Our last day in Farmers Cay was spent dinghy exploring and lobster hunting. The hunting party was unsuccessful in finding lobster but we did find a huge starfish and lots of sand dollars.
An early Wednesday morning had us heading for George Town with most of the time spent motoring into light headwinds. The fishing line was out but again the sea would not give up her bounty.
Arriving in Elizabeth Harbour, George Town, the landscape was dotted with hundreds of masts gently swaying with the ocean swell. The sheer volume of boats and radio traffic was a sure sign that we had arrived.
George Town is a fabled place for cruisers; a stop for all on the route south and in fact, the final stop for many. It offers great provisioning, free water, lots of marine services, restaurants, an airport and the chance to gather with hundreds of fellow cruisers. With all these amenities comes a different pace from what we’ve experienced while cruising. With different events and activities planned all-day, every day, and over 250 boats in the harbor, GT lives up to its nickname of “summer camp for cruisers.”
Kaleo pulled into the harbor just in time for the 31st Annual Cruising Regatta, a two-week long series of boat races, beach bashes, creative competitions like the Dinghy Poker Run (aka: crisscrossing-harbor-dinghy-pub-crawl) and the infamous Coconut Challenge (more to come on this as we compete), as well as volleyball-, golf-, Bocce Ball-, Ultra Trivial Pursuit- and Texas Hold ‘Em-tournaments. There’s even Tug of War on the beach, a Dance Party with Rockin’ Ron, and a Variety Show (I immediately think “Dirty Dancing” here). In a nut shell, it’s action-packed Adults’ Field Day. Every day. With enough events packed in to make our land-life schedules look downright geriatric.
Our arrival into GT, along with “Storyville” and “Anchor Management” meant the entire “Texas Navy” had been reunited. Just in the few days leading up to the kick-off of the Regatta, we’ve already …
- Enjoyed a dinner out with Steve at the Chat N’ Chill on Volleyball Beach for our first night in town. Two full plates of ribs, slaw and fries satiated our need to not dirty our own dishes and Matt’s red meat cravings. After dusk, Rusty projected “Pirates of the Caribbean” on his sail near the beach where we, and many other cruisers, enjoyed the open-air movie.
- Explored the “town” part of George Town on Thursday. After walking around a bit, we stepped into the Exuma Market and were giddy at the sight of so much fresh produce and natural foods. Exuma Market is a fully-stocked grocery store that clearly caters to the cruising crowd with its wide-ranging selections and ideal location directly next to the dinghy dock. After a full cart of shopping, we loaded up the dinghy with groceries and headed back to enjoy the bounty. We’re most excited about finding organic spinach and other brightly-colored veggies, all-natural tortilla chips and organic salsas, ground turkey, flat breads, Tika Masala and Pad Thai sauces, and even some high fructose-free cereal.
- Met up with Mike and Rebecca of “Zero to Cruising“, fellow cruisers and bloggers who we’ve kept in touch with as both boats prepared and journeyed south. They’ve been in GT for a little while so they generous shared the scoop on where to be for the beach parties each evening as well as where to find whatever we may need during our stay.
- Celebrated the return of Linda and arrival of her daughter, Erin, aboard “SYL” on Friday afternoon. We joined Rusty in picking them up from town after their flight arrived. Seeing Linda was like being reunited with a long-lost friend and we were delighted to finally meet Erin. The evening festivities started with mild intensions on Storyville, then quickly kicked into high-gear as the Navy migrated to “SYL”, then to “Guiding Light”, then back to “Storyville” for what turned into the start of “24-Hours-of-Steve” in honor of his upcoming birthday. Though it wasn’t until Sunday, the celebration of all-things-Steve started on Friday night with some entertaining choreography (“The George Town Stance” and “The Bosun Chair Bop”) by the captain of “Kaleo” to the beat of “I’m on a Boat,” of course while wearing our flippy-floppies and swim trunks.
- Took it easy on Saturday morning before heading over to Monument Beach for afternoon yoga and retired early with a movie at home.
- Attended Beach Church on Sunday morning under the shade trees with cooling sand between our toes. A fellow cruiser gave a nice “sermonette” on opening our eyes and hearts to people we might not normally interact with, much as Jesus did with the tax collector in Luke 19:9. Beach Church is an official church with a statement of faith, pastor and volunteer choir, in which Rusty from “SYL” shares his talented voice. Though the music and style made us thankful for our more contemporary Fellowship Church, it was a blessing to have corporate worship with other Christian cruisers in such a relaxed tropical enviroment.
- Stretched our bodies and our definition of a beautiful yoga studio when Erin (a certified yoga instructor in the States) taught yoga at the Kevalli House. The class was held under private pavilion overlooking the glorious Exuma Sound, with palm trees swaying and ocean waves crashing on the cliffs below.
- Celebrated Steve’s birthday with a Tex-Mex fiesta potluck aboard “SYL” on Sunday evening. Linda made taco soup, Deana prepared chicken enchiladas with homemade tortillas and sopapilla cheesecake, Mili from “Morning Glory” whipped up corn salsa salad, and “Kaleo” cooked up some turkey tacos. Everyone left stuffed and thankful that Steve gave us a reason to get together.
Tomorrow kicks off the Cruising Regatta with Registration Day and we have plans to team up with the Navy to enter a few events. More to come as the events unfold.
N 23° 31.19 / W 75° 45.53
