The first day of spring.
The weather was due to act up again. Winds were to be light and variable making sailing impossible. Then a lesser front was due to pass with some west winds followed by stronger northwest to north winds during the day on Friday. We would not see the normal east winds until Saturday. We had to decide whether to stay in Rock Sound until Saturday when we could sail north or make a move motoring to hunker down at a less protected place. We decided on the latter. Our intended destination, Goulding Cay Harbor was reported to have great holding in soft sand. It would be rocky with the southwest and west winds but should offer protection from the higher north winds Friday.
We set out early in the morning motoring across a calm bahama bank that we renamed Lake Eleuthra. It was a beautiful morning and very comfortable trek. We were able to use our autopilot a lot to steer as there were no waves. That allowed us to move around the boat more. Solar was excellent.
A pair of dolphins came to swim at our bow.
On our way, we got a text from Warren the artist. He had forgotten to take a picture of us with his art. He asked us to send one.
It took us about 7 1/2 hours. We watched the rocky Eleuthra coast pass by, this section with rock cliffs and few beaches. We saw the narrow opening cut to Hatchet Bay where we had chartered a boat on our honeymoon. We passed the resort where David dinghied ashore to call for a tow when our motor broke down. Finally we arrived at Goulding , a beautiful little harbor with some rock islands and a gorgeous beach. We could see the Glass Window bridge to our north with waves from the ocean spilling through. We will explore that on Saturday.
Even though it was already choppy when we arrived, we braved a trip to the beach for a walk and a swim. We found a calm place to land behind the rock islands. There are private dwellings/ inns on the beach but swimming and walking are permitted. We met a young couple Eva And Damien who are sailing on s/v Suzy Manuela, a small steel boat painted bright blue. They are headed south. They met working in Bar Harbor on a schooner for 3 seasons. They bought their boat in Florida and worked from October to January getting it ready and then started sailing. They recommended some Abaco destinations. Their favorite spots were the lighthouse at Hope Town, snorkeling at Moraine Cay. The also liked Pelican Cay snorkeling area.
We returned to the boat for sunset and dinner. We shared some guava duff which was very good even cold. It is a sponge cake with a pink guava swirl in the middle covered by a white runny icing. Very good. We then decided to try and sleep for a few hours before the wind picked up from the southwest.