THE GEORGETOWN THING

Georgetown, Exumas 23º21.48N | 75º45.94W

Underway to Georgetown.

That sketchy cut at Emerald Bay was kind to us. There was swell, but it only tossed us around a bit. Nothing scary. We had a brisk and exhilarating, door-to-door sail today in 18 to 20 knots of wind with good swells. The wind direction wasn't ideal (is it ever?) so we tacked way out into Exuma Sound and back in -- several times. Picking our way into the enormous Elizabeth Harbor, we dropped anchor right next to Unicorn for a long awaited reunion with yet another cruising couple we met in St. Mary's at Thanksgiving and hooked up with again in Vero Beach.

Within the cruising community, Georgetown is either famous or infamous, depending on whether you're a supporter or a detractor. Hundreds of cruising boats anchor here, some all winter, in Elizabeth Harbor east of Georgetown, the largest town in the Exumas. This is, at some level, a boon to the local economy even though cruisers are not known for throwing around cash. However, with hundreds of boats provisioning and going out for beer, I'm sure it adds up. Some of the cruisers have found ways to support the community, raising funds for various projects. (I'm sure there are other ways that cruisers give back. If you know, please comment on this post.) On the other hand, a big percentage of these hundreds of boats pump their waste into the otherwise clear harbor and have been known for pressing the limits of "free" offerings such as water and wifi.

There is an actual governing committee for the floating community here with a "cruisers' net" in the morning for news, weather, local business ads and allotted time for arriving boats to check in and departing boats to say farewell. A cruisers' exchange follows for boaters to offer and partake of goods and services. There are organized activities such as poker, volleyball, swimming classes, basket weaving (really), bridge lessons, and their ultimate week of activities surrounding cruisers' regatta culminating in a ceremony and talent show on shore.

We timed our arrival in Georgetown after the crowded Cruisers' Regatta (unfortunately missing a few friends) and before the Bahamian Music and Heritage Fest, a few days after most of the cruising boats left the still-crowded harbor.

Double reefed. The new reefing rig is working great.

We're once again anchored down amongst friends and looking forward to some Rake and Scrape!

STOCKING ISLANDERS

Emerald Bay, Exumas 23º46.7N | 76º5.11W

Church in Rolleville, Great Exuma.

What do cruisers do when they have a car? Provision! But not before taking care of business -- and breakfast.

Dale (Jessie Marie), sweet guy that he is, noticed that the workbench on Sea Gal is in a part of the boat with only about five feet of headroom, about a foot and a half too short for Barney, so he decided to donate a stool to the cause.

In a replay of yesterday, we stood on shore howling, whistling and waving, this time with a stool.

Karen and Dale hailing Sea Gal.

Barney came over in the dinghy, and, always one to entertain, he didn't disappoint.

Barney trying out his new stool.

Next order of business: breakfast. We drove along Great Exuma with visions of omelets and toast and bacon dancing in our heads. The Bahamians clearly had a different vision that ran more toward sheep's tongue and pig's feet. Soup. 

AWESOME. If you like souse for breakfast.

The guys decided to go in whole hog, so to speak.

Dale had pig's feet.

Chip had sheep's tongue.

I chickened out and had chicken.

And you were wondering why I found breakfast blog worthy. We eked through the souse, just that once, but found the Johnny cakes spectacular, somewhere between bread and cake. Yum.

Finally, we hit the supermarkets. Real, well-stocked supermarkets, our first in seven weeks, where you can even shop from a list.

Living large -- and well provisioned.

No, Chip's not picking up extra cash, he's carrying our purchases
from the liquor store (which did not include any wine).

TWO dock carts of groceries.

SHOWERS AND OTHER BLESSINGS

Emerald Bay, Exumas 23º46.7N | 76º5.11W

"You must go to Emerald Bay Marina."

This is something we heard time and again as we neared Georgetown, from cruisers young and old, rich and poor. The selling points as advertised: $1/foot (really cheap), free wifi, nice showers, shuttle to grocery store, free laundry. It was that last one that finally clinched it for us.

There must be a catch, right? Well, it's not so much a catch as a challenge. The cut to get into the marina is a wispy slice between a rocky beach and a manmade concrete breakwater. The cut faces the deep Exuma Sound, so if the wind isn't right, or worse, is all wrong, well, don't even stop there.

Emerald Bay cut on a VERY CALM day.

We had been plowing through big swells on the sail from Lee Stocking, and as we approached Emerald Bay, I looked through the binoculars to see even bigger swells sweeping over the entrance. We debated for a few minutes whether to leave the mainsail up to traverse the channel. Conventional wisdom says always leave a sail up when passing through a cut, but this one was so narrow and once past, there was little room to turn into the wind to drop the sail. Our choice was to drop the sail and rely on that great Yanmar engine that has served us so well.

Natural perils to the north.

Approaching the marks, we could see the big swells head across the channel from the south and break on the jagged rocks on the north side, so we erred toward the southern side, knowing the swell would push us north. As we passed the first mark we were lifted high up on the first swell, looking down at the mark as we went by it. The next and the next came across our stern, shoving us forward and dragging us to starboard.

Some friends who had arrived the previous day told us they nearly broached in that channel, taking on a lot of water through an open hatch.

Manmade perils to the south.

Chip managed -- quite ably -- to keep us in the channel, and we emerged on the other side in perfectly placid water with very wide eyes. Once we were tied up in the lap of luxury, all was forgotten.

Our last marina was in Nassau, six weeks ago. In the intervening weeks, we have visited remote outposts, always anchored a dinghy ride from shore. Water, trash, provisions, laundry all had to be ferried to the dinghy, from dinghy to boat. Our last proper land shower was in Nassau.

Cara Mia and Jessie Marie, snuggled up at Emerald Bay.

Now we luxuriate in an embarrassment of riches: a supermarket in walking distance, free laundry just down the dock, trash cans and water right beside the boat, shampoo, conditioner, hand cream and sunblock provided in the bathrooms -- private bathrooms with showers!

We have renewed joy in land life's most rudimentary conveniences.