March 15, 2023 Back.to Eleuthera

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You read that right, we're headed back to Eleuthera. Sitting happily in the Berry Islands we realized the weather window to cross to the US was not a great one. We would be sailing right into a pair of winter storms that would hold us in southern Florida for days.  The weather is just not cooperating with our desire to head home. There's either too much wind, not enough wind, wind blowing the wrong direction, even wind blowing the right direction but not for long enough to get all the way back to the US.  So we'll be staying a while longer.
Storm 1 in Florida

Storm 2 in Florida and further north.  Y’all enjoy.

Extending our stay meant evaluating our resources. We inventoried the food, we're good for another month or more.  We are good on gasoline for the engines, dinghy and generator because we try to keep the tanks and cans topped up when we see a fuel dock.  We make our own water and electricity. That just leaves propane for cooking and hot water. Ah, there's the catch. 

The Saga of the Propane
Of our three cylinders 2 are empty and the third one, currently in use, will last *maybe* ten more days. We need to get a fill since we don't know exactly how long cylinder #3 will last or how long we'll be staying in the Bahamas. Plus the way our systems work one cylinder is hooked to the galley for cooking and another heats water for the shower. (#3 is a spare.) But places to get propane fills are few & (literally) far between in the Bahamas.   

After a LOT of debate we decided our best option was to sail 70 miles back to Eleuthera, get propane fills, and wait out the next round(s) of weather there. 
(I can hear our experienced  cruiser friends saying "Why go all that way? You could have gone to <fill in the blank with your favorite opinion>"....Believe me we looked at lots of options!)

So we set out for Eleuthera. We hoist anchor from Devils Cay in the Berrys and head out across New Providence Channel in blustery conditions. Our destination could be Spanish Wells, which has very convenient propane, but is very tough sailing directly into the wind. So we made for Gaulding Cay where we were about a week ago.  We'll sleep here tonight and continue on the quest for propane tomorrow.

The next day we make a short hop in a fresh breeze to Govenor’s Harbour.
This town dates back to the 1650s and was the original capital of the Bahamas in British colonial times.  Propane was acquired.  We had lunch at a very nice restaurant clearly owned by a skilled chef. We're talking house made bread for that sandwich.  House made hot sauce. A fair bit of Bahamian soul food in every dish.  Beautifully plated dishes served under a very old tree

And then there was fruit punch

On the way back to the boat we stopped to talk with the people anchored next to us. Imagine two dinghys floating together across the harbour with people chatting away.  This is how cruisers meet.  We shared what we know about this place and make plans to meet at tomorrow’s fish fry in town.  

It's a quiet night.









Comments

Lynn and Ed said…
What a wonderful respite in your zig-zag trek home. It’s amazing when you find a great place to eat in the Bahamas.
March 22, 2023 at 9:10 AM
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