TRIP FACTS: FEBRUARY 5 thru FEBRUARY, 21, 2011
STANIEL CAY – GALLIOT CUT- LEE STOCKING ISLAND – GEORGETOWN
Days gone from VA: 126
Day in Bahamas: 65
Miles travelled: 1,614.5
TOILET MONSTER: Nothing thus far……
Things overboard: Nothing again…amazing!!
Trip Firsts: HAND FED STINGRAYS in Georgetown
Days without internet: 15
February 5 through February 8, 2011: It was hard to leave Exuma Park but we finally headed farther south to Staniel Cay. It was going to be SUPER BOWL weekend and we wanted to see the game. As we got closer to Staniel radio chatter picked up with boats calling ahead to put in their order for fresh bread and make reservations at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club for the Super Bowl Party. We were too late on the bread but did get signed up for the party.
Staniel Cay is the place where the movie, THUNDERBALL filmed the cave scene. At low tide, you can swim into the cave yourself. You have to go underwater for a little bit to get to the inside but even kids do it. Unfortunately it was a little too rough so well do it on our trip North.
Super Bowl is a big thing here and most of the yacht clubs have satellite TV and big screens. Staniel Cay Yacht Club was ready for everyone. We were really lucky and reconnected with our friends, Bobby and Francie on BAREFOOTIN. They were the couple at the beach on Lynyard when I fell in!! After talking with them they took us under their wing and we’ve been buddy sailing with them, but more on that later. I’d like to introduce all our friends back home to Bobby and Francie AND Kippin, their crew. Looking back to when I fell in, I’m glad their dinghy was so unique since it was easy to spot.
Bobby and Francie Sadler: BAREFOOTIN and..
Kippin, the Wonder Dog!!
I will tell everyone how much nicer it is to cruise with a buddy. I don’t know if we are lucky but finding Tom and Liz in Abaco and now Bobby and Francie have made a world of difference to me, for sure, so I’d like to thank them all now. You guys are great!!
But back to the party. When you tie your dinghy up and there are fish cleaning stations the sharks and rays know when dinner time comes… we say hugh rays and at least a half dozen sharks at Stainel.
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| SUPER BOWL SUNDAY ... Staniel Cay Yacht Club with a Kalik beer!! |
We were able to buy internet again which is always nice. We did get some fresh whole wheat bread for $6.00 a loaf but it was really good. Here’s a picture of the bakery and Isle's Grocery .. it's an adventure going to get groceries.
Isle's Grocery with drive up dinghy spaces
David decided to get in the water and wash the bottom while a stingray came swimming over to check him out. He said it was about 3’ across and pretty amazing to see up close. Of course, he doesn’t work all the time….
Rhonda's Bakery .. in her kitchen but bread was great....and warm!!
David decided to get in the water and wash the bottom while a stingray came swimming over to check him out. He said it was about 3’ across and pretty amazing to see up close. Of course, he doesn’t work all the time….
After talking with BAREFOOTIN we decided to head towards Georgetown before another big blow came through so we left on the 9th.
February 9, 2011: BIG FARMER CAY: Anchored at the end of Big Famer Cay in between Big Farmer and Big Galliot Cay. We all went shelling on the Exuma Sound. On days we sail I’ve gotten in the habit of drinking at least a half gallon of water so I don’t get dehydrated. We had Bobby and Francie along with another boat, SOLARIES, come over for sundowners. When people started showing up we watched a huge barracuda swim under the dinghies.
February 10, 2011: LEE STOCKING ISLAND: Today turned out to be the first day from hell we’ve had. After we left Galliot and were out in the Exuma Sound David went to put up the sails and the lines that hold the sails in their bag came flying off. That’s #1. Then, we heard a terrible sound from our boom not once but twice. David aways wears his life jacket when he has to go work on the sails and after he checked he discovered the webbing on the clew of the sail ripped out because the thread rotted. The clew is at the very end of the boom away from the mast. We weren’t in any danger so he just took the sail down. That was #2. After we anchored the generator stopped working so David started going through his list of “what to do” in that case. After checking off two steps he found an imploded impeller, which he replaced. No problem right??? Yeah…it still didn’t work. As it turned out some sea grass that clogged up the strainer at the water intake valve. Easily fixed but that was #3 in unfortunate things to happen in one day. I had another meltdown but am proud to report it wasn’t enough to stop us from going on.
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| All three things ended a wicked day on the water....but we kept on going..... |
February 11, 2011 through February 21, 2011: Georgetown. We have decided that Georgetown should be known as Adult BAY Care for boaters. We went from anchorages with very few boat to Georgetown/Stocking Island with almost 400 … 400 boats!! Simply amazing but after spending ten days here David says it should be called Adult Bay Care.
We anchored under the Monument on Stocking Island, also called Hamburger Beach, in front of a beautiful beach and later hiked up to the top to get the bird’s eye view and see how many boats are here.
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| Just a few of the boats in the anchorage ... more to north and south of this spot. |
Stocking Island is across from Georgetown and the dinghy ride was about a mile trip each way. Depending on the sea state and the winds you would be dry or very, very wet after your trip, so going to town to get groceries or fuel was a planned out event. You can see how important having a reliable dinghy is as far as transportation. How do you like this “parking lot”…. the first is at the Exuma Market, then the dinghy up service station to get gasoline and diesel. Diesel if they have it. When David went in they had run out and were waiting for the truck to show up.
Exuma Maket Dinghy Dock
Shell Station Dinghy Up .. the dock was terrible..
A note about dinghy rides at night. Some boaters have a set of navigation lights, red and green, or like most of us, take a flashlight along. Picking your way through all these boats was interesting.
The CRUISERS’ NET is the main form of communication for everyone at anchor. It’s done by volunteers and can be found in the Abacos as well as in Exuma. They cover the weather, business announcements and “ community” announcements. “Community” can consist of any of the following:
Doggie clips (he does humans too), immersion swimming lessons, lessons on any of the systems on your boat, field trips to local farms, field trips to the local high school, replacement dentures. That’s right…a boater knocked out his two front teeth and was asking if anyone had a “spare” set he could take the two front teeth out of or epoxy so he could “make” two teeth from. He was just tired of lisping and we don’t know if he was successful.
The first night we were here we went to a jam session at the Sand Bar on Hamburger Beach. Alvin, the owner, bought the Sand Bar and has been trying to attract cruisers with this Sunday night event. With the help of a couple on another catamaran, it’s been getting bigger every weekend.
On Valentine’s Day there was a party at the Chat N’Chill complete with guest performers: Tina Turner, Roy Orbison and Joe Cocker all showed up!! What a hoot. Chat N’Chill is a beach up from Hamburger. Volleyball Beach is home to 4 volleyball courts, picnic tables and the Conch Salad Shack. It’s also the place where we waded out into the water with conch inerds and hand fed stingrays. When you put your hand down below them they suck up the food. Of course, I didn’t have a camera but it was amazing to see these huge stingrays slide up to you and let you pet them.
Several years ago we rented a houseboat from Bahama Houseboats…. Didn’t make it here for a lot of reasons but the houseboats have been sold to French Canadians and are anchored in the lagoon behind Chat N’Chill. They come complete with water slide and roof top sunbathing!! (STEPHANIE: These are much better than the one in Florida!!)
When people from Georgetown need to get over to Stocking Island but don’t have a boat they call Channel 16 and use Elvis’ WATER TAXI. Elvis is the Harbormaster, water taxi owner and all round “go to guy” if you need anything. He’ll set a special round trip price for events in Georgetown that a lot of people take advantage off, especially when it involves adult refreshments!!
Elvis' Water Taxi....going to Alvin's on Hamburger Beach.....
This is Alvin's Sand Bar at Hamburger Beach. He made a great burger and the mango rum was good too.
It sounds like the weather will be breaking on Tuesday, the 22nd, so we’re going to be heading over to Conception Island and then to Long Island. We heard Conception in incredibly beautiful, like all of the Bahamas so we’re excited to get away from the Bay Care Center.
You learn quickly where and when to get groceries. Vegetables are brought in by boat so when the MAIL BOAT comes in you know to get to the store early. You also get used to getting frozen meat that’s been cut with a bandsaw. Nothing but uniform cuts of meat. They do have fresh meat but it’s limited and very expensive.
Exuma Markets provides a dinghy dock for cruisers and is on the main street in Georgetown (picture above) … of course, getting to the dinghy dock was a treat too. You had to go through a tunnel from Kidd Cove into Lake Victoria. If the tide was changing the current was like a small river…
That's it for Georgetown. Next stop is Conception Island. Until later..... love to everyone. Dave/Peg
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