Eleuthera - Meeks Patch, Spanish Wells

We had a beautiful sail to Eleuthera. It took 8 hours to get to Meeks Patch Island with good winds and flat seas. There weren’t too many boats in the anchorage when we arrived but the following day they came flooding in.

We went ashore on Wednesday to see the pigs. They seemed to be in slightly better condition that the ones in Staniel Cay. There were some piglets and chickens and a few ducks swimming were in the sea which was strange.

He made the poor pig sit and beg 😠

Especially when food is Vienna sausages!

The beach was really short so we didn't have far to walk to get to the end of it. But it was good to stretch the legs.

Norbert, a chap from one of the other boats, came past and said he was inviting all the boaters to the beach for drinks and a get together at 4pm. Laura opted to stay on the boat, while Andrew and I went to meet new people. Norbert and his wife, Joni took the lead and made everyone introduce themselves. Norbert is German and Joni is American. There was one other couple from Europe, all the rest were from America or Canada. Most of them had only sailed in the US and the Bahamas.

The following day the wind had changed again, so we decided to motor across the way to Spanish Wells. We needed to go to the shops and have a bit of a walk.

There were only a few boats anchored in Spanish Wells. We left a huge space between us and two boats on either side of us. Next thing a catamaran comes and anchors right behind us.

Plenty of space

We went ashore to walk to the shop. It wasn't a long walk but there were no pavements on either side of the road, so it made the walk a bit tricky. We made sure we were facing the traffic and had to dodge a few cars as they came past.

Spanish Wells Food Fair was fairly big and well stocked. We managed to get enough food to last us a while. We asked the teller where the bottle store was. She looked at us with confusion. I realized she didn't know what a bottle store was, so we said the liquor store and the light dawned in her eyes. The instructions she gave was a bit like an Irishman trying to tell you where the train station is. Go down the road and turn right, if you get to the church you have gone too far. Anyway, we managed to find Budda's Snack Shack and Liquor store and bought some beer for Andrew.

On our way back to the boat we drove through the little harbour. It was very sweet with houses and shops along the water front.

Laughing gull

Dinghy dock

We had a bumpy wet ride back to the boat. After unpacking all the shopping, I was doing some washing, and another boat came through the anchorage from the other side. 

Next thing they came right next to us and plonked their anchor down. I could have passed them a beer!! And they didn't even wave as they parked next to us.

Far too close!

After a few days, and Andrew studying the weather, we decided to sail to the Abacos. A couple of other boats were also going which is nice as you can stay in contact along the way. It’s also helpful if other boats go through cuts before us, then we can get intel on the conditions. We made contact with another catamaran called Confetti, who were also leaving in the morning.

We upped anchor in the late afternoon and made our way over to Egg Island where we anchored for the night. It would take a few nautical miles off our journey in the morning.