Georgetown
With fresh groceries secured we anchored off Stocking Island which is directly across from Georgetown. This area is notorious for being “the hangout” of the Exumas during the winter season. We were also warned by other sailors that Georgetown is “like Hotel California because if you aren’t careful you will never leave.” Hundreds of boats anchor here sometimes for months at time. We met a woman from Nova Scotia who keeps her sailboat in Georgetown and has spent the last 35 winters in Georgetown! The boat count was at 300 when we arrived and made for a twinkling night sky with all the anchor lights.
On January 15th after taking Queso to the beach we went to check out Chat N Chill which is a beach shack bar with a shed that makes fresh conch salad, volleyball, swings, picnic tables and sting rays that wait at the water’s edge for conch snacks.
The next day we dinghied across the bay to town and had to squash into the dinghy dock. This is where most of the cruisers in the area come for town errands.
Right past the dinghy dock is a small pick up truck that collects all the trash from boaters. You place your trash in the back and then pay through the slit in the window. There is no recycling here and I found it very hard not to hoard the recyclables until we returned to the States.
I sent some mail at the post office and Nate did not have faith that my mail would be delivered. However, my mail DID get to the various destinations, even France. Good on ya Bahamas Post. We supported the annual regatta by purchasing a visor and this event is a week long fundraiser put on by the cruisers to give back to the community. Unfortunately we would not be in town during the big event. We found a wonderful spot for lunch called Sandpiper that served fresh hummus and salads. We returned often.
That night we saw SpaceX’s Starship explode during it’s seventh test launch. A sailor had reminded the boats anchored over the VHF that a launch was happening in a few minutes. We were not expecting to witness the explosion!
On the 17th of January Jo, Queso and I explored by hiking up to the monument on Stocking Island. The monument was build long ago to serve as a navigational marker for sailors. The trail is short but steep with ropes attached to the rock which helps you scramble up. You can see the new Coconut Club below with the anchorage in the distance. On the other side, I scrambled done the hill/dune to wide beach on the eastern side of the island.
Every morning during the winter season at 8am the anchorage has a “cruiser’s net” over the radio on VHF channel 72. This daily broadcast quickly became one of our favorite times of the day while in Georgetown. I always had my tea brewed and would have my needlepoint on hand to keep my fingers busy while listening. This was such a wonderful community building activity and such a simple way to connect people.
Anyone could volunteer to lead the morning broadcast and there was somewhat of a script followed which went something like this: First an opening song which often related to the date, such as a singer’s birthday and a few bars of their music would be played. Next would be “urgent news”, if someone was having an emergency or needed assistance quickly. Departing boats were next so those wanting to say goodbye could get underway. The moderator usually asked where that boat was headed and wished them safety. Then the weather and tides were announced. Business announcements would then follow. For example you might hear about happy hours, viewing of Super Bowl, local band or water taxi. Event announcements was my favorite as this included activities planned by cruisers such as beach yoga, “fun” volleyball, regulation volleyball, poker, pickleball, snorkeling, hiking, first aid and talks about sailing certain routes. Kids corner was for the youth activities like bonfires but usually involved children getting on the radio and telling a joke. Nate’s favorite part was the trades which allowed for sailors to get rid of items not needed and gain new items. We traded an Ocean Atlas for some ground coffee with a family that plans to circumnavigate the globe. They drove their dinghy over to our boat to make the trade. Nate got lucky because they had Dunkin Donut coffee. New boats were welcomed which was fun to hear because you learned where people had arrived from. There were almost an equal number of Americans and Canadians. Lastly questions were asked and people could stay on the channel longer to hear answers. For example, has anyone had Amazon delivered to the Bahamas? Is there a local dentist?
