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9am water aerobics, 2pm volleyball, 7pm dancing, Repeat

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If you’ve read or heard anything about cruising in the Bahamas, you’ve probably heard about Georgetown on Great Exuma Island. It’s the capital of the expat community during the winter, with a plethora of daily activities on offer, such as: water aerobics, yoga, volleyball, dominos, music lessons, and Texas Hold’em. Not to mentions infinite opportunities for hiking, snorkeling, and exploring. Of course, Georgetown also provides all the basic services that cruisers need, such as groceries, laundry, fuel, and trash. Georgetown earned the nickname of Chicken Harbor because so many cruisers with plans to continue south get caught in the gravitational pull of Georgetown fun, and eventually discover that the entire season has passed by, driving the decision to chicken out and head back to Florida this summer, and try again for the southern Caribbean next year.

It was an easy couple of hours sail from Emerald Bay to Elizabeth harbor, once the northerly winds and swells had finally calmed. Sanitas rejoined her buddy boats at an anchorage just off Sand Dollar Beach, and we quickly got dragged ashore to the Chat ‘n’ Chill on Stocking Island for our introduction to the festivities.

Chat ‘n’ Chill, aka Volleyball Beach is the social hub of the area; a beach bar that also doubles as the church, book exchange, volleyball league, and domino club. We spent A LOT of time here over the next few days, meeting other cruisers, and getting my kitty cat fix by hanging out with the very laid back ginger tabbys.

On our first night in the harbor, we attended a bonfire on Sand Dollar beach where we met the crew of SAVA, who are home-schooling their two children aboard, and watched the captain of Maitre ‘d twirl Polynesian fire balls. The evening was marred a bit when Z-Raye’s dinghy went for a walkabout without her captain well after dark. We put out an APB on the VHF to get everyone in the harbor on the lookout. And somehow, Stan and Chris of Disorder were able to find her, drifting in the middle of Elizabeth harbor, in a 2 knot current, making a break for Miami. I have no idea how they were lucky enough to spot her, tie her up, and tow her in using only flashlights! Note to self…. apply reflective tape to our dinghy, Bug.

After celebrating Sharon’s birthday with burgers at Splash Beach Bar, we climbed to the top on Monument Hill and surveyed the view of the harbor and of all the boat names memorialized in stone on the beach. We accepted the challenge and made our own stone tribute to Dock 4, the home base in St Petersburg of our whole group.

In Georgetown, I got my hair cut for the first time since Miami. I walked into Trainee’s hair salon (and fish market) and got a pretty darn good cut for $20. Unfortunately, Trainee was sold out of fresh fish for the day, lol.

I spent one fun afternoon on my Isle inflatable standup paddle board. It took a while to build up my courage to go farther and farther from the boat. I tend to get lulled into a false sense of security, when the water and wind are still, and I am moving at a brisk pace in a comfortable direction. Then the breeze picks up or a wake comes through the anchorage (Or I simply realize I need to turn around to get back to where I started) and it all falls apart. Today, I made it all the way around Sand Dollar anchorage, getting up close and personal with several green sea turtles, and then as I approached Sanitas, I realized I had no idea how to stop. Lacking any other plan, I pretty much ran right into her. When the paddle board stopped so suddenly, I fell off and had to collect my hat, sunglasses, water bottle, and paddle before trying to board the boat with some level of dignity intact.

Capt. Mike’s sport of choice is volleyball. Back in Colorado, he used to play on several different leagues, at various levels of competitiveness. As 2:00 approached each afternoon, I could sense him getting more antsy and ready to head over to volleyball beach. If I wasn’t ready, I’d have to follow later on the SUP, or catch a ride with another boat. He had a blast burning up the court every afternoon …. and still has the raw marks on his knees healing slowly to show for all those dives into the sand, sacrificing his body for the ball.

On our last night if Elizabeth Harbor, we dinghied over to Georgetown to attend the rake ‘n scrape at the Peace and Plenty hotel. A Rake ‘n scrape is traditional Bahamian live music, usually played with a base, accordion, and saw – maybe even a washboard. This one was a bit more polished than most, with electric guitars provide most of the melody, and one lonely quiet saw soloist way in the back. It was a great evening though, dancing to the band at the lovely outdoor patio, and hanging out with locals and other cruisers on Archipelago, Mariposa, and Wavelength. Mike noticed that the bartender was getting overwhelmed with customers early in the evening, so he offered to carry in a few cases of beer and to reload the beer fridge. She allowed him to help out until a second bartender arrived, earning a few free beers for his efforts!

Did I mention how large Elizabeth Harbor is? In my imagination, I had always envisioned a small, manageable harbor, ringed by pristine white sand beaches, where every business and amenity is right within reach. In reality, Elizabeth Harbor is huge, and there are many available anchorages to choose from depending on the weather and winds, and if you’d rather be close to Stocking Island socializing, or close to errands and shopping in town. So when we committed to dinner, drinks, and dancing at Peace and Plenty, we knew we were in for a long dark dinghy ride home across the harbor in Bug. We made it, and somehow Capt Mike was able to pick out the exact anchor light belonging to Sanitas from the constellation of artificial stars ringing the bay, and aimed us straight at her. Our first stay in a Georgetown for the season had come to a close, and any lingering crustiness we would feel the next morning on our sail east was worth it for the fun of dancing outdoors on a beautiful evening.

Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park

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In 1958, the Bahamian Parliament set aside 176 square miles of islands and surrounding seas as protected national parks. The Bahamas National Trust administers these parks – one of the only non-profit, non-governmental organizations in the world to manage a country’s conservation efforts. (Sometimes I wish the US national parks were protected in a similar way from political wrangling. Poor Bears Ears). The goal of the park is to protect fish and wildlife, and to conserve the islands within it in their natural, undeveloped state. And thank goodness they do, because the result is an amazing, gorgeous cruising ground, filled with sea life and with natural wonders.

Shroud Cay

Our first introduction to the park was at Shroud Cay, where we explored the magical beaches that appear at low tide, and went for a “dinghy hike” through the mangrove creeks.

The water at Shroud Cay was so clear, we could see every ripple and rock on the bottom from the bow of the boat in 18 feet of water. Or, toes from 5 ft 9 inches, during a floating happy hour on the beach!

It was fun getting lost in the mangroves…. puttering along at no-wake speed, tossing a coin to decide which direction to go at intersections, drifting the dinghy onto sand at dead ends. We saw a turtle, and sting rays, and finally did find a beautiful sandy beach on the ocean side of the Cay.

The best part of our stay at Shroud Cay was that Drew and Sharon on Z-Raye (who we hadn’t seen since Key West) sailed all the way up from Georgetown and surprised us there! The entire team from St Petersburg marina Dock 4 is reunited again!

Mike planting a tree on Shroud Cay beach

Warderick Wells

The jewel in the crown of Exuma Cays Park is Warderick Wells Cay. If you have an image in your mind of what an island in the Bahamas might look like, this is probably the closest match! The north mooring field is a narrow U-shaped band of deep water with room for about 20 boats, surrounded by shallow reefs and sandbars, excellent for snorkeling. At low tide, the central sand bar becomes an off-leash dog park and sundowners hang out. There is no development on the island, except for the ranger station and residence.

Legend has it that a ship wrecked just off shore of Warderick Wells, and the ghosts of the ship’s crew haunt BooBoo Hill, moaning and wailing in their despair. Today, cruisers leave driftwood signs with their ship names atop the hill in the hope of better luck for themselves and their vessels. It is the only place in the part that varies from true Leave No Trace ethic; as long as the signs are made of natural materials, the offers are encouraged. I made my own, accidental offering to the gods of the sea. Returning to Sanitas in the dinghy one evening after Sundowners, I lost my polarized prescription sunglasses off the top of my head in the frenzy of activity while boarding the boat. Capt Mike kept into action, scanning the water with a flashlight, and stripping down in preparation to go for a swim. But the current swept them away.

The whole crew took a long hike one morning. Although we are right a sea level, it is surprisingly tricky hiking, with the rocks and sand and small steep hills. But the rewarding views of oceanbeach, tropical vegetation, and boat harbor are stunning. The island is named Warderick Wells because the fresh rain water forms a “lens” floating on top of the saltwater in the works of the island, and people used to live on this island by harvesting the water from wells in the porous rock. It also supports a larger variety of vegetation than you find on most islands.

It’s no wonder that celebrities such as Johnny Depp and David Copperfield keep private islands in this part of the Bahamas. We’ve become Bahamas National Trust members, so I certainly hope to stop at the park again o; our way back north. Trust members get priority in the daily scramble for mooring balls. It’s a fun process to eavesdrop in on the VHF. Sherri, at the park, mans the radio on channel 9 at 8:00 am. First, she asks for departing vessels, who tend to make a shaft but gracious speech about how much they have enjoyed their stay, and thanking Sherri for her support. Then who plans to arrive today; and you can hear the stress in their voices, as they wait to learn whether a ball is available for them, or if they need to find another, less gorgeous, spot for the night. Finally, folks who plan to arrive tomorrow request to be added to a waiting list for moorings. All of this chatter takes place with the usual VHF radio protocol. Hail ” Exuma Park”, wait to be recognized, make your request ( hoping your radio is high powered enough to be heard), repeat back what Sherri said to ensure you heard correctly. Sounds easy, until every boat within range is calling out their boats name at the same time, stepping on each other’s transmissions, ignoring the polite order and protocol, or being too pushy and getting of Shari’s bad side. It is good Theater first thing in the morning!

Marsh Harbour, the Hub of the Abacos

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After leaving Green Turtle Cay, we intended to meander through the rest of the Abacos, maybe spending a night or two on Great Guana Cay, and Treasure Cay, and Man ‘o War, and then head south to Eleuthera and the Exhumas.

BUT

Winter storm Quinn, which pounded Cape Cod and brought widespread power outages to Washington DC and snow days to much of the East Coast was felt all the way east in the Bahamas. No snow here, of course, but the low pressure cell brought high winds from the north and crazy high seas. And we found ourselves waiting out a weather pattern with a new low following just behind the last one every two or three days; not allowing the sea swells to calm back down to normal levels. So we took shelter in Marsh Harbour, where one night turned into ten nights before we felt confident continuing south.

Marsh Harbour is the third biggest city in the Bahamas, and we each had a need for a “city”.

  • SE of Disorder needed a new membrane for their water maker.
  • Orion needed to repair or replace their dinghy, which no longer stayed afloat.
  • And Sanitas needed to try again to repair our leak (see Tool of the Day … Life Calk)

Even after 10 days, I don’t have much of a good impression of Marsh Harbour. Probably because I spent most of the stay doing chores: walking back and forth to the bank, grocery store, hardware store, and liquor store in the hot sun. And I didn’t really love the Conch Inn Marina where we stayed for most of the time. They are the local Moorings charter base, and I got the impression they thought private boats were second class citizens compared to their charter boats. We did accomplish several boat projects, such as changing the compost in the toilet, removing the rust from much if the stainless steel on the deck, working on the bilge projects, etc. But we did manage to have some fun!

Happy hours at Snappas, where we showed Sharon and Drew how much we missed them.

Cookouts at the Conch Inn Marina pool, complete with Full Moon party, and swim-noodle-water-launcher contests

Whole fish and margaritas at Colors by the Sea

I was introduced to “my former co-worker Justin’s current co-worker Caroline’s parents” (phew) Rob and Sharron, who introduced us to the cruiser community at the Jib Room at the Marsh Harbour marina. We spent quite a bit of time there, enjoying the high speed internet (and the bilge burner rum punches), working on taxes, and celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary at Rib Night and with a limbo contest!

We crashed the beautiful, high-end Abaco Beach Resort one afternoon, and enjoyed a lovely beach day and a first attempt at stand up paddle boarding. And we took a ferry over to Hope Town for a day. But that’s another post …

We Untie the Lines

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Finally, after three months in St Petersburg, we are leaving this safe home base, and heading south. Ready or not! The marina does start to exert its own gravitational pull. The environment is familiar now; we even have our favorite walks and restaurants. We have made friends on the docks. TC and Suzanne who live on the beautiful sailing vessel Arabella and hope to start cruising next year. Robert and Rhonda on Eagle Too who have given us lots of good advice on cruising and provisioning. Doug and Glenda, from Ontario, who are doing the great loop of North American waterways, and have been fun happy hour companions. Pat and Melana who sail a beautiful catamaran and have been gracious hosts, hopefully leaving about a week after we do when their sails are replaced.

It would have been easy to keep puttering around on projects, socializing, and packing. But Drew and Sharon picked a date, and we used that as our motivation to get moving. I had to have a little heart-to-heart with Mike on our last morning in the marina. In my best wifely tone, I gently suggested “maybe it’s time to stop tearing the boat apart on new projects, and start putting the boat back together again.”

Our last few projects involved registering the car in Florida, so we wouldn’t get fined while storing it (which only took three attempts at the DMV) and selling our townie bikes. That part made me very sad, and I sent mike in to Play it Again Sports to do the deal so I didn’t have to watch. I asked if he told the clerk that her name was Olive Oyl and if he promised to take good care of her.

Anyway, on Sunday morning, 21 Jan, we finished our last fill of the water tank, last check of the electrical systems, said our last goodbyes, and finally untied the lines and left St Petersburg. Gulp!

Super light winds meant we were pretty much just motoring, not sailing, but they also ensured a smooth Tampa Bay, and an easy trip under the Skyway Bridge, past Eggmont Key, and sound into new territory. An easy six hour motor, and we were on a mooring ball at Marina Jack’s in Sarasota by 4:00. Just for comparison, to drive from St Pete to Sarasota would have taken us just over an hour. We are definitely doing slow travel now!

Put the dinghy in the water, and headed ashore to celebrate our first day at happy hour, and luckily stumbled into the Sarasota Seafood and Music Festival. Fun opportunity to dance to a soul and funk band while eating shrimp. So far, this cruising thing is off to a good start!

Visitors (part two)

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Anne and Tony are friends from when we all lived in North Yorkshire in England. This fall, they also sold everything, and moved onto their adorable RV, Betty Ford. When they learned we were in southern Florida, they changed their plans to visit us in St Pete. Lots of fun to cook dinner together, catch up on stories of friends and travel, and even to work together! They have a goal of volunteering as they travel. On this stop, they helped us repair a leaky deck fitting, and pull hoses for a bilge pump project. Thanks Anne and Tony!

We choose a beautiful blue sky day to go for a sail on a Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, it was only a 35 degree day! We bundled up in literally ALL our clothes, and were pretty much the only boat out on the water. Anne and Tony were great sports, and stuck it out with us. But we did decide to come back to shore and heat for lunch!

thanks for visiting, for cooking us delicious Thai Curry and Lamb Meatballs, and for sailing with us and helping with projects! And good luck on your own journeys!