The best of George Town and Stocking Island

On Dec. 3rd, we were up at 6am to make the slack current at Dotham Cut and begin a 45 mile sail to George Town, Exuma. The cut was choppy but Billy Ruff'n, and captain Andrew handled it well. The rising sun on the eastern facing cliffs made for a dramatic scene.

We hoisted the main in 10-12 knots, rolled out the jib and were moving along at 6.5 knots but the wind was a bit shifty. We set the spinnaker and picked up a knot or so and kept adjusting course and sails to keep Billy moving, eventually picking up to 7.5  knots on average and overall a nice sail. We arrived at Conch Cut, the entrance to Elizabeth Harbor, around 2:30 and slowly motored through the shallow spots to an anchorage off Monument Beach on Stocking Island, which is across the harbor from George Town.

George Town is a cruising hot spot with all of the essential services and a large cruising community. The  day after we arrived, we dinghied thru the narrow cut that provides small boat access to Lake Victoria and a town dock. We walked around, past the delicious smelling roadside barbeque, the park all dressed up for Christmas, the straw & souvenir shops, the hardware, some small hotels & restaurants and back to the liquor and grocery stores for provisions.

That evening, back on Stocking Island, we took a dinghy ride to the hurricane holes with numerous boats tucked up in them, past Chat & Chill Beach Bar & Grill, to Peace & Plenty Beach Resort, with its sweet beachside cottages and romantic cliffside restaurant.

Over the next few days we survived a hike to the top of Monument Hill, drew our boat name in the sand and took pictures of her in the background and played Backgammon with Mike & Mary from Dream Weaver, who we continue to hang out with almost daily. 

For lunch one day, we enjoyed delicious frozen mojitos and fish sandwiches at Peace & Plenty and the next day fed stingrays and savored the most excellent conch salad, expertly prepared by Renaldo, who has been catching and chopping conch at Chat 'n Chill since he was 16 years old.

So now, you are caught up with where we are in our 2021 Bahamas adventure. We will most likely be hanging out here in George Town until we fly home for Christmas on 12/20. Hope to catch up with many of you in person over the holidays.