Imagine a warm, tropical beach with a dense row of dinghies clung to its shoreline like ants on their hill. Now, picture twice that amount of cruisers scurrying atop the sand visiting rows of decorated tables while the sounds of Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffet float over the surf. At each station, eager volunteers are ready to help sign you up for just about any activity you could want at a seaside summer camp.
This is Registration Day and the start of the 31st Annual George Town Cruising Regatta.
Amongst the scramble, we spent the morning signing up for a slew of activities planned for the upcoming weeks. We’ll post more details as the events take place but we’re teaming up as the “Texas Navy” to participate in Adult Field Day activities like the Dinghy Parade, Dinghy Poker Run and the Coconut Challenge, a series of events involving, you guessed it, coconuts. We’re also putting on our game faces to crew aboard “SYL” in the “Around Stocking Island Race” as well as the “In-Harbour Race”. Each day will also be filled with various info sessions on topics ranging from “Weather” and “Dinghies A to Z” to “Researching the Bucket List” and “Winning Fishing in the Bahamas”. And some nights will be spent at social gatherings on the beach.
After sign-ups, we boarded “SYL” for a practice run on the race course. Rusty, Matt and Ted ran half the course while practicing key tacks and downwind maneuvers. Though we’ve been sailing at a cruising pace for the past several months aboard Kaleo, it only took a moment to bounce back into race mode as we prepare for the big boat race on Saturday. Rusty piloted “SYL” as Matt and Ted trimmed sails and all discussed the best way to rig the jib for race day. When we were satisfied with our practice, we returned to the harbor planning what dessert to make for the “baking underway” part the race. Yes, there are subcategories of “Best Dessert Baked Underway”, “Longest Fish Caught Underway”, and “Best Photograph Taken Underway” in the Regatta race.
By the time we were back aboard Kaleo, it was time for dinner, showers and winding down for the night.
