Rock Sound – Eleuthera – Slowing down for a damn minute! – February 3, 2019

February 3, 2019

The last week of travels I am categorizing as “immersive.” Although the sea miles haven’t been adding up, we’ve had an in depth exploration into the island of Eleuthera. Along the way, what I’d soon come to learn, is that this place had a few more things to teach me than simply geography.

When we started this adventure, I was hell-bent on crossing off the miles in an effort to see new and exotic places. In fact, the months of November and December I considered a total write off as we delayed with preparations and waiting on weather. I was convinced that we started too late and would now be subjected to the ‘Christmas Winds’ that plague mariners trying to make passage this time of year. “Damn,” I thought, “we’ll never make it to Grenada.” This mental pattern kept repeating itself, and made me determined even more to get us as far as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Well that tactic went over like a lead balloon! Soon I was spending a lot of time trying to convince Todd that we should push harder to use the weather to the maximum advantage. We’re sailors, right? Let’s just sail like the pros…overnight, multi-day, whatever we needed to cover more ground. In this effort, Todd naturally became irritated that I was always planning the next chess move. …Now, with that said, I do believe this exercise has merit. Coastal cruising is about planning for weather, finding protected anchorages (especially from winter cold fronts), and contingency planning. So it’s vital to know what’s ahead so you can make informed choices.

Then along came Rosie. Miss Rosalind Collie is the owner and proprietor of the Northside Restaurant located on a beautiful hillside property overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Along with her husband (who has since passed away), Miss Rosie has been running the place for nearly 15 years. She has no staff or caretakers…just herself and her three dogs. At 70 years of age, this is quite impressive!

We happened to meet Miss Rosie while hiking a long road over to the Atlantic side of the island to check out a pink sand beach. Realizing we did not bring enough water or sunscreen for the hot day, we were relieved when we saw her little car stop along the roadside to offer us a ride. What generosity! I could tell in an instant that I would like this little old lady with her beaming smile. It was Sunday and she was returning from church service. She was dressed in a beautiful lavender-colored dress with coordinating hat. She looked like the Queen of England! After hopping into her little car, she offered to take us to her home which was along the beach we were searching for. Of course, we quickly accepted the offer.

The steep drive leading up the hill to her place was full of potholes and overgrown vegetation. But that didn’t stop Little Miss Rosie from navigating them like a champ in her low-clearance Toyota sedan. Did I mention that lady is cool?! When we arrived at the house, it was like opening up a door to world full of magic. The “foyer” consisted of an indoor tiki-style bar complete with soft sand floors. The “living room” served as the restaurant with an indoor deck filled with picnic tables and the best collection of driftwood art I have ever seen. Through the glass doors overlooking lush shoreline vegetation was an outdoor deck with more tables and a stunning view of the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Wow!

After giving us a chance to look about, she welcomed us to walk along the beach before we trekked back on our course. We descended a wooden staircase and ditched our sandals. The beach was…well…EVERYTHING you want in a beach. Sugar soft sand, a pleasant incline down to the waves, and abundant beachcombing opportunities. This was simply heaven!

…but alas, after strolling along the beach for an hour, we had to return to the boat in preparation for an early departure the next day.

We spent the evening in route-planning mode stowing loose items, looking at weather charts, reading forecasts, developing a sail plan, reviewing sea state and tide data, etc. Did I mention that route planning can be a full time job?! But somewhere in the conversation, Todd said “can’t we just stay here a few days?” Hmmm. This would mean NOT taking the next good weather window and staying in this anchorage for over a week awaiting the next window. Could I amble that long? Would I go stir crazy? What the hell would we do here for a week? But something told me this was the right choice. So after a little contemplation, I agreed. We would stay.

We immediately made plans to spend more time at Rosie’s place and dine at her restaurant. We gave her a call and she offered to pick us up at noon the next day. We woke up the next morning excited to spend more time ashore at this beautiful destination.

After making our way back to Rosie’s the next day, we sat in the restaurant and patiently waited for Miss Rosie to prepare us a home-cooked meal. We spent an hour admiring her assortment of beach treasures including old glass bottles, coral rocks, shells and ocean-battered driftwood. She really has a keen eye for decorating with recycled materials which really appealed to me. I particularly liked the green fish netting that she fashioned as window valance treatments. Todd particularly liked the helium tank that she found washed up ashore several years ago. Apparently, it fell from the sky during a space shuttle launch and found its way to her beach. A government official was called to inspect it, and seeing that it was not some biological threat or important military asset, allowed Rosie to keep it.

Lunch consisted of a huge plate of pan-seared grouper, coleslaw, pigeon peas and rice (a Bahamian staple) and plantains. We were stuffed and happy customers! After eating, Miss Rosie came to sit with us. I’d read somewhere that she had met Nelson Mandela. Intrigued by this, I asked if the story was true. Before we knew it, she had pulled out a collection of life photos. She had, in fact, met Mr. Mandela while he was visiting the Bahamas to express his gratitude for the Bahamian government for their support in his liberation. Her photo collection was also full of family photos including her five children and nine grandchildren who live all over the world. She has a daughter in London practicing law, a grandson in Grand Bahama who captains passenger ferries, another daughter in Australia practicing internal medicine…the list goes on.

Miss Rosie’s own life story includes a lifetime of supporting education on the island. She and her husband started a primary school which served the community for over 30 years. It’s an understatement to say she knows everyone on the island.

After our trip down memory lane, Miss Rosie offered to let us roam her beach for another couple hours. There wasn’t a soul to be found on the beach that day. Naturally, Todd and I set up camp and settled into this simple, idyllic spot. Intrigued by what treasures I could find in the untouched wrack line, I set off on a beachcombing adventure. I found all sorts of ocean gifts including a small piece of fishing net that I fashioned into a purse and sea beans that drifted all the way from the Amazon river basin on ocean currents. Even Todd found some cool treasures himself.

Somewhere in my walk, it dawned on me. This is the real ‘cruising!’ This is what I was craving. Not a landscape checklist. Not zooming off to the next thing! Now my eyes were open to the true magic of cruising. I just needed to SLOW DOWN FOR A DAMN MINUTE!!!

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