We arrived in the vicinity of Governor’s Harbor rather late, and decided to anchor to the north at Levy Island while we still had some daylight. We anchored and re-anchored, but could not find good holding. Once we finally seemed to be stuck well, I hustled to get into the water to check our anchor set before it was too dark to see. Turns out, we weren’t really dug in much at all, but were wound between two rocks. We made the decision that we probably weren’t going to do much better in the dark, and decided to keep anchor watches and move in the morning. Cristen and Alex got a taste of some of the uncertainties of cruising. But we had a nice dinner, the anchor held, and we moved into Governor’s Harbor proper in the morning. Another cruiser shared the lat and long of the unbuoyed moorings in the harbor, and intrepid Alex dove down and tied a line to one of them,which we then tied to our boat. We were snug as a bug for the rest of our time there.
Governor’s Harbor is a delightful place with pretty much everything a cruiser needs: groceries including produce, a few restaurants (with wi-fi), wine and spirits, cabs, car rentals, etc. Both of the restaurants we tried were good. Buccaneer had great conch fritters and a fine jazz soundtrack on a lovely, shady patio. The waterfront coffeehouse “Da Perk” had great coffee (including a real macchiato!), pastries, and sandwiches along with beer and wine.
Unfortunately for our guests, the boat carrying the regatta boats was delayed, so they didn’t get to see the regatta after all. Another taste of island time… But we found plenty to do. We hiked through town to the Atlantic side,where there is a beautiful pink sand beach. Alex took a ton of pictures on the way. You can hardly go five steps without seeing something beautiful. The town is up on a hill overlooking the harbor and is as neat as a pin; it would be hard to invent a more lovely setting. The most outstanding thing about this place, and Eleuthera in general, is the incredible friendliness of the people. It’s like a small town in Texas thirty-something years ago. Just unbelievably friendly and helpful people.
For example, the kids needed to rent a car to go back to the airport. After the first couple of unsuccessful calls, they started getting calls back from the places that had no cars with suggestions of others they could try. You won’t get that from Hertz!
Obviously, they did find a car, and we went with them to the airport to drive it back. It was interesting to see from a car what we had just passed in our boat. A different perspective is always good. In the islands, hitch-hiking is a very normal way to get around. If you have a seat available, it is just good manners to offer a ride if one is being sought. So, on the way back to the boat from the airport, we picked up a fellow with his thumb out. It turned out he was the DJ for the festivities at the regatta, so we were able to take him right where he needed to go. Alan mentioned to him that we were going to look for someone to fix the data issue we were having with my phone, and he said “You are in luck! I am the biggest nerd on the island!” (This was extra funny because he was a huge guy: maybe 6’6” with shoulders so broad that the space in the seat was scarcely enough for him to sit comfortably. He didn’t look very nerdy.) He took my phone and had it working properly in just a couple of minutes. I was so happy not to have to go to Batelco to get it fixed. That was a good trade!
When we got back, the boats had arrived for the regatta and were making some practice runs. These boats have minimal keels and oversized sails, so the crew ends up scooting out on boards to the weather side with each turn to keep them from capsizing. They are nimble! However, during the races one boat didn’t make the transition quickly enough; it sank so fast that I wasn’t sure it really happened. One minute on the water, the next, in the water… No problem though. One of the official boats dragged them to shallow water, and they bailed it out. Good as new. Amazing!
The confidence that these boat crews have in their ability to maneuver their boats exceeds my own. More than once, they would head straight for our boat on the way to their anchorage, only to swerve away at what seemed like the last possible second, smiling and waving as they breezed past. It was impressive, but a little scary!
As the boats were anchored right off our starboard (right) side, we had plenty of time to observe them, and I picked a favorite: Ants Nest. That name cracked me up, so when they finally raced in the last set of boats, I was cheering for them. And they won! I don’t want to take all the credit, but I like to think my cheering for them helped. We applauded as they sailed past after their victory, and they were all smiles and bows.
On the day before we left Governor’s, we went around the bluff to the north in our dinghy and tied to a small mooring ball that another cruiser told us about. We went to one end of the little cove and started a slow snorkel to the other. We saw
thousands of tiny fish, and an amazing display of corals and sponges. Then, as we reached the last third of the cove, we found there were very large rocks in the water broken off from the shore. These were surrounded by larger fish of all types, just beautiful! We even saw a couple of lobsters, and we have to learn how to catch those guys. I’m sure we’ll have more chances! It’s not season now anyway, but it will be soon.
We certainly could have stayed longer here, but we needed to start making south, so we got ready to go. I’d go back to Governor’s Harbor in a heartbeat though!
