By Sara Lewis

Spanish Wells

The former Teen Planet Restaurant, closed for a while, has reopened under new management as Savory Isles, with dining upstairs and downstairs. The moorings in the eastern harbour have sturdy new tackle and have increased in price to $20/night. Call “Bandit” on the VHF to arrange for an overnight stay.

Highbourne Cay Marina recently opened its elegant open-air restaurant, Xuma (pronounced “Zooma”), serving the public as well as marina guests. The marina also has a new floating dinghy dock to accommodate small boats and dinghies needing fuel, ice or grocery supplies, or to come ashore for lunch or dinner.

Eleuthera

In the Eleuthera area, the Hatchet Bay light is no longer working. The pole is standing but the light is missing. Neither are the lights at Egg Island and Six Shillings working. There are new flashing white lights at both the north and south ends of Meeks Patch.

Gregory Town: Thompson Brothers Grocery and Bakery, the Sugar Apple Inn and The Cove Eleuthera are all closed. The effects of hurricanes and economic downturn are readily seen in this part of the island.

View from one of the many rental houses on Eleuthera. Kate Fears photo.

The Bogues: At Lower Bogue, the government dock has not been repaired since Hurricane Irene and landing is not permitted (nor recommended) at the dock, however, the beach east of the dock is fine. The construction of a new ferry terminal to Harbour Island is in progress.

Sign at Gun Point, North Eleuthera. Kate Fears photo.

The Bluff: Now that the Royal Island real estate development is on hold, the town has folded in on itself with few places of business open—no grocery stores and no places to eat. The North Eleuthera Supermarket—about a mile out of town—is the largest and best stocked on North Eleuthera.

Hatchet Bay Update: Good news for visiting yachtsmen; there is a new large, sturdy dinghy dock as you come into Hatchet Bay Pond on the right, which links directly to Alice Town making it much more convenient to go in for groceries and laundry. There’s also a covered pavilion with a picnic table for public use.

The newest eating place in town is The Twin Brothers Seafood and Steak House (242-335-0730), located immediately on the left as you go into Alice Town from the Queen’s Highway. It has a pleasant garden setting for dining as well as overnight efficiencies at the Bay Inn. In addition, there is a small convenience store/gift shop and car rentals available.

The Front Porch Restaurant on Hatchet Bay Pond across from the government dock overlooking Hatchet Bay Pond now has WiFi. The restaurant also has car rentals as does the nearby gas station.

As far as the Hatchet Bay Pond Harbour is concerned, there are new wrecks along the shore and in the water, presumably from Hurricane Irene. A sunken fishing boat is still tied up at the government dock. There are several moorings still in use in the harbor but you will need to supply your own tackle.

Frank’s Place, a small tiki-bar seaside restaurant, is closed. So is the Big General Store on the highway (it burned down) and CJ’s Variety in town. The government packing-house down the street does not sell fresh produce to the public. However, a new organic farm, Hearty Mow Farms, is just south of Hatchet Bay. You can land a dinghy on a low-tide beach and walk up the track road or hike a mile or so from the town to get a variety of fresh produce. It’s worth the effort! Call them at 242-470-5975 to arrange delivery.

Exumas

In the Exumas, off Normans Cay, Normans Stake at 24° 35.78’ N/76° 51.63’ W is now only awash at low water and should be considered a hazard. Normans Bar, shown to the east of Normans Stake, no longer dries in the areas shown on charts. Most of the bar is shallow to nearly dry at low water.

Off Elbow Cay in the Exumas, a series of coral reefs has been found northwest of the Elbow Cay waypoint with one head having less than two meters clearance at spring low water (SLW). At 24° 31.18’ N/76° 49.72’ W a SLW depth of 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) was measured over a protruding coral head. Another coral head lies at 24° 31.41’ N/76° 50.00’ W with SLW depth of 2.4 meters (7.8 feet). The series of reefs spreads over an area of approximately a half mile and is 0.2 to 0.4 mile west of and parallel to the course between Elbow Cay and Normans stake waypoints.

The Beacon Cay sectored light near the northernmost Exumas is no longer working. Both the tower and the light are gone.

Ty’s Sunset Bar and Grill opened in Little Farmers Cay in the Exumas, just in time for the Five F’s Festival (Farmers Cay First Friday in February Festival) located at the airstrip.

Pump-out facilities

Pump-out facilities in the Bahamas are still rather limited, although we understand that the Marinas of the Bahamas (MOB) is working on a requirement that all new marinas have pump-out facilities. Current pump-out locations include:

-Grand Bahama at Grand Bahama Yacht Club, 242-376-7616; and Port Lucaya Marina 242-373-9090; free pump out at the fuel docks for marina guests.

-Abacos in Treasure Cay, Marsh Harbour or Boat Harbour; call Louis Schneider at 242-367-2043 or 242-477-6559 to arrange for service. Fees vary.

-New Providence in Nassau Harbour, Atlantis Marina, 242-363-6068; in-slip pump out free to marina guests with a tip to the operator encouraged. Albany Marina 242-676-6020 has in-slip pump out for $30 per use.