Governors Harbour 25.19942°N 076.24677°W
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April 11 to 13. As the wind from the previous cold front settled to the east north east and pretended to fade (it came back with a vengeance with gusts up to 28 kts straight from the north), we left Rock Sound and headed to Governors Harbour, 25 NM further north. A major surprise was waiting for us along the way: crab pots! We crossed rows, after rows, after rows of white floating buoys. To think that we celebrated after leaving the Chesapeake Bay, convinced that we were done for good with these things. Oh well. At least, judging by the amount of floats we saw, stone crab fishing must be a booming industry around here.

Crab pots! At least they're well aligned and visible here..

Just south of Governors Harbour, as we were approaching the rocky coastline, I had a similar reflection to when we arrived in Rock Sound from the sea: we could easily be in Quebec sailing along the Côte Nord. The cliffs and evergreens, which are about the right size to be black spruces from a distance, were providing absolutely no clue that we were still in the Bahamas. At least, not the Bahamas that we had known up to now.

Anchorage, the best spot is between the old dock and the construction site. Look for sandy patches close to shore.

Governors Harbour is the capital of Eleuthera. It houses a large clinic, the local government offices, a tourism office, a beautiful library located in a 19th century building and many historical buildings. The steep and narrow lanes, lined with Victorian houses, make us discover a different aspect of Bahamian life and bring us closer to civilization. The city is also the only one we’ve seen in months where there is a movie theater. How exciting; we’ll get to see a movie on the big screen, any movie! And what a deception when we came across the “Closed for renovations” sign… I suppose we’ll need to wait a little longer..

Is this a Kon-Tiki replica? Surprising that this raft made it here.

Haynes Library housed in a 19th century building. The interior is beautiful.

St-Patrick Anglican Church

Clearly a liquor store

Coastal Treasures, gift shop and you can even buy the house.

Plumeria (I think... if someone know what this is, please share)

Morris Minor in great shape

Victorian cottage

Fruits in a palm tree

Rooster and hen. There are a lot of free birds in town.

Steep and narrow lane

Buccaneer Hill

Cemetary by the sea

Mom and her chicks in the graveyard

It's the weekend at the Governor's Harbour Sailing Club

No dinghy dock but a long long beach...

that uncovers at low tide. We had pull hard to get it back in the water.

Eleuthera: Governors Harbour

11 au 13 avril. Après avoir attendu le passage d’un front froid dans la baie de Rock Sound, nous sommes partis vers Governors Harbour 25 NM plus au nord. Une grosse surprise nous attendait en route : des crab pots! Ce fut rangée, après rangée, après rangée, de petites bouées blanches qui se sont mises sur notre chemin. Dire que nous pensions en être finalement débarrassés en quittant la Baie de Chesapeake. À en juger par la quantité de pièges mis à l’eau, la pêche aux stone crabs doit être excellente dans le coin.

Tout juste au sud de Governors Habour, en approche vers la côte rocheuse, j’ai eu la même réflexion qu’en arrivant à Rock Sound depuis la mer : nous pourrions facilement être sur la Côte Nord au Québec. Les falaises et les conifères, qui ont le bon gabarit pour passer pour des épinettes noires de loin, ne donnaient aucun signe que nous étions dans les Bahamas. Du moins, pas ceux que nous avions connus jusqu’à présent.

Governors Harbour est la capitale d’Eleuthera. Elle abrite une grande clinique, les bureaux du gouvernement local, un bureau du ministère du tourisme, une magnifique bibliothèque datant du 19e siècle et plusieurs bâtiments historiques. Les superbes maisons victoriennes alignées le long de petites rues escarpées nous font découvrir une autre facette des Bahamas et nous rapprochent peu à peu de la civilisation. Governors Harbour est aussi la première ville depuis bien des mois qui possède sa propre salle de cinéma, le Globe Princess. Que d’excitation à la perspective d’aller voir un film en salle, n’importe lequel! Et que de déception de voir l’affiche « Fermé pour rénovations »… Et zut, ce sera pour les États-Unis.