Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Rock Sound Harbour, Eleuthra
















We’re in the large bay of Rock Sound, Eleuthra. This is one of the few protected anchorages in all of Cat Island and Eleuthra. We wanted to stay in Cat Island and explore coral heads which are very numerous along the west coast, but a strong cold front (billed in the US as the strongest in a decade) roared towards us, forcing a 2 day march to Rock Sound. We just made it in as the wind picked up to 30kts from the SW and then W. It blew 20-30Kts all day yesterday, but we’re sheltered behind the west point of Rock Sound so it was comfortable. Winds are down to less than 10kts, so we’ll move over near town and shop and connect to the internet. Jim and Pat on Shamrock are anchored near town, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again.

Here’s a brief synopsis of our most recent travels:

April 9: We said goodbye to the Bostiks and put them on a taxi to the airport. They were hassled by customs and got home to Melbourne at 10pm. We spent the next 2 days in George Town getting groceries, filling the water tanks, and giving Rachel more time with her friends on Volleyball Beach. We had a great dinner on Second Wave with Linda, Matthew, Nick and Chris.

April 12: Motored 45 miles to Cat Island in light winds and smooth seas. Caught a large barracuda and released it, only to watch a very big fish eat it. We were too far away to see what got it, but it was BIG. We anchored next to Hawks Nest Marina and airport in the bay next to some coral heads. I shot a large grouper, but it spun off the spear.

April 13: We had a lovely sail to New Bight and hiked up the largest hill in the Bahamas to visit the Hermitage, a unique stone structure built by a priest a number of years ago.

April 14: Sailed to Half Moon Bay on Little San Salvador. We covered 35 miles at an average speed of 7kts and a top speed of 8.4 on a beam reach with winds blowing 15kts. Caught 2 barracuda and then a Cero Mackerel which we had for dinner. Jupiter’s Smile with Jay and Barb met us for a walk on the beach which is owned by Holland Cruise Lines, but no cruise ship was here so we had the run of the place. Winds increased to 20kts overnight, and a large surge rolled us all night long.

April 15: A cruise ship anchored out and started ferrying passengers to shore. Sailed to Rock Sound, 45 miles at 6.5 average and 8 tops running downwind with mainsail only with it blowing up to 20. Caught a 25 pound mahi mahi. Winds increased to 30kts as we approached the Sound, so we took down the main and motored to a great anchorage and a great night’s sleep.

April 16: Winds 20-27kts WNW. Changed the genset fuel filters and the oil and oil filter. Swapped the fuel pick-ups back to the original configuration with the engine pick-up lower than the genset pick-up. We invited Jupiter’s Smile over for mahi dinner. Man that fish tasted good!

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