It doesn’t seem possible that we spent a week in Rock Sound.  The days go by fast and usually we don’t know what day it is.  We have actually been waiting for a good weather window to leave Rock Sound and sail north to another Eleuthera settlement.  A front came through over the past few days and the winds were in the high 20’s at times.  We were very comfortable in our protected anchorage and barely moved.  However, on the Atlantic side of the island the waves were crashing on the shore and the wind was even stronger.  Rock Sound is a great place to ride out a front and provision as they have a good grocery store, hardware store and some nice attractions within walking and bike riding distance.  Today the weather was perfect for moving on and in fact when we left Rock Sound only one boat remained in the harbor so most of us were waiting for good weather.  The boat was from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, very close to where we lived.  We briefly met the captain of M/V (Motor Vessel) Front Page and hope to run into them again.  Their dinghy is named Page Two and we are wondering if they are involved in writing or publishing.

This morning we planned to leave about 7:30 for the approximate 25 mile run to Governor’s Harbour.  Mark had to take Daisy ashore, which he did about 6 am before the sun rose.  Even when the shore is close and the weather is good, this is at least a 1/2 hour chore for him, as when he gets back he needs to put the dinghy on the davits and raise it out of the water for our trip.  Then he had to replace a batten in the mainsail.  These are long pieces of fiberglass running parallel to the deck which serve the purpose of giving the sail shape, curving it so it can catch the wind.   We have five battens and one of them came out on our way to Rock Sound last Saturday.  We lost it to the sea so Mark made a new one from materials he purchased in Rock Sound and was waiting for some adhesive to dry before he could put it back in its pocket on the sail.  We were on our way by about 8 am.  The weather was great with almost flat seas.  We were not on the ocean, of course, which would have been a rougher ride.  Eleuthera is about 100 miles long and curves to the East with the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern coast and Exuma Sound on the west side. 

Governor’s Harbour is appropriately named because it is the capital of Eleuthera.  I guess no students ever miss that on a test.  It is also one of the oldest settlements in The Bahamas and sits on a high ridge that slopes toward a sheltered harbor, or harbour since they use the English spelling here.  Eleuthera is the oldest settled island in The Bahamas.  There is actually a movie theater here, the first we have seen since Nassau.  Rose, our new friend and tour guide in Rock Sound, mentioned to us that the people here don’t know they are poor.  So, they are happy with what they have.  She told us to feel safe hitchhiking and we will be sure to be picked up.  As she said, “Everyone can’t have cars so those of us who do gladly give them rides.”

We arrived here in the early afternoon and discovered it’s a quaint old town.  It almost looks like Duluth with high hills.  The big tower in the photo above is a BATELCO phone tower which I like to see.  That means we have very good phone service.

We’ll go ashore this afternoon and see the sights.