Buddy boating with Agility & Valianna

In early February, we enjoyed ocean beach walks, Mango Pina Colada's at the Snappy Turtle, volleyball at Chat 'n Chill, sailing on Agility with Jeff & Krista, a couples massage at The Beach Club on February Point, taking pictures of other peoples boats under rainbows and hiking to the Monument and Da Sand Bar (otherwise know as StarFish or FlipFlop Beach) with the crew on Agility and our new friends, Carl & Val, on s/v Valianna. Here are some of my favorite pics:

On Saturday, February 12th, Andrew and I set sail for Cat Island, 50 miles northeast of George Town. We had a nice sail (some of it with our chute up) in 12 to 15 knots out of the SE and caught a fish on the way. I posted a picture of the fish on an Exuma group website and started a debate that lasted for 95 comments! Some thought it was a Spanish Mackeral and not edible, others thought it was a wahoo (including Andrew, at first), but most identified it as a Cero Mackeral and good eating. We arrived at New Bight in time for cocktails and the sounds of throbbing reggae music coming from shore while Andrew set to the task of filleting and cooking the fish. 

The following day we hiked up Mt. Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas, to The Hermitage, a small monastery built in 1939 by the renowned architect and priest, Father Jerome. That afternoon, our friends on Agility and Valianna arrived in the harbor, along with almost two dozen other boats that had the same idea of riding out the blow expected over the next few days, in this relatively protected harbor.

On Valentine's Day, we picked up some yummy cinnamon bread at the local bakery, and met up with our friends to visit Debbie's Straw Works (some of the best I've seen in the islands) and sit on tires at the bright blue restaurant called Lil Gippy's to eat lobster and conch, as we watched the weather roll in.

On the most blustery day, we chose to go sailing on Valianna, a Chris White designed catamaran with foil sails. The guys couldn't wait to see what it was like to stress test the foils in 20-25 knots. Once they got it moving forward, instead of backwards, it was wet and invigorating! 

We had planned a road trip the next day, but instead gave showers to our boats in the pouring rain until it cleared up in the afternoon and we went ashore for a game of backgammon with the locals and an impromptu Rake & Scrape (beach party with music played on a drum, an accordion and what looks like wooden kitchen implements) organized on the VHF by the cruisers.

We finally had a day that we could rent a car to explore Cat Island with Carl & Val (from Valianna). We drove along the coast to Fernandez Bay Resort, a beautiful spot that is owned by a Canadian who bought it for a family compound and decided to keep it going as a business, and on through Arthurs Town, which is where the actor, Sidney Poitier was born. After turning around on a dirt and stone road with potholes as big as our car, we had lunch at a roadside shack where Kizzie cooked up the best curry chicken and sweet potato fries I've had yet.

Once the weather settled down, Andrew and I had a window of opportunity to motor to Conception Island, a National Park 36 miles south of Cat Island, which is quite beautiful but very exposed. The island offers idyllic pink sand beaches and the clearest blue turquoise water you can imagine but we never found the good snorkel sites that were promised in the guide book. We did however, enjoy a dinghy ride in the mangroves where we saw a dozen turtles too quick for me to photograph. 

In the harbor off Conception we were joined by an aqua blue, Italian designed power yacht, which Andrew decided he would like to have if we ever went to the dark side AND won the lottery. It gave us a 4 hour head start but ended up following us into Calabash Bay, Long Island, where we had hoped to dine at the Santa Maria Resort. Unfortunately, they were full but the overnight stop broke up the windless motor sail back to George Town, where we'll be spending the next few weeks.

Hanging out in George Town, Exuma

Billy Ruff'n returned from Long Island to George Town, Exuma in order to meet up on January 22nd with a group of Salty Dawgs that we've come to know over the past few years. We met up at the Moriah Harbor Cay National Park shelter off Sand Dollar beach with the crews from Snow Cat, Gemeux, Change Up and End of the Road. It's been great getting to know these folks and having get-togethers here and there to share stories of our adventures.

The next few days were about as calm as we have ever seen it in George Town. We cleaned the boat, re-provisioned, did laundry and other housekeeping rituals and then moved the boat to Guana Key (at the southern end of Elizabeth Harbor) to make water and check out some snorkeling venues. The coral was decent with lots of fan, brain and black specimens but only a few schools of small blue & yellow fish and the occasional big one. Unfortunately, I don't have underwater pics but some nice ones of the serene waters at sunrise & sunset.

On Jan. 27th, Andrew and I celebrated 32 years of marriage by enjoying a special dinner at The Beacon at Kahari Resort on Stocking Island. We don't go out much for dinner so the night-time dinghy ride into the lagoon for goat cheese & beet salad, Langousta in curry pepper sauce and fried cheesecake were an enjoyable adventure. 

The next day, after picking up fresh fish in town from the hairdresser, who's husband is a fisherman, Andrew had to perform an underwater rescue of our snubber hook. He had it connected to a spring loaded J-hook that sprung which required free diving 20 feet to retrieve it. That was his exercise for the day!

The following afternoon, we were hanging out on the boat when a dinghy came charging up to our stern. We were commenting about how close they were and that they were going to hit us, when they called out our names. It was Heike & Jurgen (and their daughter) from s/v Valentin, that we met in Spanish Wells a month ago. We jumped in the dinghy to have drinks with them at Chat 'n Chill beach and pick up dinner to go. That's how our social life often works here in G-Town.

The next few days we were mostly hunkered down on the boat for a blow that lasted a couple days, venturing out at least once to see if we could find a place to watch the NFL playoffs. We decided to check out a new joint for us, the Rusty Anchor on February Point...beautiful view, decent food, no TV.

There are a record 290+ boats in the anchorages of Stocking Island these days, and more dinghies than I've ever seen at the town dock! The boat community chats every morning on the net on channel 72 and throughout the day on 68, announcing all kinds of gatherings & events. One day at dusk, a boat who had been watching the movie, Don't Look Up (about a meteor hitting the earth) proclaimed that a meteor was passing overhead! Turns out it was not a meteor about to hit the earth, but a Space X rocket launch from Cape Canaveral... a pretty cool sight!!

A few days later we were hunkered down again in steady winds at 30 knots, gusts to 40! Out of shear boredom, we made a tool to clean the back of the oven and I discovered Wordle. When it gets too rough to run our own errands, we'll try to use 'the harbor conceirge', a fellow name Jamal, who will pick up or drop off trash, ice, fuel, etc., except on busy days when we need him most, he can be hard to get, so we made a wet run across the harbor in the blow for ice.

On Feb. 4, a good friend from home, Jeff W. (on s/v Agility) and his fiance, Krista, arrived in the harbor, providing us with new friends to play with. Their first night, we had a great meal of sushi & duck wings at Exuma Yacht Club and an adventurous dinghy ride back trying to find our boats in the dark. The next day, I rowed my SUP and Krista rowed their kyack into Chat 'n Chill for some volleyball, drinks and conch salad.

It seems like we spend our days playing while waiting around for a weather window to sail somewhere and just when one opens up, some new friends arrive. I am definitely not complaining...George Town is a fun & beautiful place to hang out and we will continue to do so until the next weather window (or playmate) arrives!!