February 2013

It has been nearly three weeks since we arrived in George Town.  Yes, it’s a great spot to visit and the folks there are very nice, but…

To paraphrase a friend, “there’s George Town and there’s the Bahamas”.   I agree.  To visit George Town is like visiting some sort of retirement community and when you get 600 retirees in the same place for months at a time.  Each morning there are announcements on channel  72 and by the time they are all done an hour has come and gone.  That’s a lot of announcements, and activities.

Activities include, dinghy parades, pet dress up (no I didn’t make that up), dinghy poker runs, volleyball, softball and a blur of other activities.   And, the highlight of the season is the Cruiser’s Regatta, beginning this week that is a series of events that takes place over a period of nearly two weeks with some 300-400 boat participating.

Someone described the George Town scene in this way.  “Imagine getting some 500 successful A type retirees together for 5 months and have them organize activites.”  Yes, it’s a lot of activities.  Fun,  yes, but not for 5 months.

Well, on Saturday, yesterday, we got a weather update from Chris Parker and headed out of Dodge.  The winds were a bit heavier than predicted with 20-25kts on a close reach, and some “meaningful” seas.  After an hour we decided to head back in and wait for better weather.  We didn’t know how long it would take to get better weather but, Eureka!!!  Today, when we woke up the weather looked perfect, and it was.

So, we headed out to Long Island and had a great, relaxing sail over to the northern tip of Long Island and are now anchored along side a beach that I understand is ranked as one of the top ten in the world.  Yep, it looks pretty good.

While Brenda enjoyed a short nap, I headed ashore for a visit with some friends that are here too and shared their rum punch.  Pretty good to anchor the dink in knee deep water, wade ashore and be handed a glass of punch.

The water is really clear and on our way in we saw coral heads all over the place.  However, these reefs were nearly 20 feet down but because the water was so clear, they looked like they were going to rip the bottom out of the boat.  Alas, the charts said otherwise and we coasted easily over them.

I am told that the snorkeling is great here so hopefully, we will have our first lobster dinner.  Wish me luck.

This is the view from Pandora’s cockpit to the nearby beach.  Yes, looks like a “top ten” sort of place to me too.

Indeed, this is the “real Bahamas”.  Miles of soft sandy beaches and palm trees.  Hmm… I could get used to this.  No wait, I AM USED TO IT!!!

Hopefully, we will be on our way to Long Island on Saturday and from there on to the Jumento’s  which is very remote with no services but lots of good shelling and fishing.   A friend of ours who’s visiting from Canada stopped by today to talk about his recent visit there.  It sounds like great fun and we are hopeful that the weather will cooperate for a run to Long Island although it may be a motor boat ride.  Getting good winds to get there are few and far between so perhaps the “iron jenny”, will have to suffice.

In town for some fuel today and other essentials, including more rum.

Yesterday we had a short squall  come by and it left this most amazing double rainbow.   Now, this isn’t something that you see every day.   The mast looks a bit odd as the photo was taken with a wide angle lens on my GoPro.

Sunsets and sunrises here in the Bahamas are quite something to behold and the sunset two nights ago was particularly beautiful .  It’s hard to say which moment was the best but this shot should give you an idea of what we saw.  To share an “adult beverage” in Pandora’s cockpit with Brenda while enjoying a view like this is a remarkable experience.

Last evening we also visited “Hamburger Beach” to listen to a jam session of cruiser musicians.   The musicians included the usual guitars a fiddle and some great vocals.  Of course, the repertoire tended toward the 60s and 70s, which tells you something about the age of the group that hangs out here in George Town.  For better or worse, Brenda and I fit in just fine but I am happy to say that we skew to the youngish side.  Yes, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  It was fun to meet some new folks as well as see old friends again.  For me, one of the highlights was a massive bonfire on the beach.  It was fueled by a lot of driftwood and was a sight to behold.  I doubt that such a conflagration would be possible in the States with the constant fear of litigation there.  Not so in the Bahamas where “don’t worry, be happy” is the way they like it.

It looks like we will be here for a few more days as we are waiting for a good sailing day to head out to  Long Island.   However, the forecast isn’t clear with some complex weather patterns in the area.   Hopefully, the weather will be favorable for a run by the weekend.  The problem is the island is nearly due east from here which is directly into the prevailing winds so getting a fair wind is against the odds.

Today we went for a hike on Stocking Island, a picnic lunch on the top of Monument Hill, and a walk on the beach.  Brenda was a happy girl as we found lots of tiny shells. As this is such a popular area, there aren’t many big shells to be found but we found some great little ones that I expect she will make into jewelry.

The water colors were breathtaking today.  What a beautiful day to be on the beach.
We are going to talk to another couple who has a lot of cruising experience this evening about heading to the Jumentos, a remote chain of islands that we’d like to visit.

It seems like we have been in George Town FOR EVER, two weeks as of today.  I don’t believe that I have ever been anchored for two weeks in one place.

From the perspective of folks that spend the season here,  two weeks is about how much time it takes to get an anchor well set.   But, that’s from folks that anchor here for the entire winter.  Yikes!  It’s a nice place but we are about ready for a change of scenery.  Perhaps that’s because I am still coming from the New York perspective, home of the world famous “New York Minute” and two weeks is a lot of those.

Speaking of New York, a neighbor sent me this photo of our home in CT following the blizzard.   Perhaps this is old news to you northerners…I guess I prefer this view taken on the same day.    Yes, there’s a bit of white in this photo too, but a different sort of white.  Me, I prefer a warm white.So, when will we leave and head elsewhere?  Soon, I hope, as the blue horizon beckons.

It’s Monday afternoon and Brenda and I enjoyed a quiet day aboard Pandora.   Now that the boys have been gone for a few days, it seems that things are getting back into a pleasant rhythm.   We do miss them terribly but it’s nice to be rested again.
It’s been very windy so we have basically been boat bound for the last two days.  Happily, the heavy winds held off until after we delivered the boys ashore but it’s been screaming pretty good since then.   As you can imagine, sleeping hasn’t been that easy as we have been constantly listening to the wind in the rigging as she sails back and forth on her anchor.  Because of the twin head stays and mast set fairly far forward, Pandora isn’t docile at anchor and tends to be more restless as the wind picks up.
Happily, the sandy bottom and shallow depth makes it easier as there is only about a foot under her keel at low tide and that means that even if she moves around a bit, it’s not much given the very short scope on the anchor chain.  After years of dealing with double digit tides in Maine the 2-3′ tides here are a treat.  Also, we are getting pretty good at reading the water depth based on the color of the water.
Today, February 18th, marks the one month anniversary of our arrival in the Bahamas and I am happy to report that we are getting used to the warm weather.  (Yes, I know that you have been concerned that we’d never adjust to warm in February)  I can’t say that we are crazy about the often very strong winds but on balance, it’s a very pleasant place to spend time.   The good news is that after some three days of strong winds we will be treated to a good stretch, perhaps five or more days, of reasonable winds.   I guess that it’s better than snow and ice.   Let me think about that for a momentů  Yes, better.
It is our hope that we will be able to make a run out to Long Island or Conception, a 25-30 mile day sail, later in the week and have our fingers crossed that the weather and winds will cooperate.  Chris Parker suggested this morning that we might get a good sailing wind by the weekend.    I am hopeful that we will catch a mahi-mahi as they are great eating and common on the ocean passages.
This afternoon I was suffering from a bit of cabin fever (it doesn’t take long for me to develop an acute case, actually) so I took the dink out and went to the beach for a walk.  After a morning spent changing the oil on the main engine transmission and the oil in the generator, I needed a break.  I also have spent hours trying to hunt down a persistent fresh water leak on the pressure water system.  I can’t find it but know that there is a leak as the pump runs periodically, even if we aren’t using water.  It’s making me crazy that I can’t find it and frankly, I have exhausted about every option in trying to find the source.    I have torn up much of the floor, aft cabin and under the cockpit to no avail.
Oh well, I’ll just make more.  Did I say that I LOVED our water maker?   Yes, indeed.
When  I visited the beach today,  I brought the dink ashore in a nice little mangrove stand.

Perhaps I’ll close with a nice scene that greeted me as I walked across to the beach.

Yes, I like this “new normal” of winter in the Bahamas.  Pretty niceů