We are enjoying blogging from the public library in Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera, the second largest in the Bahamas, next to Nassau. The view from the balcony off the lofty second floor allows us to keep an eye on Windspell as the holding in the harbour is less than ideal. The day is however very calm and sunny. The library was built in the 1890's and restored in the 1990's. Governor's Harbour is where the Eleutheran adventurers first settled in the mid 1600's. This was also the capital prior to Nassau.

Now for the underwater photos we promised that our good friend , Frank took while he was visiting aboard Windspell.

Frank aboard Windspell eating gourmet pb sandwiches ...with beer!

Coral wall outside the Thunderball Grotto at Staniel Cay.

Inside the Thunderball Grotto

Walt feeding niblet corn to the fish inside Thunderball Grotto

A sergeant major fish checking out Frank's underwater camera!

A spiny lobster hiding under a ledge.  Spiny lobsters don't have claws but taste just as  good as  Atlantic lobster!

A nurse shark with remoras clinging on for the ride.

A loggerhead turtle (I think?) swimming by...

Dinghy ride up the mangrove swamp at Shroud Cay with Windspell in the background.

Rocky Dundas island, near Cambridge Cay, is known for its caves containing stalactities and stalagmites.  You swim in at low tide.  Check out the size of the cave relative to Walt's flippers showing in the lower right.

The Champagne Baths on the north end of Compass Cay.  Ocean surge spills over the ledges creating bubbles in the shallow pools on the leeward side of the island.

We will continue heading north as we explore more of Eleuthera. At some point we will rent a car as there are lots of places to see that would be hard to reach by boat. We had toyed with the idea of heading a bit further south before turning around but the winds were contrary and the thought of beating our way to windward for the next week when we have the opportunity to sail comfortably north was just too tempting. After all, it is also about the sailing.
Yesterday we met a guy in front of his beautifully restored cottage who struck up conversation with us as we strolled past his flower enshrouded home. He was fairly tall, slim and spoke with a mild British accent. He has a home in Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay and another in Europe. He rotates through the three places seasonally. In the driveway sat a beautifully restored  Austin Mini  convertible in a cream colour. As he drove by us a little later, Donna and I both had the same thought that he could be an "our" vintage rock star from the past, now in humble seclusion in the Bahamas.
After this blog we will do a bit of Internet research to see if this has any validity. Barring the research, if we run in to him again we may just bluntly ask him. After all with names like Donna Ried and Walter Ried we also have some notoriety, albeit  unearned!
Layer today we will hike over to the Atlantic side where there is supposed to be a great beach.
Bye for now,
Donna and Walter