Trip to Town: Rock Sound

Local band practicing at Ocean Hole Park in Rock Sound, Eleuthera.

Leaving the Berry Islands in our wake, we sailed Pandion about 100 nautical miles southeast to Rock Sound in Eleuthera. We had passed by Rock Sound during our first cruise last year, prior to our rollercoaster ride to the Exumas, and wanted to spend some time exploring the area. We found the friendly settlement to be a perfect place for provisioning, with plenty of fresh produce.

The Sound turned out to be a great anchorage for riding out several strong cold fronts with winds clocking from south to west to north and then east. The fleet of about 20 sailing vessels in Rock Sound moved around the harbor to find a safe lee shore as fronts passed through.

Local fishing skiff with S/V Pandion anchored in background.
Wonder what happened to the first So What?

Queen's Highway, the main street through the settlement.

The Keeper of Rock Sound.

During our hikes around the settlement, we discovered Ocean Hole, a local park designed around a blue hole that serves as the community swimming pool and a gathering spot for local residents. Kids were having a ball jumping off the dock and racing each other, and we could spot hundreds of reef fishes swimming below them.

Rock Sound's kids having some fun at the local Ocean Hole park.

Blue holes such as this one are tidally connected to similar holes in the Sound, allowing fish and even the occasional sea turtle to swim between. We read about a local resident who caught a shark and released it in Ocean Hole as a prank; his penalty: catching the shark and putting it back in the ocean. It took three days.

We also had the great pleasure of meeting Mike, a local resident who was born on Nassau and had a few stories to share about his life. As a young boy, he spent his summers in Rock Sound working for his Grandma ("Grammy"), who ran the Harbour View restaurant, now abandoned after a series of damaging storms. Mike would catch fish for Grammy using a hand reel, and hooks tipped with tin foil.

Mike, former 100 meter sprinter for the Pioneer Track Club.

Back in Nassau, in his 20's, Mike was a sprinter for the Pioneer Track Club, running the 100 meter dash in 10.45 seconds. That's fast. I ran track and cross country many years ago, so distance running was my thing, and I knew that the Bahamas was home to world class sprinters. Mike described brutal workouts running in Nassau back in the 1970's, as he worked to build his strength and conditioning. He also climbed the smoke stacks of cruise ships in Nassau and dove into the ship's swimming pools. An adventurous life, to be sure.

No need for Google Maps here. 

Rock Sound cottage along Queen's Highway.

While waiting out several back to back cold fronts, Brenda and I had a few more adventures in Rock Sound. While hiking, we came across a series of large caves complete with bats! More on that trip in our next post.