By Thursday, May 12, the Casstaway crew is going stir-crazy, having been anchored at Rock Sound, Eleuthera for over a week. Since there is a complete lack of wind and no chance of sailing, we decide to pull anchor anyway and motor our way to Governors Harbor, where we will spend the night and wait for better conditions for reaching Current Cut on Friday. The motor trip actually turned out to be more pleasant than expected – the sea was like glass and crystal clear, so we were able to just relax and watch the world below us. Lots of starfish, jellyfish, and a variety of coral. Stopping midway will also give us better timing for tomorrow’s navigation of Current Cut, which can be difficult in the wrong conditions.
On Friday morning we depart Governors Harbor around 6:30 am in order to time our passage to reach Current Cut at slack tide, somewhere between noon and 1:00pm. Current Cut is a narrow slot of water that separates Current Island and Current Settlement on North Eleuthera. Tidal currents there can be up to 10 knots, so we must navigate through the cut during slack tide or against the current. Wind was slight, on our stern the entire way, so no use for sailing. With seas at 2-4 feet it was a rolling ride. We reach the cut around 12:15pm and anchor for the night.
On Saturday, May 14, we make the short trip to Spanish Wells, a large and charming fishing village on St. George Cay. We anchor near the channel entrance to town, a busy spot, with several other vessels nearby. Holokai secures a spot even closer to the channel, so we plan to move when space allows as this will make for shorter and easier dinghy trips to town for fuel and supplies. It’s Saturday,, so we join Holokai for steak night. Sunday, May 15 is a lazy day, with a few boat chores thrown in. Tanya’s hand-held Dyson vacuum bit the dust (pun intended) so boat cleaning is much more tedious. Since our refrigerator has also given up the ghost (forcing us to use our top-loader as both fridge and freezer, a major inconvenience), the list of boat purchases we need to make upon our return is continuing to grow.
On Monday, we move the boat closer to the channel so that we are ready to head to town on Tuesday to get the lay of the land and enjoy a lovely lunch at the Shipyard Restaurant. On Wednesday, Todd and David dinghy in early to fill our diesel cans then Todd uses the afternoon to make water.
On Thursday May 19, we rent a golf cart for the day and set out exploring. Breakfast is at the Gap. Yummy egg, cheese and bacon sandwiches served on “Johnny cake” a delicious, homemade bread, similar to an English muffin. We travel the rest of the Cay, stopping along the way to check out various stores. At the end of the Cay we cross a bridge to Russel Island, an upscale community with many lovely waterfront homes. Lunch is at the Sandbar Restaurant, good food and a beach – most of the patrons have come by dinghy or tender. On the way back to Spanish Wells we stop at the largest grocery, Food Fair, and stock up on fresh veggies. But we got caught in a heavy rain storm and are completely soaked by the time we turn in our golf cart. Todd bails out the dinghy, we drop David off at Holokai, and we return to Casstaway to dry out.
