Travels of Geo Nova: Georgetown to Hope Town

Georgetown to Hope Town

We have covered a lot of territory the last week. We also have a new crew. Don and Gretchen our sailing friends from Colorado flew in on the 23^rd of April and Zach had to go back to California on the 24^th of April. The plan is for Don and Gretchen to help us on the return to the North where Gretchen will fly out of Marsh Harbor and Don will help us go back to Florida.

The first leg of the voyage brought us back to Black Point Settlement for a night. I can’t say enough nice things about this place. It typifies the small Bahamian village. The anchorage is large and the water is crystal clear aqua blue. Part of the process is trying to get the most favorable weather to sail in.

We sailed north Big Majors Spot a deserted island near Staniel Cay the home of Thunderball Cave where a scene from the movie Thunderball was filmed. Big Majors is home to a group of wild pigs that will swim out to any close by dinghy and beg for food. Don and I dinghyed over to Thunderball for a great snorkeling adventure, as promised the fish were numerous.

Our next move brought us from the Exuma Banks 70 miles across the open ocean to Governors Harbor Eleuthra. Unfortunately the wind was not quite in the right direction so we had to motor sail the whole way. During this leg we discovered the Auto Pilot would not hold a course so we have to hand steer. Next stop Royal Island. This requires us to sail through a narrow cut between Eleuthra and Current Island. The navigational challenge is to time the passage with tide and current in mind. If done incorrectly the passage could be very difficult or perhaps dangerous. Fortunately we hit it just right and were at anchor in Royal Island an hour later.

Royal Island has changed some since we were last here 14 years ago. It is still uninhabited but it has a failed subdivision. The island is also home to ruins from years ago. One story is a rumrunner owned the home in the days of prohibition. On our walk we found a bird new to us, a Great Fly Catcher. The up coming weather report is not ideal but not dangerous so we motor to Abaco Island the next day.

The entrance from the Ocean on to the Banks was through a cut between to reefs.

This time we did not hit it at the best time. The Ocean was supporting 6-8 foot swells and the tide was opposing the swells. It looked like a washing machine but Diana piloted us in skillfully. Yesterday we visited Little Harbor by Dinghy as the entrance was too shallow at low tide. Inside the harbor is a very nice and charming anchorage. We visited Pete’s Foundry a world famous bronze sculpture foundry. They specialize in creatures from the sea. After a nice lunch we are off to the north where we hope to join our friends Curt and Jane on Escapade in Hope Town tomorrow.