Leaving the Exumas - heading to Spanish Wells
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Wed 5 May 2010 22:49
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In position 25:32.51N, 76:44.72W
From Normans Cay we sailed the few miles to Ship
Channel Cay which is pretty much at the northern-most end of the Exuma
chain. It feels it too. A small shore side beach club, a couple of
anchorages and a house ruin on the shore is all that Ship Channel Cay
offers passers-by. Generally that's exactly what most yachtsmen do in their
haste to either sail up to Nassau or Eleuthera or south towards
George Town as Ship Channel Cay doesn't quite fit into the magical Bahamas
vision. But we used this small island as a staging post for our departure to
Spanish Wells (about 45 miles distant) before heading across the Northwest
Providence Passage to return to the Abacos. (Another 45 miles further
north).
After just the one night we left at daybreak and
motored across the banks to Spanish Wells. If the charts were anything
to go by then we wouldn't have slept the night before as there is an
area depicted along the route that suggests an
excellent opportunity exists to hit a solid coral head with all the
attendant problems of sinking. However, the reality proved very different
as the coral heads were nowhere near the surface to cause any possible
damage, so after a while we motored through the area with more confidence
than when we set out. We arrived at Spanish Wells
in the mid afternoon with the grand total of 2 Barracudas caught along the
way - not what we would have liked as neither were destined for the
barbecue or any cooking utensil we might have onboard.
Spanish Wells is the name given to the town on St
Georges Cay and was so romantically named because it was where the Spanish
Galleons laden with gold took on fresh water from the wells on the
island before departing on their long eastbound voyages to Europe. Today
its an important fishing centre and supplies much of the Bahamas with its
lobster, conch and other fish needs. It's a curious place, being an active
fishing port yet with homes that have beautifully kept gardens most
with lush green grass lawns. Perhaps the wells are still full of that
precious water! The north side of the island and the adjacent Eleuthera is a
mass of horrible coral reefs known affectionately as 'The Devil's Backbone'. If
you want to take your boat from Spanish Wells to Dunmore Town on the eastern
side of Eleuthera then you are strongly advised to hire the services of one of
the local pilots or risk becoming another statistic with your insurance
company.
On arriving through the narrow cut we noticed that
the dock side was full of fishing boats, a working haul out boatyard, some
food stores (where we purchased some dubious margarine with a sell-by date of
November 2009 which almost walked off our table the next morning), a couple of
golf cart rental premises and a small handful
of restaurants. Following a walk round the immediate locality we
decided that we rather liked Spanish Wells and as it was our third wedding
anniversary we felt the rare need to indulge in a special meal ashore to
celebrate. Somewhere with hopefully lots of local atmosphere.
  Entering Spanish
Wells ........ A
popular place to lift out beamy catamarans - that's not us by the
way!
We had looked at one or two of the restaurants on
our walk, some appeared shutdown so we sought some
local advice from one of the pilots (nothing to do with airlines). We
chose a restaurant set back from the quay which had about ten tables in total
available. We called in the previous evening to ensure they were open on our
special anniversary day - they were, although at 1800 that particular evening
there were no customers to be seen. It was a Monday, maybe not the best day
for eating out for most folk.
Tuesday proved no more popular for eating either.
We turned up at 1900 for our meal. We hadn't booked but then the place was empty
anyway despite the few golf carts and cars parked outside - probably belonging
to the staff. Well, in for a penny as they say. We sat down by the window
overlooking the car park and quay. The view was slightly impeded by a
container trailer parked outside and next to that a rusting pick-up truck with a
load of steel pipes loose in the back. Not the most romantic of views given that
we were in the Bahamas. The waitress kindly switched off the air-conditioning
located above our heads as it would have frozen us both to death before the meal
had arrived. The food was rumoured to be good, and it was, although the portions
of fish on the large oval plates needed an organised search party to find
them. We each had different fish, Mahi Mahi and Wahoo, just to keep the chef on
his toes! The meal was washed down with glasses of ice cold tea. Spanish
Wells has by-laws forbidding any sale of alcohol. The locals have to take a
one mile boat ride across to the main island of Eleuthera should such
dangerous substances be required. Hardly a major deterrent!
Shortly after we had ordered our meal one of the
local fishing boat Captains popped in for a quick meal. This at least swelled
the customer numbers but didn't really enhance the atmosphere. We did have
trouble with his unusual accent as the words "pork chops" were all we
could understand when he placed his order.
We barely finished the large plateful of food. Yes,
we did find the fish portions buried under an onion & green
pepper sauce. With stomachs heaving from the large quantity of 'sides' we
took a final stroll around the dock area before heading back to the boat which
was tied to a nicely protected mooring just across from the quay.
There we met up again with the fishing Captain who was sitting on the dockside
smoking a cigarette of questionable content. We declined his kind offer to share
it of course. He said that he had needed to give up the booze as it had become
dangerous to work and drink at the same time - at least that's what we thought
he said as we were still having trouble understanding him. But the 'cigarettes'
brought wonderful relief from the various ailments and injuries he had suffered
over the years. Presumably alcohol related!
   The pristine beach on the north side of
Spanish
Wells This
is part of the 'ring road' that circulates around St Georges Cay with
colourful houses in abundance
  Looking across the reefs to 'mainland'
Eleuthera The
few moorings available - nearly all occupied by cats!
Another reason for our stopover at Spanish Wells
was to have our propane gas cylinder refilled by the local garage. Having
grappled with the large empty orange cylinder we should have had refilled at
George Town we trollied the empty tank about a quarter of a mile to where our
guide indicated we could have it filled. Propane tanks of all shapes and
sizes were stored at the back of the premises - too many to count. However, our
bottle could not be filled by their system of gravity filling as we do
not have the required bleed screws fitted on our UK cylinder. So we trundled the
empty bottle back to the dinghy. Mission unaccomplished once again!
We slipped from our mooring buoy the following day,
took on some diesel fuel and motored 5 miles to Royal Island a neighbouring Cay
to Spanish Wells where there are great plans to build a new marina and a
golf course designed by Jack Nicklous with luxurious accommodation for the
well-heeled. We wondered what we would find.........
  The fuel tanker delivers diesel and
gasoline to Spanish Wells as we
depart One
way to get your vehicle across to Eleuthera
some more views of Spanish
Wells.....
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