Getting acquainted with George Town

Side note: If we haven’t made it clear as yet, our plans have changed again; this sailing journey was envisioned with the thoughts of sunny days, anchored in a lagoon drinking rum & cokes, however, it definitely hasn’t been that. I guess the challenges we faced coming down the east coast had us rethink our desires for this trip in its entirety. Even though it has been a great adventure, a challenge and has brought Julie and I even closer, it was also filled with anxiety...what will breakdown next, will the weather be as predicted, will our anchor drag, when will we run aground, did I tighten that doo-hickie, etc... We pushed on feeling we have to at least make it to the Bahamas...the most desired cruising location. Once here in George Town we found what we were looking for, what we had dreamed of all these years…ample sunshine, turquoise waters, many beaches, fishing, snorkeling, wind protection from all directions, good holding for our anchor, and a town that has everything we need and direct flights to and from Toronto. Cruisers we have met here that have been cruising for many years say there is no better place than George Town. Throw in the Cruisers and Island Regattas; you can be as busy or secluded as you want. We have fulfilled our desires and have no need to travel further…a large cruise ship in the Med and backpacking around Europe will be the next ticket. So we have decided to leave our boat here in George Town in a hurricane hole for four months and back November 1^st for another 6-8 months before packing it in and on to the next adventure in life.

Enjoying our anchor drink upon arrival  in GGT

We can't wait to get ashore to explore Stocking Island. At dusk, after investigating VolleyBall Beach,

Dolphin, not the eating kind!

a dolphin leads us back to our boat at the bow of the dinghy...what a great welcome to George Town. All boats anchored are required to have their anchor light (white light at the top of the mast) on from dusk to dawn. The 200+ boats made it look like a small city at night. We had a great nights sleep. Every morning at 08:00 on VHF72 there is a cruisers net. One cruiser volunteers to control the 'net'. Our net control for the harbour is Sue on Wind Dancer who does an excellent job. During this busy season, the nets last for 45-60 minutes. Sue covers any emergencies first, then local businesses can advertise, then community announcements, followed by anyone that needs assistance (looking for a part, help with electronics, knowledge of this or that), then Buy,Sell or Trade where you can sell anything (dinghy's, motors, anchors, kayaks, anything), then she welcomes any new arrivals to the harbour, then anyone departing that day. She then ends the 'net' with a thought for the day (which, in time, Sue unofficially nominated Julie to provide. Although, Julie responds slowly in the event that other boats may wish to participate.) The 'net' is a great way for all the cruisers to feel connected. After the 'net' everyone switches and stays on VHF68. Channel 68 is a buzz with everyone connecting and helping each other or buying and selling stuff. Every one monitors 68 all day and night...its the cruisers telephone.

Dinghy's landed on VolleyBall Beach

Socializing by Chat N Chill

Behind Chat N Chill at high tide

We took the 1.5 mile dinghy ride to George Town (disappointed that our smartphone died with several pictures, including pictures of George Town); Julie went for groceries, Johnny and I went to fill our fuel jugs. At the dinghy dock (with usually 40 dinghy's at the dock) in Lake Victoria (a small protected shallow lake for access to GGT) cruisers can fill their water jugs for free, usually $.40/gallon at the Exuma Yacht Club. The dinghy was loaded with four 5 gallon jugs of fuel and two 5 gallon jugs of water. The winds picked up and and the ride back was a wet one with winds blowing the waves splashing us...a good five gallons of salt water in the dinghy by the time we got back.

Gale storm suddenly appeared

Visibility was poor as boat dragged in the gale.

Later this day a storm cloud came through; winds 25-30knts; channel 68 was alive when at least five boats were spotted dragging. It was crazy....with high winds, rain and 2-3 foot waves, cruisers jumped in their dinghy's racing to help the boats in trouble. Two boats had no one aboard as they were in town when the storm came through. The dinghy's surrounded the boats in trouble, as one cruiser was on deck pulling up their anchor, the others guided the boat out of the anchorage and re-dropped their anchor to secure them. This experience provided true insight on how great this cruising community is...fellow boaters helping at a moments notice, doing whatever is needed.

The winds continued to blow and were expected for the next 24 hours. I slept in the cockpit in case others dragged or we dragged. I was up several times throughout the night to survey the surroundings, also checking the hand-held GPS to monitor if we were dragging. It was clear how important good ground tackle (anchor and rode) is. Boats crashed into one another, got their anchor caught on others, one smashed another and broke it's bow pulpit.

Our Rocna securely set in the sand

The boats that dragged did not have a Rocna or anything similar. Anyone that comes cruising in the islands must have a good anchor and chain rode, not rope.

Julie's first swim with a Dolphin