Certain days are perfect domestic days, and those are usually the ones when the wind is dead so the dinghy rides will be dry.
Monday lived up to its forecast as there wasn’t a ripple on the water’s surface. After breakfast and a visit from the pump-out boat, we met Mili from “Morning Glory” and Shane from “Guiding Light” in town to try out a laundromat we’d heard about. Though it was a long way from the dinghy dock, the owner offered to give us a ride there and back. Bonus is that it is next door to a small convenient store and a deli with an ice cream shop inside. Since cruising is about adventures large and small, we loaded the laundry into the back of a pick-up, jumped in and were off for an open air tour of lower George Town.
Upon arriving, we walked into a brand new, sparkling clean laundromat with row after row of washers and driers that only cost $2.50 per wash or dry. Everyone got their dirty laundry spinning and we headed over to the deli for sandwiches. With a menu like Subway, everyone ordered a sub and grabbed a cold natural tea (a rare treat these days). Mili pulled out Bananagrams and taught us to play this fun, Scrabble-like word game the occupied our time until it was time to switch the clothes into the dryers. A few more rounds of BG, folding clothes over Fox News and then it was back in the truck for the return ride to our dinghies.
While off doing laundry, Steve on “Anchor Management” had been kind enough to fill up and drop off a few water jerry jugs for us. Matt poured those into the tanks, then buzzed back to the dinghy dock to refill them for another round.
After tanks were full it was off to “SYL” to practice making the dessert for the Regatta’s upcoming “Around the Island Race”, in which there’s a “baking while underway” competition. Amy, on “Crow’s Nest”, had passed along a superb bread-pudding recipe that was the basis for our planned dessert. A few hours in the galley under the excellent guidance of Linda and warm Bahamian bread pudding with butter rum sauce was ready for a tasting. Matt and Rusty were our official judges for the night and their vote was cast with two bowls each.
All with full bellies, Rusty flipped on a fun movie, “Keeping the Faith” projected onto their 60″ screen and we settled in for an enjoyable evening. Meeting and cruising with folks like Rusty and Linda, as well as the rest of the Navy, has made this trip even more incredible. The chance to have such strong friendships and be able to enjoy each other’s company nearly every day turns sailing through the Bahamas into truly living among friends and family in the Bahamas.
Refreshed from a peaceful night’s sleep, we enjoyed Christie’s coconut bread french toast and then met up with “Storyville” on the beach to hike Monument Hill. The highest point in the Exuma chain of islands, Monument Hill affords beautiful views of Lee Stocking Island, the Exuma Sound and all the boats anchored around George Town. We took the long trail to the top passing by sandy beaches and winding through dense mangroves to meet Steve at the top. Atop the hill we climbed around on the namesake for Monument, a large concrete tower reaching for the sky and took pictures from every angle. A lone boat was sailing past in the Exuma Sound and we quickly recognized it as “Sea Yawl Later.” Rusty had gone out to test a few sail configurations for the upcoming “Around the Island Race”.
Later in the afternoon, we returned to our respective boats to refuel and recharge. Then, it was off to dinghy explore a nearby anchorage called Red Shanks. Ted and Mili (Morning Glory) were kind enough to lend us their dinghy, which is much faster and provides a drier ride, so we zoomed off to see some new-to-us territory. Though the wind and waves picked up before we made it all the way into Red Shanks, we saw enough to make plans to move Kaleo over after the “Around the Island Race” on Wednesday.
