Georgetown, The Exumas

Georgetown is the end of the road for many cruisers. It is a nice protected harbor and we shared it with more than 200 other boats. Every morning at 8:00, the VHF radio comes alive with the morning weather report, business announcements and specials, community announcements and then boaters swap to fix broken stuff or get rid of unused spares. There was yoga on Sand Dollar beach at 9:30 AM, lap swimming at 10:00 at Honeymoon beach, volleyball everyday on…you guessed it…Volleyball beach. Pig roasts were held every Sunday, Texas hold’em poker and bridge games, basket weaving, Turks head bracelet making and more. We met several cruisers that came for a week or so and have stayed for 15 years!

We enjoyed much of what was offered for 10 days while we waiting for the 20 knots of wind to ease up for our next move. Kim started weaving a basket, but after learning how long it may take, it may stop as a hot plate. Emily had a fellow cruiser aboard Barbara make her a horn out of a Conch shell. Many of the cruisers herald the sunset by blowing a mournful sound on these timeless instruments or firing off a cannon shot. We have now joined that rowdy bunch as Emily lets out a bellow each day as the sun sinks below the horizon. We attended “Beach Church” each Sunday morning and Emily sang and performed in the Children’s Choir in front of more than a hundred attendees.

We had our first test of our medical skills one day on the beach as Emily learned about gravity and the pendulum motion of a wooden swing as it contacted her forehead. A small gash opened up and provided copious amounts of blood and excitement on the beach. Daddy stopped the bleeding with a leftover Conch salad napkin and we launched the dingy and were back on the Hospital Ship Emily Grace in 5 minutes. Daddy provided some comfort assuring Emily that she most likely would survive while Mom injected novicaine from our medical kit and proceeded to put in a single stitch to close the wound. After liberal applications of antibacterial juice and some cleanup, we were back on the beach in an hour. I’m happy to report that it’s healing well and the small wound is hardly noticeable up near her hairline.

We enjoyed meeting several new friends that were heading to Trinidad that we are sure to see time and again as we island hop south. Lois and John aboard Topaz had just finished their global circumnavigation and were interesting to talk with. We particularly enjoyed spending more time with Corey and Linda aboard Livewire II that we have known for several years. They have now been cruising out of Connecticut for over 5 years and have been generous with their knowledge as we were starting out. Linda baked two pizzas aboard Livewire II for our farewell dinner and they were devoured by both crews.

We were not alone in waiting for the wind to die down and move East and South. We left in the dark and motored through calm seas past Long Island to Rum Cay and were soon joined by Georgetown friends on Bay Pelican, a Krogen 42 trawler. Marty and Deb are cruising with their Cockatiel “Mugsy” and we shared Deb’s first overnighter as we traveled with them from Rum Cay to Mayaguana Island. This is the southern-most island in the Bahamas and tomorrow we will both scoot further south to the Turks and Caicos Island…and into a new country. Kim and Emily have already made the new British Ensign that we will need to fly there.

Stay tuned, Dear readers. We will continue to post as we find spotty internet connections among the islands. We have no idea what further adventures await us there.

Tom