TARDIS began the trek back to the US on Friday, February 9th. The first leg took us 45.8nm to Rose Island in about 7.5hrs. We had wind. It was supposed to be a broad reach but turned out to be close reach. TARDIS sails to wind well but not fast enough to get there in daylight, so we motor sailed with full main & jib. Averaged 6.2k.

We had a 50/50 choice. Rose Island runs East-West. Wind was east. Which side would be better for rolling? We choose north side of island - wrong choice, rocked and rolled all night. Miserable. It was beautiful and it looks like a sand harvest is underway.





Nassau Harbour Transit

We got going early Saturday morning looking forward to going east to west through Nassau Harbour. It's a busy place. You must radio harbour patrol and get permission to enter.

One of the first vessels we saw was 'HOME'. The star of last years Below Deck Med.



Next up - twin bridges consolidating the two way traffic.







Then it's the cruise ship docks. There is about a 50 yard usable channel along the east side of the cruise ships that just about everyone must go through. No homeland security here to keep you away.







Aramak Cay - Crystal Cay Marine Park

We exited the west end and rounded an island to get to the anchorage that we thought would keep us out of the rolling NE swell. Only 1 boat there, not a good sign. We anchored about 200' off the west end of Aramak Cay. It is the barge, tug boat and salvage area of Nassau Harbour. We should have known something was up when a tug boat captain asked the other boat to move. But not TARDIS.

On Sunday morning at dawn operation "move big salvage car ferry" got underway. A few hours later the operation was over. The biggest of the tug boats was only about 50' from TARDIS' bow pushing the big ship into the warf. Interesting but scary.





This is the old Crystal Cay Marine Park. At one time it had tubes under the water and the space needle you could walk in to observe marine life. Note the cruise ship behind the needle leaving Nassau Harbour.



Later on Sunday we dropped 'Space Patrol' in and journeyed up the passage to Fish Fry for lunch. Interesting 2nm side trip.







The tide was out on the return trip. Only bottomed out a few times. The brown area in the shallows contain Conch Farms where they raise and harvest conch for area restaurants.







Last days in the Bahamas - leg 2

We left Nassau for Fraziers Hog Cay on Monday, Feb 12th. It was a 35nm sail without the motor running. Seas were rough with 4-6 waves from multiple directions but a broad reach in good wind kept TARDIS rolling along. We completed the trip in 7 hours and anchored for two nights with no rocking.

Leg 3: Berrys to Bimini - Longest of return trip

TARDIS was moving at 1st light at 5:30am on Valentines Day (Wednesday) heading to Bimini 89nm away. Sunrise and Sunset on the banks.





TARDIS rounded north rock at Bimini about 7:30pm, we dropped sail and motored the last hour to Alice Town Beach (Radio Hill) and anchored in the dark a couple hundred yards off the beach that we could not see.

The trip across the banks was smooth. Not much in the way of waves. Wind was just forward of the beam again so we kept the motor running to keep pace all day and made the trip at an average speed of 6.1k.

This was taken in the morning as we pulled away just before sunrise.



Anchor Down - Lake Sylvia, Ft Lauderdale - 4pm Thursday, February 15, 2024

TARDIS made great time. 9hrs, 18m; 53.9nm. Main with one reef, dead downwind; motor running 2500rpm. Sloppy seas: Ocean swell NE 8-10', wind chop SE 2-4', wind about 10k SE-SW. It was a rough ride rolling about but no banging as if going up wind. The auto helm steered the entire way. At the beginning there was allot of ship traffic that we had to maneuver around. We never really got close to any ship. It was a beautiful sunny day, few white clouds. And when we got to Lake Sylvia there was a place to anchor!

Don't know if there will be more blog entries or not. If not, means it was uneventful trip. We've got a couple weeks, give or take, to get to Indiantown Marina to haul out and get home to see family and friends mid March. If we don't do another entry, thanks for following along!

ALONS Y

As we were leaving the south end of Eleuthera and Rock Sound this unusual rainbow appeared. Beautiful last memory of a great place. We dropped anchor 20nm to the north at Kemp's Bight where we spent one night on our way to Government Harbour for a couple of days while the weather was good.

Government Harbour

We were excited to go to the Fish Fry on Friday night, the day we got there. Fish Frys are fund raisers for local churches and seem to take place in many settlements in Eleuthera. In Rock Sound we were anchored in front of the fish fry but did not go to shore. We listened to the very loud island DJ playing island rap geared to the island residents. Here the DJ geared the music to tourists, playing American music we all danced to in the 90's. Quite different. We went and the food was excellent.





Our dinghy landing at low tide with TARDIS in the background.



We would have liked to stay longer, but again another front in the El Nino Winter was approaching. We wanted to get back to Hatchett Bay Harbour and great protection for what was being billed as the biggest blow in 20 years in the Bahamas!

Hatchett Bay Harbour Storms

We arrived on Sunday, January 28th and were able to anchor in a great spot in the NW corner of the bay for the first (little) mini cold front before the main event would arrive at the end of the week. Did you know it could HAIL in the Bahamas? Well it can AND it did. About the size of marbles.



Island residents later told us they had never seen hail before and they were not young people.

The blow happened and our anchor held. We were in 7' at low tide that got down to close to 6' with the new moon extreme tide. We draw 4'6". That's getting close. Charlie stayed on anchor watch in the squalls, meaning full foul weather gear, motor running and ready to put in gear. He also stayed at the helm steering the boat as it reached the outer limits of the anchor line to keep some pressure off the anchor. We didn't have much room before grounding. Note the water depths.





There were two large squalls. The first one was with the hail in daylight. The second happened in the middle of the night beginning around 2am. We watched a sailing cat that was anchored next to us drag into the mangroves with the owners and crew ashore. No damage done. Over the course of the day several more boats re-anchored due to dragging. TARDIS held fine with 115' of chain or 8:1 at High Tide. You still worry and watch but we were not concerned about other boats dragging into us since we were the windward boat in the anchorage for the biggest of the north winds.

During our 12 day stay this boat was our neighbor.



Alicetown, Eleuthera - 12 days

Spending 12 days in one location gave us lots of time to eat ashore or get carry out between the storms and to explore. We like Alicetown!

Walk to the Beach & Mini Fish Fry

We hiked to the beach and were not disappointed that we did.









We took books, find Eileen?





On the way back we happened upon a fund raiser for local first responders. Great music(DJ), dancing, food and Kalik Beer. GREAT FIND!







Damaged Building - prior Hurricanes

You can't help but notice the damage that prior Hurricanes caused on many islands, some 50 years ago. Eleuthera has had it's share.











School - for our grand children

Throughout the islands there are schools, and school was in session this day. This is the grade school.





Carryouts & Eating Places

There are many options for food. Every one we tried was very good. Fresh seafood is often available but not always if the fisherman can't get out due to the weather. There's almost always Peas & Rice, Mac & Cheese, Cole Slaw and the best French Fries. Fresh Grouper anything is to die for. We picked up food from these places.









This was so good, we went back a 2nd time!



While we were waiting on our carryout the POLICE did a walk about - meet and greet. Yes, they stopped and talked to us and took our photo with the Commissioner. Anyone watch 'Death in Paradise' on BBC? Oh my, we are there!





We were just walking down the street and a man stopped us and told us we should go in here. Bar with food. Se glad we did. We met the most interesting people and the band too.






That's not a TUBA!

Find the little birdie?


When going ashore in Hatchett Bay there is a very nice dinghy dock that is maintained by Emmette of Boater's Haven. Great Hospitality and he entertains, too!



Other Alicetown Sites

That's TARDIS at the end of one of the best dinghy docks we've used in all of the Bahamas.





Eleuthera Island is more laid back than the other island chains we have visited and spent any amount of time in. We are so happy we made the effort to come straight to the area having crossed the Northeast Providence Channel New Years Day. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming. No matter where we go and who we meet it's the same. This gentle soul we met today.



We're in her kitchen where she prepares meals 7 days a week for anyone who stops by her small carry out off the main road (Queen's Highway).



We stopped there 2 times before, looking for fish fry dinner but with the high winds the fisherman were not getting out. But she went through the extra effort to get fresh Conch, Lobster and Grouper yesterday just to make us two dinner for only $50. The dinners included Mac/Cheese, Cole Slaw, Rice & Peas and two cold Kalik's (beers). We learned alot about her during our 3 visits, and met one of her 11 siblings, who remembered us walking down the street while he was washing a car for someone and he stopped us to say 'HI'. Her name is Ingrid and she was born in Hatchett Bay just up Queen's Highway. She had a thriving restaurant in Abaco when Hurricane Dorian hit and lost everything. She is rebuilding her business here where her 90 year old mother lives. Oh and when we told her we were from Indiana she lit up. She's a basketball fan and follows the Pacers!

Earlier on the same day when we were walking 3nm to the other side of the island and the pink beach we met Warren, local artist. That's Warren working.



This is his studio. It's on all 4 corners of FISH ROAD and 3rd street. He stopped us as we walked through and told us about all the things we were going to see on our walk. And he did not try to sell us anything, just smiled and laughed as he talked.







We're taken aback by all the artwork on display throughout Rock Sound. No doubt this is Warren's influence.







There's a BLUE HOLE in town. It's an OCEAN HOLE centuries old. Rumor has it Christopher Columbus first landfall was Eleuthera and he may have been there.



It's over 600' deep and connected to the Atlantic.



Just up the road from Warren's is the school. On the way back from the Pink Beach we could hear Junkanoo music. Turns out it was grade school students practicing drums, whistles, bells and other percussion for the Junior Junkanoo in April (their school has won the competition 3 times!)



Road to the Pink Beach







And when you think you've seen the most beautiful beach in the islands you find another...







Sammy's Place is another spot we found with great food, people and reasonable prices. It's more like a waffle house type place with just about anything you might want.



Beers come with a hat for only $5



Other sites walking about Rock Sound









From TARDIS at Rock Sound





There's always boat work. Our lower anchor light that is hung on the end of the boom got water in it and corroded. Charlie used the first day at anchor pulling out the electric kit and made the repair.





37nm Sail Hatchett Bay to Rock Sound

With strong east trade winds coming we took the opportunity to head to the southern part of the island and about the last safe anchorage with things to do for about a week. It was going to be close to the wind in light air so motor sailing with a reef in the main was the ticket to 6k of speed and a short 7 hour daylight trip.







Trip to Cape Eleuthera - Southern end of the island

We met Daniel, proprietor of Twin Brothers, in Hatchett Bay. He introduced us to Dean, car rental company. Dean, a huge NBA fan, asked us how Larry Bird is doing. So, we talked BB.

Dean brought us a nice Chevy SUV for the day. Our first stop was Gregory Town.







Most of the day was spent driving to Cape Eleuthara at the south end of the island. There are no good safe anchorages off the southern shores. There is a marina with docks at the Cape that we wanted to see and find out what they cost before going there. They look good, cost $3.50/ft per night. That's $130 plus 10%VAT. Not us.



Some sights on our 100m drive.









Other Days to Remember

Glass Window Bridge

We anchored TARDIS at Goulding Cay about 500' from shore in 7' of water in white sand with great holding. The wind was going to be light and variable for a couple days which gave us time to dinghy to the bridge, go to shore, and hike.

From the water


From above the Atlantic side


This tells the history if you can read it on your device


There's quite a bit of traffic on the Queens Highway that runs the length of the Eleuthera Island so you have to be careful walking here.



There's a blow hole here. It was barely spitting the day we were there but they say it blows 30+ feet.





Queen's Bath

Just south of the bridge is the Queen's Bath. It is natures hot tub. At high tide on the Atlantic the pools fill with water, the tide goes down and the water stays warming in the sun. We went both at low and high tide which are 6 hours apart. Can you tell the difference?







Here's our perch. We never found the path to the pools below.





This is the Goulding Cay Anchorage and public beach.


The area is known for farming. Here's the area we walked through to get to the bridge and bath.





These termite nests are everywhere. Some cruisers were talking on the radio about being invaded by termites on their boat. Do not Disturb!



Cow and Bull Rocks. These were moved by the power of the waves sometime in the past.



This is what the bay coast looks like near the bridge and in Goulding Cay.





Spanish Wells - Golf Carting

After the cold front passed, we went back to Spanish Wells for 3 nights and spent 2 more days ashore. Spanish Wells is a large settlement and there's alot to see so we rented a golf cart for a day. BIG FUN! And good practice for Charlie driving on the left before renting a car later.



We found directions



And the Beach Bar & Grill for lunch



Russell Island is the 2nd island where more people live. We went to the east end and walked on the sand bars at low tide. Amazing place!







We found an area of docks that was blasted out of the land for what looks like up to 50 boats. Fascinating place but would not want to enter the area if the seas are rough. Here's the entrance.









More Island pics







Back on TARDIS, one of the commercial fishing vessels passing closely



And an adventure boat...we're not going on



Royal Island Harbour - Storms

After our 1st trip to Spanish Wells we went back for another front. This is a good anchorage but we did drag and had to re-anchor when the wind flopped 180 in about 5 minutes and the anchor did not reset. Thankful for the warning from the anchor alarm.





After the storm another beautiful sunset and our fellow cruisers.





Entrance to Royal Harbour, 4nm from Spanish Wells.

We always wanted to cruise to Eleutheras, and the settlement of Spanish Wells at it's northern end. Eleuthera is as far east you can go in the Central Bahamas. The photo above is the sunset anchored outside of Spanish Wells near the south entrance.

Spanish Wells Exploration
We made it to shore two days while anchored in front of the town. It is a busy port with lots of commercial fishing rigs and a couple marinas with big repair capability.













Lot's of interesting artwork along the seafront as well. Fun place to be!









Here's where we tied up the dinghy both days ashore. Nice dock in front of Pindrey's grocery and fuel stop. We purchased 15g of diesel here for just $99.





We also walked about town. The houses are so interesting, tidy and colorful. You can tell many are occupied with full time residents and call this place home. Lucky them.













There's also a beach in town and when the tide is out the sand bars are exposed for play. Today the tide is in.







We finished day one at Buddah's, a famous place, must stop. We enjoyed a couple 'Sands' and fish sandwiches in a unique outdoor dining spot on a back road in town. It's great to be in Spanish Wells.



Northeast Providence Channel Crossing

Crossing the Northeast Providence Channel is about the same distance as Miami to Bimini, 49nm. And deep, too, one spot we crossed was 43,405 ft deep!

The last day of 2023 we spent anchored at the south end of Little Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands and were treated to another full moon rising at sunset. This does not get old!





We had company NYE. This 4 foot shark hung out under TARDIS all night.



We took off on the first day of 2024 to the beautiful sunrise as we entered the Northwest Providence Channel. It later turned into the Northeast Providence Channel once we got north of New Providence and Nassau.



It was another day requiring the motor with sails to keep TARDIS moving fast enough to put the anchor down 9 hours later in daylight at Royal Island Harbour. It's a perfect place to be for weather changes. This is the evening of New Year's Day in the harbour.





While here Charlie finally found the air leak in the front chamber of the dinghy and made the repairs. So far, so good.







It is recommended that a 'Trip' line, which doubles as an anchor marker, be used when anchored here. Seems the harbour was a resort at one time and ruins remain below the water. Beware. Here is ours.



Considering we are surrounded on all sides by land, the sunsets here aren't too bad either.



Bullock Harbour, Cistren Cay

After clearing customs we moved TARDIS a couple times just a mile each way to gain better protection from the cold north winds, where Charlie made water and Eileen got out of the generator fumes.



We spent most of one day ashore, explored and had a great lunch at a roadside restaurant.





On the way back to the boat we picked up an order of fresh Conch Salad from the man working this table at the ferry dock.



We left Cistren Cay and headed around the cruise ship islands, Little & Great Stirrup Cays. It was a bit rough as we rounded the islands for our sail. Once we rounded the islands the motor was shut down and we had a glorious 4 hour sail to Little Harbour South anchorage on a beautiful New Years Eve

THANK YOU
To all those sending us comments in various formats and wishing us well, we appreciate you following along as we document our journey and adventures.

TARDIS took us safely 131nm in 22hrs to our first stop in the Bahamas. Our anchor dug in at 9:30am Wednesday morning just in front of the entrance to Great Harbour Cay Marina in 11ft of water. The yellow quarantine flag was raised to the starboard spreader. We're in the Bahamas!

We relaxed a bit. Charlie stayed awake all night and Eileen got a few hours sleep when we motor sailed across the Great Bahama Bank. After arriving, the dinghy was put back in the water, motor put on and Charlie headed in to the customs and immigration office. Charlie was near the head of the line when the the custom officers opened up but shortly after they went to lunch and said they'd be back in 15m. Two hours later TARDIS was checked in and crew passed immigration and boat and crew were given a 90 day cruising permit. While the 2hr wait was long, it was fun to meet and greet fellow cruisers and share experiences of the overnight passage. At least 30 boats arrived and it was a busy place.

The photo above was taken on day 2 in the Bahamas, after we moved a mile to the north for better protection. That's Bullock's Harbour Settlement on a cloudy afternoon and where we'll take the dinghy and explore the island later today.

Our anchorage for a few days with other cruisers - 27 boats here now







The Crossing

We thought the crossing would be under sail only on a beam reach in mid teen winds. Turned out the winds were lighter and more on the stern and the seas confused requiring the motor to run the entire way. A double reefed main and full genoa was the ticket to keep the motor revs down and wind in the genoa and keep TARDIS moving along at nearly 8 knots. Of course the gulf stream current helped at nearly 4 knots.

We passed north of Bimini and rounded North Rock and Great Bahama Bank at 8pm after leaving the coast of Key Biscayne at Noon. Great time and we passed a few big cats that seemed to struggle in the messy seas. Here are some of the sights along the way.

Heading Out thru Stiltsville - what will it be like?









After settling in and getting used to the boat motion







Passing Ships with other cruisers





Sunset and Full Moon Rising at same time





Cruise ship leaving Bimini



Sunrise & Moon Set at 7am





Christmas on TARDIS - Key Biscayne Bite

We had a wonderful calm Christmas with about 30 other boats, all waiting to cross to the Bahamas in the morning.





Last day at Fort Lauderdale Beach - Las Olas Bridge

We found a new dock a short way north of Lake Sylvia put in by the city just west and under the Las Olas Bridge with a short walk to Fort Lauderdale Beach. We're sure to go here again when we return.













Last night in Lake Sylvia and trip to Key Biscayne with a stop at 'Beercan' Island north of Miami along the way.