April 23, 2008.

Since the last time I’ve written we’ve successfully negotiated Current Cut. We were able to sail from the anchorage and hit the Cut just as the current started to ebb for us. There was a boat about 10 minutes ahead of us and they called back to say that the tidal flow had changed and they were getting a boost of about a knot as they ran through the cut. When we got there our boost was just over a knot and a half and the boat 6 minutes behind us had a 2 knot push. So it was pretty obvious that once the current turns it really starts to build quickly.

After the cut we had a nice sail to the town of Spanish Wells located on Saint Georges Cay. The people on Saint Georges Cay can trace their ancestors back to the Puritans of England. Saint Georges Cay was settled right after the Puritans settled in Plymouth Massachusetts. Since their roots are based in the Puritan religion, the island is dry and has no blacks.




I guess the Puritans were non-drinkers and as a result, to this day there are no bars, package goods or alcohol served in any eatery on the island. So naturally we ate at home. They do however run a water taxi straight across to a package goods store 5 minutes away on North Eleuthera, so there’s hope for these people.

The Puritans did not believe in slavery so as a result no slaves were ever kept on the island. So when the slaves were finally freed there were none here to be freed. Only a very few blacks live here on the island, while there are black workers here, they ride the ferry over from North Eleuthera and then take it home again at the end of the day.






The people here are a little left of “normal”. They speak a language all their own, it kind of reminds me of an angry South African. It’s kind of like Tangier Island in the Chesapeake. You really have to pay attention or you won’t have any idea of what’s being said. One of the first conversations with one of the locals was very revealing. He brought up the fact that there were no blacks but wanted us to realize that they weren’t racists; it was just that they didn’t have any blacks. Okay, if you say so.

He also mentioned that they weren’t inbred in spite of the disproportionate number of dwarfs in the islands population. Most of the population is divvied up between 9 surnames. I hadn’t yet seen a dwarf but then again up until this conversation I wasn’t really looking. Now I’m looking at all the garden gnomes twice. He wanted us to be sure to realize that when a DNA examination of some of the original settler’s remains was conducted it proved that the “dwarf gene” had come to the island with them and not as a result of the years of isolation.

The homes here are better kept than anywhere we’ve been to in the Bahamas. Every house is a vivid combination of colors and all of them have functional storm shutters. The fishing fleet here supplies half of all the fish and lobster consumed in the Bahamas. The boats are clean, modern and kept in good repair. It seems that they go fishing for a month or more at a time, then take a month off before heading out again. The price of lobster this past season was about 15 dollars a pound. Some of these guys are bringing in 15,000 pounds of lobster at the end of their month. So I guess they have the money to keep their boats and town looking so good.



While we were there we were invited to the home of a couple of Americans who keep a home in Spanish Wells. They come down here on their boat, anchor it and then spend the winter in their home here before heading back to the states for the summer. It’s become their custom to invite any cruisers that stop in to spend an evening here with them. It was an interesting night and a lot of fun as 8 of us invaded their home for the evening.

After spending 2 nights in Spanish Wells we decided to move about 3 miles to a small cluster of uninhabited cays called Meeks Patch. Once there we jumped in the dink and went ashore just in time to meet the caretaker for the newly purchased cays.

Talk about a total asshole. We no sooner got out of the dinghy then he and his assistant pulled up in their boat to hang “No Trespassing” signs all over the island. He was nasty right from the get go. All he could say was “you gotta get off the island’ again and again. By the tone of his voice I thought there was a problem, like the island was radioactive or something until I realized that his people skills had been inbred out of him.

So I asked him if I could take the dogs over to the next tiny cay 100 yards away. He practically shrieked “no, no I’m on my way there next to hang more signs”. Evidently a bigshot lawyer in Spanish Wells bought these little islands and this guy is in charge of keeping people away. So once the dogs finished their business we took them back out to the boat. We spent the rest of the day snorkeling around the cays.

The next day we were up and underway for Royal Island Harbor. Its only 5 miles from Meeks Patch so we were there by 0900. The water in the harbor is crystal clear so we decided to do some snorkeling. We saw dozens of undersized Grouper, loads of Lionfish, a small lobster and our first Bahamanian octopus among other sea life. Not your typical harbor.




Royal Island was once owned by a very rich family. There were several buildings including a windmill, the guy even had a train even though the island is less than 2 miles long. The estate was abandoned in the 1930’s and the ruins are still standing and waiting to be explored. The catch is that this island is also private and in the process of being turned into an exclusive resort. There are surveyors and heavy equipment working all over the island and signs posted about private property blah, blah, blah.

So we can’t go ashore here either unless of course we wait until the construction crews leave for the day. Then we just have to dodge a few security guards and we’ll do a little undercover island tour. Isn’t this where “forgive those who trespass against us” comes in?

Another couple obviously has the same idea and we wait while they go ashore before us. We follow shortly after them figuring that while security is wrestling with them we can sneak past, walk around, take a few pictures, poop the dogs and slip away. The remains of the main home are at the top of a long flight of stairs overlooking the harbor and beyond.

We landed our dinghy at the abandoned concrete dock and crept ashore. Christy took the camera and cautiously climbed the stairs while I pooped the dogs before walking up a small overgrown cement lane that ran from the top of the hill down to the waters edge. Not a minute after rendezvousing in the ruins we heard a vehicle pull up and then voices just on the other side of a building.

So like good ninjas we vanished into thin air. Even the dogs were quiet as we slipped away. We headed off to explore a different area since we now knew where security was. After about 15 minutes we retraced our steps and were standing in the homes outside patio/bar when the other couple came around a corner.

They said that a couple of security guys stopped them and didn’t care that they were there. They just asked that you don’t touch anything and that you’re careful so you don’t bust your ass on their property. While the covert tour was cool the unlimited access tour was to be better.






The stone walls on most of the building were 2 feet thick. The stonework still looks decent while most of the wood parts of the structures were dilapidated. The main house seemed to be just bedrooms with a large bathroom. The bathtub was carved from a solid block of stone and there was a fireplace in the room. The outside walkways and all the indoor floors are covered in tile throughout the complex. There was a building that was just a huge kitchen and cliff side veranda with a view to die for.

Since we were pretty much allowed to be on the island we decided to walk most of it. We walked out in the open right down the roads and never ran into the security guys anywhere. But it’s still good to keep your ninja skills sharp.