Wednesday morning we left the hustle & bustle of Nassau, and after checking in with Nassau Harbor Control headed out of the harbor and northeast toward Eluthera under heavy overcast skies. Cory & Linda suggested we head that direction and visit at least part of the Eluthera chain before heading to Abaco. We set our course for Royal Island, a natural harbor offering protection from almost any direction. We arrived around 1600, dropped the dink, and headed to shore with the dogs. We wanted to beat the rain that we had been running in and out of all day, and get some restless paws on the dirt. We met another cruising couple aboard a sailboat, and joined Muffin and her pup Lucy on shore for some dog play time. Muffin and husband Will are long-time Bahama cruisers, and filled us in on the story of Royal Island, and the harbor. We briefly explored the ruins there, and had a brief encounter with the security guy; whom it seems was simply checking up on our activity, since he greeted us, the dogs, and went about his business. The whole island is being developed, but it’s clear that the development is currently on hold. It appears that most of the development in the Bahamas is of the flash in the pan variety, with lots of startups and very few finishes. Follow this link to the description of Royal Island, then compare it to the photos in our gallery! Geez, we totally missed the concierge desk and the gourmet shop!
I made a short visit to Antares just before the rains came, and dropped off some extra ice. We chatted about the weather and impending frontal approach, and Antares’ plans to cruise to Abaco the following morning. They were a bit iffy about the weather, and some radio chatter between boats in the anchorage yielded little firm info on the weather. Morning came with the sound of anchor chain rattling, so we flipped the radio on and waved as Antares slid past us and out of the harbor. Twenty minutes later, they called another boat heading out, and a VHF conference on the weather soon had both boats turning back, headed for Spanish Wells. We had our own on board conference, and decided since the weather was threatening, we would likewise head for the security of a marina and the proximity of the town to wait out some potentially nasty weather. We took shore excursion, gave the dogs a good run and explored the ruins on Royal Island before weighing anchor and making our way to Spanish Wells.
