We left Hatchet bay after a fairly long stay. The weather was ok for a short passage to Governors Harbor, Eleuthera. Its the government capital of Eleuthera and likely the largest town on Eleuthera.
As we exited Hatchet Bay through its narrow inlet, we were immediately met with choppy seas with a short period. These built slightly over the next several hours. With the wind coming almost directly down our rhumb line it made for an unpleasant sail. We began looking for alternatives to Governor’s Harbor to shorten our exposure to the unpleasant conditions.
Consulting Active Captain, quickly yielded Alabaster Bay. It was several miles short of our original objective, so we would cut the trip short AND it blocked the prevailing winds so would be a pleasant anchorage. So we altered course to this bay. Ultimately we stayed 5 days.
Alabaster bay has one prominent resort/hotel on the beach: Coco Di Mama. It’s closed. Or should I say only used for special events. Its available to rent should you have enough friends to fill it. North of the resort are a few houses that seem to be abandoned, but not more than 3.
We anchored in about 9 feet of water in thick sand. But just 100 feet in front of our boat one could walk waste deep the final 200-300 feet to the beach as the sand extended quite far. Along the beach are thousands of complete conch shells (some with conch still in them) It could be a shellers dream.
Alabaster became a central location for us on Eleuthera to explore the rest of the island.
Navy Base
The Navy base sits on the eastern shore of Eleuthera, about 2 miles from CocoDiMama resort. It was used by the US Navy to monitor USSR submarines and played a significant role in the cuban missle crisis of the early 60s. It was abandoned in the 80s
Today is being taken back by nature. The well constructed buildings have started to cave in and trees now grow inside of some structures. Additionally, honey bees have appropriated the walls to store their honey. While we were there, a local had come by to harvest some. We even found a land crab that had made a toilet his home.
The engineering of the base was impressive too. From the 8 massive generators left in place in the power plant to a huge rain collection system paved on a hill side. It funneled the rain water to a catch basin where it was filtered and stored in 250,000 gallon tanks.
Rental Car Days
We rented a car for 2 days, after the Navy base exploration. Since we had decided to go back to the US (check out our videos for why) we wanted to explore eleuthera quickly. The car lets us get south quickly and the next day north just as quickly.
On our first day we explored a bit of Governors Harbor and the old Club Med (now called French Leave). The old club med is in ruins but some structures and the pool still remain. Of course, the Pink Sand Beach, the key draw of the place is still there. While we were there we came across an office that had several of the plans to restart to resort in it. I guess they never got the cash to do so.
After the exploration and lunch at Buccaneer’s we headed south attempting to find Bannerman Town. We did, but it was much to look at. However the surrounding area has old church ruins, Light House Point and a few other things to see.
Light house point is outstanding. White cliffs and lush vegetation dominate the area. But it also has soft sand and a pink beach. You have to go off road to find it, but its well worth it.
We aren’t sure what the future holds for the southern most tip of Eleuthera. It has been purchased by Disney Cruise Lines and they intend to develop it as a destination. I am sure thousands of tourists coming hear daily can not be good for the environment, although the economy definitely needs a boost.
Day two of the rentals had us covering the north end of the island. We saw the Queen’s bathes, Glass Window Bridge, The town of Bluff and we ate some of the best food on the island there. We completed the day at the Sapphire Blue Hole and Preachers Cave.
Our last night on the beach, we had hot dogs roasted on a beach fire. Eleuthera was a fantastic place to visit and we will be back. But Hurricane season looms before us and we need to get north.