dog Appeasing Pheromone. These were purchased for our last dog Daisy to help her relax on long car rides, but unfortunately they have expired. A definite purchase when we get back to the States will be a Thundershirt although our hope is to work on getting Sailor to ignore the thunder, since it appears the longer the fear persists, the harder it will be to eliminate.

The high winds and now the thunderstorms have delayed many cruisers who planned to be back in the States by now, or perhaps wanted to move on to the next island. Spanish Wells is a jumping off point to go to the Abacos, which is about 60 miles away. Many cruisers spend the first part of their Bahamas trip in the Exumas and points south, come back north through Eleuthera to Spanish Wells and go to the Abacos before heading back to the US East Coast.

As we get closer to June 1 when we have to be back in Florida for hurricane season, we have started listening to Chris Parker’s Bahamas weather forecast webcast at 0630 again. (We can also listen to him on our SSB receiver, but the iPad and computer reception is much clearer.) As of now, the weather appears to be favorable for motorsailing back to Florida next weekend. There will be little wind, so true sailors won’t like it, but we will because that also means calmer seas. From here we’ll go to Chub Cay in the Berries, then on to Bimini, and the following day back to Lake Worth/Palm Beach. We’ll be getting the mast taken down there, part of our “hurricane plan,” and then we’ll return to Sunset Bay Marina in Stuart, FL for the summer and fall. Unfortunately, this time table corresponds with Memorial Day Weekend, so it might be dificult to get a marina slip in Bimini where anchoring isn’t good and powerboats could be coming from Florida for the holiday. Once in Florida I’m sure the waterways will be busy. “Busy” translates to lots of motorboats speeding around with their wake wildly rocking the anchored or moving cruising boats, i.e. rude South Florida boaters. Lake Worth, however, is less crazy on the water than Miami and Ft. Lauderdale so it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable. We will probably have to anchor there a few days waiting to get into Cracker Boy Boatyard for the mast unstepping.

In the meantime, today looks like a good day to read and relax on the boat. If things get boring we can always watch what is motoring past us in the harbor. This morning before the rain started, MV Legend II, a 200+ ft long commercial vessel, used the mooring field for her turning basin. Looking at the photo at the beginning of this blog entry of Sailor gazing across the narrow harbor, this is exactly where Legend stopped while moving east, then rotated until perpendicular with her aft close to the dock where the pink house is and her bow between us and a St. Francis catamaran on ball 8. Then she continued to spin around to face west and pulled up to a dock to unload supplies. When ready to leave, Legend was pointed in the right direction to go through the same channel she entered from earlier. These large vessels do this regularly when they bring shipments into the Spanish Wells port. It’s amazing how expertly they are maneuvered to turn around in such a small space.

Later today, the rain did stop and we were able to go ashore. Sailor got to go to the beach where he fetched his Wubba in the water and then ran and ran, expending lots of saved up energy. We shopped at Kathy’s Bakery for homemade bread and, of course, made our regular stop for a frappuccino, aka iced coffee.

Creature Comforts in Spanish Wells

While we love the simple life of being anchored next to a small Bahamian island with deserted sandy beaches, after awhile we do miss some of the creature comforts and conveniences we enjoy in the States. That’s just one reason we are in Spanish Wells for at least three weeks before we return to Florida.

Located northwest of Eleuthera and south of the Abacos, Spanish Wells, the only town on St. George’s Cay, and its neighbor Russell Island have a combined population of about 1600. They are connected by a short narrow bridge. The people are mostly white native Bahamians, descendants of British who came in the 1600’s and Loyalists from the 1700’s. Spanish Wells is very different from the towns we visit in the Exumas. Most of the islands in the Exumas are sparsely populated and have very few onshore facilities. Spanish Wells is a much more developed town. The main business is fishing and the large fleet of fishing boats here provide shrimp and lobster for Red Lobster as well as many other outlets. In fact, Spanish Wells exports more lobster than all of the other Bahamian islands combined. Lobster and shrimp seasons are over in the Bahamas so during the coming months the fishing vessels will be painted and repaired.

There is very little tourism here, although it is a short water taxi ride to trendy Harbour Island. There are plans to build a Jack Nicholas designed golf course with luxury estates, a spa and resort, a marina, and upscale restaurants on nearby Royal Island, which is a popular place for cruisers to anchor in the protected bay before heading to the Abacos. The project has already begun and when completed will certainly give Harbour Island some competition but probably won’t affect Spanish Wells, which is a five minute boat ride away. A number of Americans, Canadians, and Europeans own homes in Spanish Wells and spend the winters here with some becoming permanent residents. The homes range from small cottages to large estates and all are very well kept, most with beautifully landscaped yards. The roads are paved and the town is very clean. It’s obvious that the town is prosperous and there seems to be plenty of work for the residents. Unlike many of the Exuma islands, it is rare to find buildings that have been started and abandoned when the money ran out. There are construction crews working around the town building new homes and the craftsmanship is outstanding. In between many of the houses in Spanish Wells there are sandy paths to the 2 1/2 mile long ocean beach and there are also several parks on the beach. At low tide it is a long walk out to water and then it remains shallow, a perfect beach for fetching a wubba.

Along the mostly commercial road by the harbor, called South Street, there are marine and hardware supply stores, golf cart and car rentals, gift shops, an excellent seafood market, restaurants and take-aways (takeouts), a customs and immigration office, a small grocery store and even a boat lift where the commercial fishing vessels and pleasure boats are cleaned, painted and repaired. In 2010 we had our boat hauled out and the bottom painted here. It’s not unusual to see boats on the lift from Florida and other US cities.

In other parts of town there are more businesses, most located on Main Street which runs parallel to South Street, including a dive shop, several clothing stores, restaurants, churches, coffee shops, a Batelco office, a bank, an auto shop, a government clinic, a computer store, bakeries, a dentist, a canvas shop, hair salons, a homemade ice cream shop, a law office, an appliance store, a realtor, a cemetery, a small museum, and a large IGA type grocery store.

There are small ferry boats that take passengers to Eleuthera and Harbour Island and also a large “fast ferry” catamaran that makes the trip back and forth to Harbour Island once a day from Nassau with a stop in Spanish Wells. There are nearby reefs for diving and snorkeling and the harbor is perfect for kayaking. While we don’t fish, this is an excellent area for sports fishing on the ocean with world class bone fishing on the flats around Spanish Wells. The well protected mooring field where we are staying is a few boat lengths away from the docks along the harbor road and only has eight balls. There is also a marina, Spanish Wells Yacht Haven, that is currently doing major renovations with several brand new buildings. Below are photos of the mooring field and a small section of South Street across from us where the fishing boats dock and some of the commercial stores are located.

The mooring field is home to a family of dolphins who come by frequently to entertain us. As always, it’s impossible not to run out on deck when we hear them splashing in the water.

It might sound like I have just described a large thriving metropolis, but Spanish Wells is a small town with very friendly people. Most houses have a golf cart in the driveway as well as a car and the golf carts probably get more use. The grocery store is the largest we have seen since Nassau and it is well stocked with everything we need. Most of the other stores are small although very well supplied. There is a liquor store here but no bars. We have heard that the residents do not lock their doors and that crime is nonexistent. Perhaps that is the reason the police car is a golf cart.

In the past we rode our bikes around Spanish Wells, but this year we are hesitant to leave Sailor alone on the boat while not at a dock, so he comes everywhere with us. We decided to rent a golf cart for the time we are here and are finding it very useful for getting around town. The nicest beach area is too far to walk with Sailor, and he has discovered that while he doesn’t like riding in cars very much, he LOVES golf carts. After racing up and down the beach fetching his wubba, Sailor is ready to relax for awhile while we read in the shade of our beach umbrella. Another advantage of having the golf cart is we can bring chairs, an umbrella and other items to the beach. Driving on the paved streets is very easy and we return friendly waves to all of the cars and golf carts we meet.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that there are three dog groomers in Spanish Wells. Sailor desperately needed a haircut, as can be seen in the two photos above, so a few days ago we took him to one of them and he got a nice summer cut.

Of course one creature comfort I have been missing is Starbucks. Several coffee shops here sell their version of frappuccinos, and I must admit they are very close to what I’ve had at Starbucks.

Spanish Wells seems to be a perfect blend of tropical living without giving up too many creature comforts. It is a great transition to ease us back into life in Florida. In good weather it is a three day sail from here to Lake Worth. However, we still have the rest of May to enjoy the Bahamas.

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Category Archives: Spanish Wells

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