After a peaceful anchorage on Saturday evening at Rose Island outside of Nassau Harbor (complete with fireworks in honor of Mother's Day Sunday), Serendipity and Summer Wind sailed to Spanish Wells in Eleuthera. When we got there, we reconnected with September Song, Tide's In, and Sea Pearl, who had taken a different route from Black Point in the Exumas. It was nice to see them again, and Bob (our social chairman) had already made reservations for a delicious dinner at Gap. 
Spanish Wells and the Abacos are different Bahama Islands than the Admiral had seen before (the Captain had visited them on charters years ago). The natives are descendants of British Loyalists (who left the U.S. believing they would prosper in the Bahamas by gaining the British trade), and are predominantly Caucasian with distinctive British accents. The inhabitants of Nassau, Andros, and the Exumas are descendants of slaves and are mostly black, with accents that resemble the Gullah of Charleston. The towns are small villages with cottage-like homes, narrow streets and very neatly tended lawns, whereas the Exuman homes seem built to withstand the elements and are mostly concrete structures situated somewhat randomly on the islands. We wandered the streets for a bit, having arrived late in the day, and enjoyed catching up during and after dinner on all that had happened in the week or so we'd been apart from the trawlers.
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| what a gentle way to say "slow down" |
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| the Nancys on the ferry |
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| Jay, Pam and Bob on the ferry |
We took the huge fast ferry from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island, which was a wonderful (and friendly) place to visit.
We rented a golf cart so we wouldn't miss anything, and with Captain Jay as our driver we chugged up some hills we didn't think we'd make (especially when we increased our number to 8 in the 6-person cart).
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| all aboard! |
We lunched at the Blue Bar,
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| outdoor seating at its finest |
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| boys gone wild |
a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the pink beaches (pink because the sand is mostly comprised of crushed coral). Stephanie and Nancy found that the rum punches did indeed punch.
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| sleep it off, girls |
When we got back to Spanish Wells, we found Captain Ron on the dock as we left the ferry (and all this time I thought he was on Serendipity!). He'd been in business there for quite a few years and was happy to show us his pet fish at the dock.
We hired a pilot to guide us out of Spanish Wells, because the water gets mighty skinny on the way out; even the ferry took a rather circuitous route the day before. The guide tied his tender to September Song and took over her helm until we were well into deeper water. It's always good to have local help and knowledge.
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| September Song piloted by a native with his boat in tow |
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| we set him free when the water got deep |
Spanish Wells and the Abacos are different Bahama Islands than the Admiral had seen before (the Captain had visited them on charters years ago). The natives are descendants of British Loyalists (who left the U.S. believing they would prosper in the Bahamas by gaining the British trade), and are predominantly Caucasian with distinctive British accents. The inhabitants of Nassau, Andros, and the Exumas are descendants of slaves and are mostly black, with accents that resemble the Gullah of Charleston. The towns are small villages with cottage-like homes, narrow streets and very neatly tended lawns, whereas the Exuman homes seem built to withstand the elements and are mostly concrete structures situated somewhat randomly on the islands. We wandered the streets for a bit, having arrived late in the day, and enjoyed catching up during and after dinner on all that had happened in the week or so we'd been apart from the trawlers.
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