GGT - The Bahamian Cruiser's Mecca

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Geo: 23.5191, -75.7559

January 14th, 2015 - We're in the Bahamian Cruising Mecca!

Hello all,

Hope this email finds you well. How are things with each of you?

We are now in Georgetown, Great Exuma, AKA the Bahamian Cruising Mecca. The day we arrived, about 50 other boats also came in. Everyone was keen to get here before the winds picked up. At last count a few days ago, there are presently 199 boats here and more arrive every day.

Since we've been here, the weather has been a bit crazy. Winds have been up, squalls have blown through, and in between, we've had some lovely sunny days playing in the water and on the beach. This really is an "adult playground".

Because it is high season, there is a very active Cruiser's Net every morning on the VHF radio. It is an opportunity to hear about organized events taking place that day, like Volleyball, yoga, basket weaving (it's not a joke), bread making classes, Rake & Scrapes at the local hotels, etc. They also have a section where cruisers needing help can ask the boating community for assistance. And then there is the Buy/Sell/Trade/Giveaway section. After the Net is over, the radio goes absolutely wild with boats hailing each other trying to be the first to get something they heard was for sale, or to plan their day with their friends. I really should record it and post it on the blog for you to hear! It's controlled chaos! 😊

Boy, do we ever miss Black Point and all our local friends there. While we were there we had a sense of purpose every day. Of course, most of our time was spent at Zhivago's restaurant and bar, and even if things were slow there, we were still on a mission to help him and get things done for him before we left. Now that we are back in GGT, everyday is like a vacation. To me, it doesn't quite feel like "real living". The part that I do enjoy about GGT is the social aspect of this big boating community. We get together with familiar faces like John and Joanne on Exhale who are from our home club, EYC. We are also anchored right next to Mighty Fine and we do enjoy spending time with Craig and Donna whom we've known since last season. And of course, we meet new people every day. It's like we live in a small floating town. I'm looking forward to the quieter anchorages that we'll find when we move further south.

We will move on when we have a good weather window. I'll try to post picture of GGT before we leave.

Tony's input to this email is "So sad about the Cowboys". He says that I should add that we can now move on without the need for finding a television for each and every football game!!! 😊

Sending Love and Kisses from the crew of Inspiration!


Blog entry:

This place is packed. There have been 150 to 200 boats anchored here for the duration of our two weeks here. We've only heard of two boats that dragged anchor during the overnight blows we've encountered. And from that, only one running light broke. Not bad odds considering we are pretty much all piled up on top of one another here.

Although we've heard from a few people that our favourite dolphin, Nicky, is around, we didn't see her on this visit. But we did do all the other fun things like hand feed the sting rays, watch the turtles, and cuddle those two adorable "kittens" (Lightning and Thunder) at the Chat & Chill.

We also enjoyed the view of the harbour from the deck at the St. Francis resort, indulged in a very civilized cup of coffee from the Driftwood Cafe, enjoyed a Bahamian Breakfast of eggs and corned beef hash at the local bakery, and grabbed a burger from the Exuma Yacht Club. We were sad to discover that the Chinese restaurant had closed. It really was a novelty during our last visit...I mean, who doesn't love having Chinese take out...or in our case "take-back-to-boat"! 😊

We've enjoyed the "reunions" that have taken place while we've been here in Georgetown. We've spent time on Exhale with John and Joanne, (our dock neighbours at EYC for 7yrs). Together, we've taught Craig and Christa (Simunye), and another couple, Ian and Jennifer (Lost Puppy) how to play Mexican Train Dominos. What fun! Also, we've had the chance to spend time with Dave, from Bliss II, who was our buddy boat for about three months last spring/summer. You'll see from the pictures that we are all rather silly with the way that we've become the "Bear Clan"...Dave started it. 😉

We've had nothing but trouble with our dinghy motor ever since the start of this leg back in Indiantown. First it was "serviced" but the work was "questionable". Then we had water in the gas tank which we solved in Lake Worth. Well, now, since the time that we got the dinghy back from it's "walkabouts" at Wardrick Wells, it's been running really rough.

Tony pulled the outboard up onto the beach, and took apart the carburetor. I got to help by cleaning the jets. We had plenty of moral support from Dave, Craig and Donna (Mighty Fine) and Bill and Maureen (Sweet Freedom). All clean now. Next time will have fishing line handy to use to clean all the tiny little holes in the jets. That would sure beat getting the carb cleaner into our mouths when blowing the jets to try to get every last little bit of dirt out. While putting it all back together, Tony dropped the pin for the float in the sand. It took five of us about 15 minutes to find it. We weren't getting up from hands and knees in the sand until we did!!! Another lesson learned. Next time we'll lay out a towel under our working area. Then Tony dropped a screw inside the engine. Bill from Sweet Freedom had to go to his boat and get forceps! They worked like a charm. It's incredible how many things we need to have on board for those "just in case" moments.

When everything was put back together, The guys lifted the engine back onto the dinghy and started it up to test it. Well, another oops! The oil dipstick hadn't been put back in place and hen forgot to put the oil checking stick back in before starting and OIL SPRAYED EVERYWHERE until we hit the emergency shut off. We all had a good laugh!!! 😊

We'll do it better next time. But now we know exactly how to do it!!! 😊

We moved across the harbour this morning in preparation for our early morning departure tomorrow. We're moving south. First stop, Calabash Bay, Long Island. We'll check out the Cape Santa Maria Resort again. ( http://www.capesantamaria.com ) It's beautiful. Probably one of the prettiest spots we visited last year that is also accessible to anyone who wishes to spend the money to fly there. I can't say enough wonderful things about this fabulous resort and it's staff.
The resort is Canadian owned and the staff we so kind to us last summer. We met some wonderful people and in a discussion with one of the managers, she actually told me that they were very happy to have us (and Bliss II at the time) anchored right off their beach because we added to their scenery and to the experience their guests were having. If you don't recall what it looks like, go back to the pics in the blog from June of 2014. It's on my list slices of paradise! 😊

So today's activities involved filling our tanks and spare jerry cans with fresh water and fuel, laundry and groceries. We are still well stocked with main staples, so this was just to get some fresh fruit and veggies, eggs and butter, etc. for the next few days. Where we're going there will be grocery stores. We aren't falling off the face of the earth. The locals, after all, have to eat too!

We've had our "departure meeting with Simunye and both boats are ready to go!

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Comments

[Sue Elwell]

See you are not hurting for good food??Would like to be closer so we could enjoy Tony's cooking!!

[J.]

Yummy!

[J.]

ahh yes, good idea lol