Current Cut & the Queen's Bath

 The exit from Spanish Wells was a little tenuous since we were leaving near low tide. With a little puckering from the captain, we made it fine.

While underway, Carol & Barb coiled & stowed the lines & fenders.

Once anchored near Current Cut, Jim & John checked the anchor to make sure it was well planted. Then, off to explore. We found a trail that seemed to go to the cut so we followed it - successfully.

This old wooden boat is still used to ply the waters in the area, transporting people and "tings".

We found our way to the Current Settlement where most of the homes were in pretty sad shape.

There was a bit of rock scrambling to work our way back to the dinghy. Though there was rain in the distance, it never made it to us. We were, of course, the only boat around for miles.

The Current Cut is a 40-foot deep cut between two very large, but shallow bodies of water that the water rushes through due to tide action. For about 30 minutes at each tide change, the current totally stops and reverses direction and then immediately picks up speed to a swift 6 knots.

We try to time our passage to be close to one of the slack tide changes. Today, we decided to first see if there were any fish John & Jim could go spear fishing for. We didn't see anything worth diving for so, we decided to snorkle through the cut.

On the first pass, John, Barb & Carol rode the current. Jim dropped them off in a little eddy and they swam to the raging current and were swept through the cut. On the second pass, Carol & Barb kept watch in the dinghy while Jim & John swam the cut. It was quite exhilarating to go that fast!

Late morning as we neared slack tide, we pushed through on Samba and headed 10 miles over to the Glass Window.

Once anchored, we headed ashore to check out the Queen's Bath, the hot tubs & the Glass Window - maybe 4 miles altogether.

The Queen's Bath is surprisingly deep and refreshing after a hot hike. The deepest part is at least 6 feet deep!

We had heard there was a small beach bar maybe a mile beyond the glass window so we went exploring. Though we did find it, no one was there. Bummer.

On the way back, we found a blow hole near the side of the road that was spouting water from the wave action of the ocean.

The Glass Window is the narrowest part of Eleuthera and used to be a natural bridge with a "window" that the water poured through at high tide. After a hurricane blew it apart, the Bahamas built a bridge across the gap. Even now, they occasionally close the bridge when the seas are high and waves are splashing up over the bridge.

As the sun went down, Carol & Barb celebrated with the requisite blowing of the conch horns.

Tomorrow, we head down to Alabaster Bay and one of the most beautiful and secluded beaches in the Bahamas! Stay tuned!