We had a nice leisurely morning the Internet is very poor so it took a while to post. Our guide Woody wants to leave early so time to get ready to push off. The winds are blowing this morning it will be very interesting navigating the reefs but that said our guide is great so I'm not worried about that.

We will have to make a point of coming back to this small community it really is charming and we didn't have enough time to explore all the local wonders . Places to defiantly see next time are the Islander Museum, local arts and gift shop, beach, Budda's Snack Shack and liquor store and more :-) I've added some photo's of us leaving the harbor. Spanish Wells was named because Spanish galleons stopped there to take on fresh water it is know for the sea and is a real fishing town. The Islanders proudly produce close to 75% of the nation's annual production of spiny lobster which gets exported to markers worldwide, I can tell you first hand it is delicious!

We left the dock quickly to catch up to Woody (the guide) he was piloting a 130+ ft yacht followed by the yachts runabout boat which was piloted by the yachts owners staff, Woody's boat was tied on the back bouncing around. I have added a picture of us starting but really you don't get to see the exciting craziness of us bouncing all around it was a very rough trip at times the current, swells, chop were rough and it was super shallow. A bit of a description for you on the Devils Backbone Passage - The passage is through the reefs around the north coast of Eleuthera, it is a very tricky coastal navigation and should never be taken lightly . No matter how good your eyeball navigation, this is one passage where there is only one way to go and that is to have a Spanish Wells pilot on board and I agree with that. The passage is best done on a flat calm condition with perfect light, we however went on a windy choppy day we stayed very close to our lead boat - Bryan did an amazing job! I've included a picture from the chart book to show you the reefs they are indicated on the picture as + + +.

Once through the passage it was easy and quick to get to Valentines Marina on Harbour Island as we approach the Valentines marina it was easy to see that this is the place for the mega rich yacht folks. As we are 44ft this time it worked in our favor and our slip is right by the marina office, bar and shops :-) The docking was great, bow in, starboard tie with fixed docks.  

After getting settled in we called around to rent a golf cart for a few days and by some luck we found one! It is spring break and there are hundreds of very rich teens around it's pretty funny people watching these people live a very different life . Harbour Island is a roughly 3 1/2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide so a golf cart is the main form of transportation. Once the capital of the Bahamas the current population is close to 2,000. Harbour Island's tiny gem is Dunmore Town (where we are), a Victorian-style village of narrow streets, pastel painted cottages with white picket fences. The beaches here are very pink although the picture I've added doesn't really show the pink it is definitely light pink in color. This is one of the fabled Bahamian hideaway's of celebrities and famous people who are looking for seclusion and a relaxed lifestyle.  

We took a trip around the Island for a couple of hours, walked on the famous pink beach and we found the Blue Bar this was a recommendation from one of the cruisers we met along the way they said it's where the stars hang out...we did not see any stars but this place is really nice. The Blue bar is part of the Pink Sands resort http://www.pinksandsresort.com/ it is a resort of cottages each cottage has it's one private cobble stone entrance there is a larger restaurant there as well as a bar on the beach...very nice! From there we went looking for a grocery store it was nice to see the community most everything was closed as it is Sunday we will explore more tomorrow.

Spent a couple of hours at the Marina pool it is very nice and offers a few big lounge beds which I was able to enjoy very comfy.

We enjoyed a cocktail at the marina bar which is outside overlooking the marina. I cooked on board tonight.

A very good day and start to our stay on Harbour Island.