M/V Current Pride, serving North Eleuthera for decades, Upper & Lower Bogue, Hatchet Bay / Alice Town,

by Eric Wiberg

M/V Current Pride, of The Current settlement, Eleuthera, in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, c.2001

Photo source: Author’s photo/collection.

MAILBOAT NAME: M/V Current Pride
PAST NAMES: none
DIMENSIONS: 88 tons
CONSTRUCTION: wood
YEAR BUILT: not known
EARLY CAREER: Nassau, Upper & Lower Bogue, The Bluff, Current Island, North Eleuthera, and Gregory Town, James Cistern and Hatchet Bay / Alice Town in South Eleuthera, back to Nassau.

CAPTAINS: Capt. Patrick Neilly
FATE: not known – not in most ship indexes referenced
NOTES: Service to Eleuthera Settlements: Current Island, Hatchet Bay, The Bluff, James Cistern Departs Nassau: Thursday Time of Departure: 7am Day/Time of Return: Tuesday 11am Frequency: Once a week Sailing Time: 5 hours Fares: $30


The Current Pride “racing” a larger mailboat M/V Marcella III out of Nassau Harbour at dawn, with Montague Hotel in the background. Photo taken from the deck of the M/V Bahamas Daybreak III, c.1995.

Photo source: Author’s photo/collection.

NOTE: For more photos of the Current Pride see the blog entry “M/V Current Pride Photo Essay” dated April 25th, 2015.

Another blogger, Richard M. Langworth, cycled Eleuthera utilized the Current Pride to get there. He wrote:

“The Cur­rent Pride is a micro­cosm of the old Bahamas, laden with pro­duce (this really is a “banana boat”) and Eleuther­ans head­ing for the big city. You can’t pay for the enter­tain­ment you get free. One gent spent the entire voy­age singing and shuck­ing peas; another trolled part of the way and hooked a giant bar­racuda which flopped around on the deck and scared some of us passengers.

The sturdy, wood-hulled Cur­rent Pride shook off high seas and cov­ered 52 miles in four hours—and cost only $30, includ­ing cof­fee, sand­wiches and soft drinks.”

Source: “Long Island by Bicycle,” 29 April 2009, by Richard M. Langworth, http://richardlangworth.com/long-island-by-bicycle-january-2009


There is a better, more detailed photo of this well-maintained vessel on Flikr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/billfurry/316052469/

There is a good photo of the stern of M/V Current Pride unloading at Hatchet Bay by Teri at https://picasaweb.google.com/aquabacky/ELEUTHERAMarch2012#5719178931022921074

To watch footage of Current Pride unloading in Hatchet Bay go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMT5WfXCH-M

Source: http://www.bahamas.com/node/50261