8:00 Mike & Brian went to pick up the rental cars. Brian and I have previously sailed to Eleuthera, but this is new territory for the other two couples...Jack & Diane (s/v Valentine) & Mike & Roberta (s/v Echo Beach). Our rental car turned out to be a bit of a clunker, with wheel bearings and shocks in desperate need of replacement! Nevertheless, Brian drove it, doing an excellent job of dodging numerous potholes and staying on the left side of the road...so good, he was sometimes on the sidewalk, and Jack had leaves in his teeth from the trees we passed! Diane and I were the perfect backseat drivers, so quiet...actually speechless at times😮!!!

There are no road maps for Eleuthera, so we took our Explorer 'Far Bahamas' chartbook, and Jack was a super navigator! Most of the day we travelled north along the Queen's Highway...a paved, two lane road with large potholes and no centre line! We left Rock Sound and several miles later the road took a left turn at 'Kinky's Corner' Fuel station. We arrived at Tarpum Bay settlement, an interesting waterside town but still a bit sleepy at 9:00. Back on the 'highway', we passed several salt ponds and the Palmetto Point settlement before reaching the town of Governor's Harbour. Three years ago, Mar-a-Lago was anchored in this harbour for a couple of nights, and we did a lot of exploring on foot. Governor's Harbour used to be the capital of the Bahamas, and the town is nestled in the 142 ft hillside that rises from the harbour. First stop was Cupids Cay, then we drove to the other side of the island, past Government House to the Atlantic Ocean, the pink sand beach, and the Leon Levy Plant Preserve. Continuing north on the 'highway', we passed through the settlement of James Cistern and later turned off the road into Alice Town with it's narrow streets leading to the dinghy dock at Hatchet Bay. Three years ago we anchored in this well protected harbour for several days, waiting out bad weather and Hatchet Bay will be our sailing destination for tomorrow. After exploring Alice Town we continued our drive north, stopping at Gregory Town to view the high cliffs and natural basin known as Pitman's Cove...very picturesque! Gregory Town was once the pineapple center of the island, but that is now a dwindling crop.