Surfing Bahamas

We arrived in Eleuthera Sunday afternoon around 3pm. We arranged to have a rental jeep waiting for us so we could head straight to Surfer's beach and catch a session without wasting any time.

We got to surfers beach and the surf was building around stomach - chest high and fun. We surfed until Sundown. It was great to be back in Eleuthera. We hit a bar in Hatchet bay at night and caught up with some of the locals we met last year. The people of the Bahamas are so nice, they never seem to forget a face and are always willing to help. Sunday's Pics.

Monday 10/9/06 we woke up and hit a morning session with the surf around chest high. The tide was high first thing in the morning, but there was enough swell in the water to keep Surfers Beach breaking. We came in for lunch and surfed until Sundown. The swell built to around shoulder-head high by the end of the day.
Monday's Pics.

Tuesday - we knew from the forecasts that this would be the day with light and offshore wind and the swell peaking. We checked surfers beach first thing BUT it was an extreme high tide and too deep to break off the reef. We could tell the swell was there, we just needed the tide to drop. So to pass the time we decided to checkout a lagoon in Gregory town that surfer Pete told us about. The lagoon was awesome! It looked like something you'd see on a movie or cartoon. We swam, snorkeled, and dove from a cliff to pass the time until the tide dropped later in the morning. We returned to Surfers Beach and the waves were breaking well around shoulder high with offshore wind. We surfed until the evening, but we really wanted more rights. (Surfer's beach is mainly lefts, the rights get risky sometimes going over the shallow reef "Bone Yard") We decided to look for a place just North of Surfers beach in Gregory town called Holiday Beach. We surfed some fun open rights at Holiday beach, which was more of a reefy break than Surfers Beach.
Tuesday's Pics Page 1.

Tuesday's Pics Page 2.

Wednesday - we hit the surf first thing and found some fun clean surf opening up on the inside section around chest high. The swell would start fading later in the day. We surfed all day and hit Hatchet Bay for some Rake N' Scrape at the local Bar. Rake N' Scrape is definitely a sound out of the Bahamas. Where else can you go to and find someone playing a saw as a musical instrument?
Wednesday's Pics.

Thursday - we checked the surf first thing and it wasn't happening on high tide, so we decided to go checkout Current Cut, where we heard you can score some of the best snorkeling and diving in the Bahamas. We ended up at a ship yard near current cut and swam and snorkeled. We found a bunch of conks everywhere in this area. Current cut was actually a little further North than where we ended up. From what I understand you let the current take you for miles as you drift over some of the best sea life scenery in the Bahamas. After current cut we headed for N. Eleuthera to take a boat taxi over to Harbor Island. They were getting ready for the Regatta, which is a huge event for Harbor Island. The streets were already filled with music and people celebrating. We ordered some Kalik beer and headed for Pink Sand Beach. The Bahamians say Pink Sand Beach is the most beautiful beach in the world. You can also find some of the freshest and tastiest seafood on Harbour Island. In our last trip in 2005 I ordered a Lobster Burger for only $7. It was honestly the best lobster I've had in my life. I nocted a hamburger at the time went for $8. Who would have thought? So I returned to the same food stand looking for a lobster burger, which was no longer on the menu! I settled for the grouper ($10) and the grouper was probably the best I've ever had! We left Harbor island and checked the surf at Surfer's Beach in the evening and surfed a small session before sundown. Thursday's Pics.

Friday - we scored a fun clean session on low-incoming tide.The swell was fading but surfers beach can break off only a few feet of swell. When the surf wasn't happening we decided to look for some of the other breaks we read about. So we hit the road and found Hatchet Bay, the shark pit, and James point. Both breaks need a big North swell to work. We wanted to find these breaks incase they were working the next time we were in Eleuthera.
Friday's Pics.

Saturday - was our last day in Eleuthera. Our flight was at 3pm out of N. Eleuthera. So we hit another session on low-incoming before we packed up and headed back to the airport. Looking back on our week in Eleuthera, if I could have changed anything, I would have surfed those fast rights at Holiday Beach more when the swell was 5-6' earlier in the week. It's a much faster break than surfer's. There's a lot more reef and rocks, but worth surfing if you have the time and a good swell to work with. Saturday's Pics.