Waiting Out the Weather in Rock Sound

On Friday the 13th we crossed the 46 nautical miles from Cambridge Cay in the Exumas east to Rock Sound on Eluthera Island. If I had known it was Friday the 13th I might have been nervous but cruisers never have a clue what day of the week it is so I was fine.

We ended up staying 4 days instead of the planned 2 because there was a weather system coming in with thunderstorms and winds shifting 180 degrees in a span of a few hours.  Rock Sound is one of the few protected harbours in the Eleutheras and we had a good anchor set so we decided to stay put.

In addition to the well protected anchorage with good holding, Rock Sound has 3 major things to offer cruisers - the best grocery store outside of Nassau, a great swimming hole, and a very cool cave system.

The Caves are known as the Spider caves.  The name terrified me but fortunately while I saw lots of webs I didn't see any spiders. Tourist attractions here are so low key that you almost miss them.  We were only able to find these through detailed directions in a cruising guide - "walk south of town until to reach a church on the left side of the road.  Across the street is a gap in the guard rail. Go through the gap and follow the trail until you find a ladder.  Climb the ladder down into the darkness". The directions were spot on except that the ladder has been replaced with a very sturdy set of steps.

 

Rock climbing in a dress as one does.

The Ocean Hole in town is a 600' deep hole that is connected to the ocean through a deep cave system.  There are some small jumping cliffs (10-12') surrounding it which makes it a popular spot for tourists and locals alike. After exploring the caves and getting covered with dirt, Sam and I were happy to don skivvies and have a dip.

I guess I should have mentioned Rock Sound's 4th cruiser attraction - Samood Groove (nee Sam Smith).  He entertained us Bahamian music and stories of his family in the Bahamas and the lessons he has learned in his 60+ trips around the sun.