George Town, Great Exuma, Bahamas

We left Little Farmers Cay about 6:30 AM on February 4^th and headed to George Town. We had a wonderful time in George Town. We’d planned to stay only 2-3 days, but the weather had other ideas, so we ended up staying 8 days. It was incredibly windy most of the time we were there, which made for some wet dinghy rides to and from land, and kept us aboard the boat a couple of day, but it was sunny and warm. I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again; there are worse places to get “stuck” because of disagreeable sea conditions.

George Town is a small town on Great Exuma Island, about 2/3 of the way down. Elizabeth Harbor is a very spacious, protected basin between Stocking Island, which is about 3.5 miles long, and Great Exuma Island, with myriad places to anchor. It has quite the cruiser community, many of whom winter there every season. They run a cruiser’s net, with a regular agenda, every morning at 8:00am on VHF 72. They bid farewell to departing boats, have business news, community news, general boater needs (looking for help with, looking for a part, etc.), taxi share, welcome new boats, and at the end of the official net, they answer people’s questions. We tuned in our first morning to chime in as new arrivals and to ask questions about trash, dingy landing, etc. We learned there was a Friday pig roast at Chat ‘n Chill, a restaurant/bar on Stocking Island, as well as a cruiser hangout/activity spot. There are all kinds of events that happen for adults, kids, and families. They have morning yoga at Chat ‘n Chill; one of the beaches has regular water aerobics; they have Sunday non-denominational, Christian worship beach service. There’s also volleyball, dominoes, impromptu and planned beach bonfires/pot lucks, seminars. It’s an amazing, welcoming community!

While at George Town, we participated in a few of the cruiser events at Chat ‘n Chill, did some provisioning, and a little dinghy adventuring. We attended the Sunday pig roast. Another day, my folks and I went to Chat ‘n Chill to make our own conch horn while Dave helped a couple of other cruisers trouble shoot their solar electric systems, a need he learned about on the net that morning. When he finished, he joined us at Chat ‘n Chill for lunch. Yum! Mom and I indulged in frozen mango daiquiris. Also yum! We also went to the Saturday “treasures from the bilge” white elephant/swap event where cruisers either give away or sell for cheap, items they no longer need or want. We came away with a good spatula, some 4’ long zip ties, and a couple of books. My dad gave away his old swim fins. 

Our non Chat ‘n Chill excursions included trips into town for provisions, and a walk about town to look at some shops. One day, while Mom & I got groceries, Dave & Dad went to the tourism office to help troubleshoot their VHF radio. Mom & Dad got to attend Church that first Sunday. We ran into our friends, the Hunters and had a couple of chats with them. Dave, Dad and I made a very wet, 2-mile dinghy trip around a point north of George Town to beach dinghy, which Dad babysat, while Dave and I made a 2-mile round trip walk to an auto parts store and a pharmacy for stuff we needed. The return dinghy ride into town was just as wet. We were pretty soaked by the time we got back to Lady at 4:00 pm. On one of our stay aboard days, I did four loads of laundry, made granola and granola bars. Dave and Dad cleaned the hulls. After our last trip into town, we moved from our anchorage on the south side of Rolle Island to an anchorage a little south of Chat ‘n Chill. This made for a shorter, somewhat drier dinghy ride to Stocking Island. That same day we did a little dinghy excursion to the southernmost hurricane hole in Stocking Island and stopped at a tiny beach with a sign that read “Atlantic Beach path.” Dad stayed with dinghy while Dave, Mom and I walked to the Atlantic side and enjoyed a stroll on the very long, sandy beach. What a view! We rejoined Dad, who had been enjoying the sea life, including a good sized ray that cruised by. 

Sunday the 12^th was the next weather window for continuing east. So that morning we hauled anchor during the morning cruiser’s net and bid our farewell to the community, thanking them for all they offered. We were on our way to Thomspon Bay on the west side of Long Island. That is where I will pick up with next weekend’s post. (If you’re interested in one of the parts of cruising I very much do NOT enjoy, read my mid-week post this coming Wednesday.)

Until next time, stay safe and take care of each other!