2016-04-28 - to Harbour Island

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Just a quick fill up of water before we leave!

So we are off to Harbour Island.  To get there you need to get through a delightful stretch known as the Devil's Backbone. (See top of map below)

This 'nail-biting' stretch is 11-miles and a mere thread running along Eleuthera’s northern shoreline. It is littered with wrecks dating back hundreds of years.  Apparently, the Eleutherans would tie lanterns to donkeys and walk them to cliffs to simulate a lighthouses so that ships would run aground thinking they were coming into safe harbour.  They would, then, take the ships cargo for their own.  

So, you can hire 'Bandit' who will pilot you through for $120 U.S. Each way.  We could take the high speed ferry but only stay in Harbour Island for a few hours.  We wanted to do this ourselves.

So, why we would want to traverse the Devil’s Backbone?  Why not?!

ALL the various yachting guides essentially begins, “Don’t do it, first- timer.” (Second- or even third-timer is probably implied).  This is our third season and we feel we have developed a bit of 'saltiness'.

So, “Golden coral heads” litter our path.  There is also one particular narrow point that I went to the bow to ensure our path was true.  Kerry had two screens going..the iPad with Garmin Blue Charts and our chart plotter.  The coral heads are pretty but will puncture pitilessly. Passing clouds look like coral heads as their shadows dot the water.  There are a few skinny navigational  “marker” poles along the way but they have sometimes been reported missing, changed, moved or hurricane damaged.  You just have to be on the whole time, reading the water, eyes on screens watching how well you are following the rhumb line.  All in all the passage went great.  We made it to our anchorage in Harbour Island.  After a quick bite we made it to shore and found ourselves renting a golf cart.  Sweet! Lots of laughs as we explored this fabulous village, soft pink beaches and extremely friendly locals.  Many stopped to chat with Dylan, crouching down and holding his hand as they spoke softly to him....he loved it!