After our five day adventure exploring by van, it was time to start sailing north toward along the west coast of Eleuthera. Our first stop was at Kemp’s Bay. It was a rather raucous but very fun sail up the coast about 30 miles. We traveled with Finley and anchored in calm protected Kemp's Bay. The next day, the wind switched so we moved around the point for a calmer anchorage. Eric, Reed, Jeff, and Kendra went snorkeling while Ava and Karrie, who was a bit under the weather, stayed aboard Night Music and played cards.
Our destination for Friday was Governor’s Harbor. One of the larger settlements on Eleuthera, it hosts a Friday Night Fish Fry and Barbecue fundraiser with music and dancing that is not to be missed. We sailed up toward the bay and about 3 miles out we were suddenly joined by dolphins at our bow! While we had seen hundreds if not thousands of dolphins on this trip, none had played in the bow wake long enough to really enjoy the experience. This day, they stayed with us for almost 40 minutes. Ava and Reed stood on the bow and sang, clapped, and whistled to encourage them to stay. Each had a such a smile on their faces at the experience they had imagined since we planned the trip finally coming to fruition. What a treat!
We anchored in the clear, shallow water of the bay off of Governor’s Harbor and dinghied into town to explore. The waterfront is marked by the historic library building, bright pink among the casuarina trees. A small isthmus off the harbor leads to Cupids Cay where we stopped at Ronnie’s Hi-D-Way tavern for cold drinks, some billiards, and a game or two of dominoes.
At the fish fry, we met many locals and land-based tourists but not many other cruisers. The food was delicious – Eric chatted up the grilling team and got the inside scoop on what were the best items and sides to order. After filling up on barbecue, we ate some yummy dessert provided by the two sisters from the Queen of Tarts! They remembered us from our radiator break down adventures on Ava’s birthday.
Last fun for the night was the limbo contest. Karrie, Jeff, and Reed entered while Eric, Kendra, and Ava looked on. Surprisingly, Reed was out first, then Karrie, then the 6’4” Jeff! Wow! But his knees did hurt something terrible the next day. Ava made friends with all the potcake dogs while the rest of us danced. We went back to our boats around 10pm and listened to the party go on into the wee hours of the morning.
The next day we walked to the bakery for more donuts and chicken pastries, then hoisted anchor and sailed up about 20 miles to the harbor of Hatchet Bay. A very protected harbor, we decided to stay two nights to wait out some potential weather (that never really materialized). We made the most of our time snorkeling, fishing, spearfishing, and exploring. Jeff and Kendra were anchored south of the harbor but met us in nearby Alice Town to show us one of their favorite hangouts – Da Spott. A great, shady place with cold beer and lots of adorable potcake dogs for Ava and Reed to play with. We left more than a few “dead soldiers” on the table but it was a lazy, fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the post!
Our destination for Friday was Governor’s Harbor. One of the larger settlements on Eleuthera, it hosts a Friday Night Fish Fry and Barbecue fundraiser with music and dancing that is not to be missed. We sailed up toward the bay and about 3 miles out we were suddenly joined by dolphins at our bow! While we had seen hundreds if not thousands of dolphins on this trip, none had played in the bow wake long enough to really enjoy the experience. This day, they stayed with us for almost 40 minutes. Ava and Reed stood on the bow and sang, clapped, and whistled to encourage them to stay. Each had a such a smile on their faces at the experience they had imagined since we planned the trip finally coming to fruition. What a treat!
We anchored in the clear, shallow water of the bay off of Governor’s Harbor and dinghied into town to explore. The waterfront is marked by the historic library building, bright pink among the casuarina trees. A small isthmus off the harbor leads to Cupids Cay where we stopped at Ronnie’s Hi-D-Way tavern for cold drinks, some billiards, and a game or two of dominoes.
At the fish fry, we met many locals and land-based tourists but not many other cruisers. The food was delicious – Eric chatted up the grilling team and got the inside scoop on what were the best items and sides to order. After filling up on barbecue, we ate some yummy dessert provided by the two sisters from the Queen of Tarts! They remembered us from our radiator break down adventures on Ava’s birthday.
Last fun for the night was the limbo contest. Karrie, Jeff, and Reed entered while Eric, Kendra, and Ava looked on. Surprisingly, Reed was out first, then Karrie, then the 6’4” Jeff! Wow! But his knees did hurt something terrible the next day. Ava made friends with all the potcake dogs while the rest of us danced. We went back to our boats around 10pm and listened to the party go on into the wee hours of the morning.
The next day we walked to the bakery for more donuts and chicken pastries, then hoisted anchor and sailed up about 20 miles to the harbor of Hatchet Bay. A very protected harbor, we decided to stay two nights to wait out some potential weather (that never really materialized). We made the most of our time snorkeling, fishing, spearfishing, and exploring. Jeff and Kendra were anchored south of the harbor but met us in nearby Alice Town to show us one of their favorite hangouts – Da Spott. A great, shady place with cold beer and lots of adorable potcake dogs for Ava and Reed to play with. We left more than a few “dead soldiers” on the table but it was a lazy, fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the post!