Wow, just an hour run from NP, that is outstanding! I bet Spanish Wells was a different sort of place then. I've heard about it since I was a teen but only visited there for an hour or so in 2014 when it was off season. Rock Sound, I bet you checked out the caves there? One of the most remarkable places I have ever kited was south of there at Lighthouse Beach on South Eleuthera, see below. It is a shame it is so hard to get to by land.
When planning my trip in 2014, I tried to find out what I could about probable wind and current conditions near the cliffs of Glass Window Bridge. I had serious concerns about a large dead air zone and some nasty refracted sea by the vertical cliffs. Both were the case particularly in onshore winds in 2014. The sideonshore wind in 2016 was a lot less impacted by the cliffs. I talked to some pilots for the Devils Backbone run from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island but didn't learn much other than boats navigate well away from that section of coast "Eleutheran Bahamians have a complex fascination with that place, a mix of pride, fear, curiosity, enchantment." I can believe it, I suffered from near as much within the first few minutes of seeing it. I have always preferred the out islands to the Nassau or GBI, the sights and sensations in the Family Islands are truly amazing. It is true, Nassau is going through tough times with corruption, foreign influence and crime. I hope they get things smoothed out there soon.
GregK wrote: ↑Fri Apr 28, 2017 6:40 pm
RickI wrote: ↑Fri Apr 28, 2017 1:24 pm
I have tried to find out what I could about the rages with limited success. What did you see as you approached Eleuthera? Were there unusual swells that you noted while still offshore or just normal deepwater waves? How did you head there via the Devil's Backbone or is there a back way in over the flats from the west, via Current, or ? What a great place to grow up!
It was and still is hopefully, I haven't been back there in over ten years. My parents had power boats, we would make the run from Nassau to Current, Eleuthera in just over an hour in calm weather, and stay at the quaint marina and club there. Occasionally we would go to Spanish Wells or Harbour Island in fine weather, but never went anywhere near the Glass Window in the boat. Sometimes we would get a rental car and drive down. My father was from Rock Sound and had family there. Eleutheran Bahamians have a complex fascination with that place, a mix of pride, fear, curiosity, enchantment.
Nassau is so messed up from what it was when I lived there long ago that going back is like a bad dream. But the Family Islands still have the true charms of the Bahamas.
Sadly, once I set the board adrift I never expected to see it again with the wave regime and all those undercut cliff bases. I even thought about tying my kite leash to it but with the exploding waves and dropping energy it was a poor risk to take. I would think it was smashed to stray glass fiber by now. We all take risks to be sure, best to try to make them informed risks with what preparation we can undertake. That's the theory anyway. It is ironic that getting washed back over the cliff into the drink got me sufficiently pissed off as to energize me a bit? It only took 8 minutes to get back that time once I had a clue how to make it happen, motivation!