We decided to mosey over to an area to which we had not yet ventured, Harbour Island. To get there from our wonderful anchorage beside Meeks Patch (gosh, we like that place!), the shortest route is across the infamous “Devil’s Backbone,” a shallow reef that runs across the northern end of Eleuthera. The number of vessels that have been wrecked is countless and thought to be more than anywhere else in all of the Bahamas. Heck, this is where the first British colonists sailing on The William wrecked in 1648, thus “founding” the area. Scary, right?
Oh, and regarding the chart above, kinda makes sense that the backbone is above the Mans Bottom!
Okay, back to the task at hand. Yeah, we were all a bit hesitant, so we hired a Pilot from Woody’s Eleuthera Pilot service (actually Woody’s son, Benson) to take us both through during high tide.
As a crawfish fishing crew headed south from Spanish Wells, we cruised to the north, going around Charles Island and the edge of Spanish Wells proper.
Now, about those rocks – no, not these:
We took our starboard turn to enter the Devil’s Backbone just north of Ridley Head. No problem so far. How about Terry and Lynn. Still snuggled up close?
The other side of Ridley Head is ruggedly scenic.
Enough of that sightseeing stuff. Keep your eyes open for the tricky part. It is difficult to capture in photos because the coral heads are beneath the water, which is obviously the problem. You have to read the route by colors. Polarized sunglasses help a great deal. (Bet the colonists would have appreciated having some onboard.)
The reef was to our port side. The starboard side was, again, quite scenic.
And checking on Terry & Lynn. Everything okay back there?
The guy was hours early for his appointment for transit through the Devil’s Backbone. Our pilot told him tough luck. He asked if he could follow. Sure. Then he asked if we could do better than 10 knots, and the answer was NO. And unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough room for a pass due to the reef. (Could most likely have passed the Grey Poupon, though.) Instead, he stayed tucked right up there, and then actually hailed on the VHF to “let them know he was there.”
We passed by a few more reefs. (No helpful arrows this time. By now you know what to look for, right?)
Once we made another starboard turn at the eastern tip of Eleuthera to enter the harbor, the water got really pretty. Shallow for a stretch but pretty. Aaah.
Oh, and our follower? No worries.
As soon as we got through that last skinny (shallow) section, our neck-breathing, big, tag-a-long gave us all a courteous, slow pass and happily went about his way.
And then, finally! We were through the Devil’s Backbone! Yeah! Hey, we should get t-shirts made! 😉
Our Travels 