February 5, 2006

When last we wrote, we were on the way to George Town, Great Exuma. We arrived there on Jan 25th, anchored in town, dumped the garbage, hit the grocery store ( lots of fresh veggies,even avocados! ) and then went to anchor at Sand Dollar Beach.

George Town or Elizabeth Harbour is about 5 miles long, and about two miles wide with most of the anchoring up against Stocking Island, opposite town. There are 4 main areas where boats congregate: Hamburger Beach – named because of the burger stand; Monument Beach – with the stone monument high above; Volleyball Beach – close to the many volleyball courts; Sand Dollar Beach – furthest south and with sand dollars buried in the sand. There also are a few other popular areas that can only be used by shallow draft vessels. But those 4 are the main choices. The trip to town from any of them can be a very wet one if the wind is blowing very much. The new dinghy helps, but we do still get slightly wet at times.

So, here we weathered another cold front. Most days we were able to get ashore to walk over the hill to the beach. I even managed to take in a lesson on basket weaving. But mostly we sat aboard and read or played sudoku on the computer.

Finally the wind died. We dashed to town again, did laundry and shopped once more. After a lovely dinner with friends on Lolligag ( Matt & Madeline from Toronto ), we hauled anchor on Tuesday Jan 31st, headed for Thompson Bay, Long Island.

We sailed and motorsailed the distance, some 35 miles and anchored in a lovely bay. In the misty morning light, we hauled anchor again and motored in flat calm to Water Cay, Jumentos about another 40 miles.

The water was so flat that we could see starfish on the bottom and soft corals flowing in the current. A very large ( 8 Ft ) shark was seen on the surface during our journey. It was a beautiful day. The islands here are very low and covered with scrub bushes and a few stubby palms. In the morning, we walked on many of the beaches searching for hamburger beans and shells. Not many shells were found but we did get 5 lucky beans. We went snorkeling and while motoring in the dinghy, caught a 12 lb yellow jack on a hand line. Then, Mur shot a large trigger fish. Enough for one day!

All day, we had been discussing the next cold front that was expected. Earlier, it had been predicted to peter out. But now, it was coming on and stronger than previous reports. There was no place to hide close by.

So, reluctantly, we hauled anchor on Friday, Feb 3rd, and sailed back to George Town some 60 miles away. But, it was a glorious sail with speeds of over 8 knots showing most times on the knotmeter.

Now, we are tucked in, awaiting the front expected overnight. They always come at night, it seems. The wind will howl for a few days and then perhaps we can return to Long Island and visit some of its beautiful anchorages.

That is what is happening aboard. How are things up north with you? Write when you can.

Hugs, Murray & Heather

PS We will give more details of Water Cay at a later date.