svcharm: 2022-04-30 Meeks Patch - Spanish Wells - Devils Backbone - Man Island

We had a nice sail from the Glass Window to Meeks Patch, and Island in the large bight in North Eleuthera. Our friends on Sojourn were there, and shortly we were joined by Breathe, HaHaLua and Tangent, making a group of 5 Manta catamarans.

Our friends on Sojourn were heading out the next day, so we knew we would not see them for a while, so we had them over for dinner. We also knew they had a passage coming up of at least 24 hours, so we made them a batch of brownies to take with, as their oven is not currently working, and we find a sweet treat on those long night shifts can be really nice.

A couple of days at Meeks Patch, just staying on the boat, as winds were up, and then we moved to Spanish Wells, which is a large (Bahama standards) town. Jason and Monica on Breathe joined us, for a nice walk though town, the beach and a good burger out. Also got some much needed groceries - we were out of veggies (Dean did not notice 😁)

Cute decorations at a house in Spanish Wells

Nice beach on north side of Spanish Wells

Beach had quite a few sea slugs on it. Surprised they were out of the water

Video of Sunrise Tellin ?, that we found on the beach

Coconut anyone?

Nice fun lawn sculpture

Waterfront street

Nice sunset back on the boat

We only stayed the one day at Spanish Wells, as the next day the weather cooperated and went very light winds. We decided to brave the Devils Backbone. Per the internet

The devil's backbone is a shallow and jagged-edge reef, extending across the northern end of Eleuthera, about 1.4 miles northeast of Spanish Wells. It has rip the bottom out of more vessels than any other reef in the country, leaving them to settle among the sharp coral.

This is not a path we would traverse without the right conditions, but light wind, and sunny skies, plus good gps navigation and charts make it possible safely these days, although many vessels still hire a local pilot to guide them through.

We waited until the afternoon, so visibility was good with the sun overhead and headed out. All was just fine, until a large freighter was seen approaching from the other direction. Unfortunately, we were somewhat trapped in a narrow section, with no good option but to proceed. We passed each other safely, but it was a bit nerve racking to be so close to the beach. We were about 75' from the shore, and about 50' from the freighter.

The beach

The freighter. Notice small boat going between us at the same time.

We made it through just fine, and anchored at Man Island. Went ashore for a walk on the beach, and explored a shore cave.

Ruins ashore on the north side of Man Island

Only ones on the very pretty beach

Checking out the caves

You can easily see the layers of sand that make up the geology of the Bahamas.

We saw lots of turtles at Man Island, but they were pretty shy, so no good photos. After a couple of days there, we had a day of no wind, and the no-see-ums came out, so we decided to move to get away from the marshy area to Harbor Island.

Harbor Island is very touristy, with many multi-million dollar homes, and mega yachts. Per the intenet

"Only 3 miles long and half a mile wide, Harbour Island - known as "Briland" to locals - sits just a mile off the better-known island of Eleuthera. Harbour Island's hub, Dunmore Town, gained fame as the original capital of the Bahamas, and the island still retains a Georgian architecture, marked by pastel-colored buildings, white picket fences and bougainvillea-draped doorframes."

We took a nice walk, and it is a cute island. Talked to a security guard at the marina where we used the dock to get ashore. Very friendly guy, who let us tie up for no charge, and commented that we were the only boat to ask if it was OK, and if there was a charge. He told us about the construction going on. The 4 bed 3 bath homes they were building were only 5 million each. On our way to town a friendly local gave us a ride in her golf cart to town center. Talked with her a bit. She was disappointed at all the construction, said it was taking the charm away from the town. Growth always seem to have a price. A lot of the folks who work on the island, commute by boat across the bay. On the other side of the bay, people who were born on Harbor Island are entitled to land for the cost of $100. This way they can afford to build a house, which they cannot do on the Island, as the price of land is very high due to tourism, and foreigners building vacation homes.

Pretty flowers were common in yards on Harbor Island.

Chickens were also as plentiful as the flowers

Guessing by the statue in the park, that chickens have been popular for a while. In the gift stores we saw quite a few items with roosters and hens on them.

Hard to read, but a 3 bed 2 bath house is only 4.2 million, but it does have 1.5 acres and its own coconut grove. If you can't afford to buy, you can rent a beach from 1 bed 1 bath cottage for only $3,750 per week 😃