Landfall in Spanish Wells

We left Marsh Harbour early on a calm, sunny Sunday morning (25 January). We waved farewell to those revellers from the previous night's party who had ventured above decks. It was hard to leave such a peaceful and secure anchorage! Anyway, we were on our way for the first leg of a voyage which would take us over 50 miles of Atlantic waters to Eleuthera. Our jumping-off spot for this trip was an anchorage on the lee side of Lygard Cay. From here we would join the Atlantic waters through the 'Little Harbour Cut'. We left 'Hope Town' to port, and promised ourselves a long stay in this charming town on our way back. The winds built from the north-east during our run down the side of Great Abaco Island. That night the strong wind and crashing waves pounding against the nearby barrier islands, not to mention the thought of the impending ocean voyage, made for a less than peaceful night. At 6:45 a.m. we weighed anchor and 'Southern Vectis' and 'Sea Change' headed for the rolling waves curling through the 'cut'. By 7:30 a.m. we were through and set sail in a fresh 15 knot breeze and 3 - 5 foot rollers. We expected to average 6 knots and arrive at our anchorage at Royal Island in around eight hours - leaving plenty of daylight to get us safely through the channel between the Egg Islands. All went according to plan, except that the winds built to 23 knots, and the waves to 6 to 8 feet at times. We had to fight with the wheel to keep our course, but, on the other hand, we flew across the water at 8 knots at times, and reached our destination earlier than expected. It was not a sheltered anchorage, and we needed a good night's sleep to rest our aching arms...but we were not to get one. The winds continued to howl in this 'sheltered' anchorage, and we dragged anchor once again! Luckily we didn't notice until it was almost light! A joint decision to take a break from passage-making for a few days saw us motoring the few miles to the Yacht Haven Marina at Spanish Wells. We have been here ever since. The island is named for the fresh water found here by the Spanish. Many of today's inhabitants are descended from Loyalists who fled the American revolution, or the Eleuthera Adventurers, English Puritans who arrived in 1648. The majority of the inhabitants are white skinned and speak with an interesting patois. The island, the centre of the lobster fishing trade in the Bahamas, appears a very industrious island. The houses are brightly painted, but generally not in a 'tourish brochure' fashion. The gardens are neat and well kept. The population is less than 400. Yesterday we took the fast ferry to 'Harbour Island' - a well-known and beautiful barrier island to the east of Eleuthera. The half-hour ferry trip took us over the shallows and coral of an extremely dangerous route known as the 'Devil's Backbone'. Sailors who brave this passage and survive take one of the pilots on board - either 'Ole Pot', or 'A1'. Harbour Island has a beautiful pink sand beach, quaint houses, shady lanes and some lovely hotels and restaurants. Our favourite beachfront hotel was the 'Coral Sands', and our lovely lunch time restaurant was the Aqua Wine Bar overlooking the Harbour Island Marina. While we have been here we've sorted out a problem with our roller-furling mainsail (thanks, Bob), and developed a leak in our water tank.....still to be solved. It seems there is always something to sort out.....that's the boating life for you. There's a storm due tonight, but we hope to set off further south towards the Exumas tomorrow if things settle down.