{"id":43160,"date":"2021-06-09T16:03:24","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T20:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=43160"},"modified":"2023-05-06T17:35:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T21:35:36","slug":"sailing-the-bahamas-devils-backbone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/story\/destinations\/sailing-bahamas-devils-backbone\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing the Bahamas\u2019 Devil\u2019s Backbone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Bahamian <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Bahamian pilot Bandit arrives in his skiff, ready to lead a small armada through the reefs of Devil\u2019s Backbone.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jon Keller<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

It\u2019s called Devil\u2019s Backbone for a reason: It\u2019s a dangerous stretch of rock, coral and shifting sand shoals along Eleuthera\u2019s north shore. Winding through this spine lies the passage from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island. By most counts, a local pilot is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I began hearing about the Backbone while in the Abacos<\/a> on my Tartan 34, Jade<\/i>. A handful of boats was piled in Little Harbour, staging for crossing the Northeast Providence Channel to Eleuthera. Folks at Pete\u2019s Pub in Little Harbour hunched over beers and cocktails and talked about the Backbone\u2019s danger and beauty, and even the more-seasoned sailors told me to hire a pilot boat and make the run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days later I was in Spanish Wells, known as the hub of commercial fishing in the Bahamas<\/a>. The harbor is basically a canal or mangrove river that you enter from the south through a gap in a coral wall. Rows of fishing boats lie tied to the docks that line the north side of the harbor, and the main street runs along those docks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend had flown into the Eleuthera airport to sail for 10 days, and we splurged on a mooring and paddled my little Soar inflatable canoe across the harbor to explore the town. The main drag follows a traditional working waterfront. There aren\u2019t palm trees and beaches; it reminded me of Maine\u2014commercial fishing boats, a large shipyard, old men sitting in the shade talking, kids with fishing poles, and barges, ferries and commerce all focused on the water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man in a golf cart quickly stopped and asked where we were going, and soon we were in his cart for an impromptu tour of the island. He\u2019d been a fisherman and pilot there his entire life, but now, in his 80s, he was retired. He honked and yelled at friends, showed us the town and his house, and pointed out recent changes to the landscape. The ride took over an hour, and by the end of it, I asked him about the Devil\u2019s Backbone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo we really need a pilot?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He became animated, nearly offended. \u201cYou need a pilot,\u201d he said. \u201cDefinitely. I\u2019ll find you one.\u201d He took out his cellphone and made a call. No answer. \u201cCall me in the morning,\u201d he said and gave us his number. \u201cMy name is A-1. I\u2019ll get you a deal on a pilot. Call me. A-1.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was a bit hesitant. I\u2019d already asked the guy we\u2019d rented the mooring from about the trip. His name was Bandit, and he was a pilot too. But the price was high enough that I\u2019d been considering taking my chances with the Backbone without a guide, but if A-1 could get us a deal, that seemed worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spanish <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Spanish Wells, on the island of St. George\u2019s Cay, was once the final stop for Spanish ships, which would fill their water tanks there before setting sail for\u00a0home.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jon Keller<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Back at the boat, I deliberated. I examined the chart and searched the internet for information but found nothing beyond warnings. One cruiser\u2019s blog said they\u2019d used their AIS to track transiting boats, and then painstakingly plotted the coordinates to use as waypoints for a track. Even with those, they said, they were on high alert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We returned to shore for dinner. Another local in a golf cart picked us up. He said he\u2019d been a bargeman for decades and had done the run across the Backbone thousands of times. \u201cGet a pilot, mon,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never done it before; get a pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the morning, we rendezvoused with the crew on a boat named Tyee who I\u2019d met back in North Carolina. They were a young Russian couple from Boston with a 2-year-old. We decided to be sensible. We\u2019d split the cost of a pilot. I called A-1 to see what he had. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he answered, he wasn\u2019t the kind octogenarian he\u2019d been. He was hard business, angry. \u201cYou already talked to Bandit. You go with Bandit.\u201d And he hung up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More:<\/b> from Jon Keller<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we went with Bandit. I was a bit confused about the switch in A-1\u2032s personality, but quickly concluded that the pilots are an organized group that sets a price and sticks to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bandit was similarly unhappy with us, but he told us to follow him. There were three boats going through, and he\u2019d be aboard the lead boat. Our share for his services came to $75. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day was flat-calm and sunny, and we exited the harbor single file and rounded the rocky tip of Eleuthera. The run was beautiful, though on a day with any winds out of the north, it would be impassable. Reef to the north, beach and surf to the south, and our three boats snaked through it all. Other boats were out there, all with pilots\u2014the guides\u2019 small skiffs with outboards trailing behind the yachts they were aboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Spanish <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Today, the working waterfront is the home to a busy fishing fleet, as\u00a0well as all sorts of commercial vessels.<\/span>\n Courtesy Jon Keller<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Coral heads passed by, dark shapes looming in the water as we zigzagged toward the beach, then cut back out. A few miles later, we were through it all, with Current Point off the starboard bow. From there, it was a clear shot to Ramora Bay and Harbour Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We anchored beside Tyee and snorkeled the outside reef. Bandit continued with the third boat to Harbour Island. We talked with Tyee\u2019s crew about the Backbone, and agreed that the entire thing was blown way out of proportion\u2014on a decent day, a competent cruiser who\u2019d navigated reefs could make the run. We\u2019d barely veered from the rhumb line on our chart plotters. But there\u2019s also an interesting cultural aspect to the pilots\u2014a cruiser has a local aboard their boat, and they get to hear their stories and pick their brains for local knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We anchored that night in a surprisingly popular anchorage off Man Island, then headed to Harbour Island the following day. Then a band of bad weather hit and kept us stormbound in Ramora Bay, the Devil\u2019s Backbone unnavigable to any boat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week later, we left without a pilot. The water was still upset, sloshing with leftover storm slop, and we could see some residual swell breaking over the outer reef. We made the passage easily enough without ol\u2019 Bandit, but we did see two cruising boats bound for Harbour Island that were aground on an uncharted sand shoal. They were on the radio, calling for a pilot boat, and Bandit was on his way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a voyage south, Jon Keller is back writing from his home in Maine.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While in Spanish Wells, Bahamas, a cruiser debates whether or not to get a pilot to navigate the infamous Devil\u2019s Backbone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Jon Keller","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20210609","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"162","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"A cruiser in the Bahamas debates whether or not to get a pilot to navigate the infamous Devil's Backbone from Spanish Wells to Harbour Island.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"YBJMLFZEMFFCTORHJUI4Y5F7OI","arc_website_url":"story\/destinations\/sailing-bahamas-devils-backbone\/","custom_permalink":"story\/destinations\/sailing-bahamas-devils-backbone\/","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[162],"tags":[281,258,1237],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43160"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}