Uncategorized

by

Community Fun Jan 22- Jan 25

Our happy faces continue as the weather gods bless us with a daily dose of: mostly sunny, high of 80 with winds 8-14kts. Another cold front will reach us next Sunday and that means low winds for two days followed by strong winds for 2-3 days on average. Very predictable- just how I like it. Another thing we’ve noticed that is better in The Bahamas is all the clean air. Ortolan is noticeably cleaner- outside and in- than when we’re most anywhere along the east coast. Can’t credit the rain; rarely does more than sprinkle except when an approaching cold front might bring in rain or T-showers.
Sundays are old-fashioned here; businesses are closed except for eateries or a market open half day. We took a day off from the road trip into town to scout the trails on Sand Dollar Beach. Near the picnic tables an easy-to-walk sandy path winds its way across a narrow section of Stocking Island over to the ocean side. The foliage and short palm trees create a canopy that allows enough light in to see yet provides protection from the sun. Some kind person set up a bird bath in the trees with extra water jugs nearby. Instructions on the jugs say to fill the bath when M.T.

Feed the birds....

Birds get water, I get a photo

The ocean beach on Stocking Island is 3 miles long and while I won’t say it’s beautiful, it is a lovely walk for humans and dogs alike. No shells though which was disappointing. We did find a piece of old driftwood for our Boo Boo Hill boat plaque.

The ocean-side beach on Stocking Island

Dare I mention the fishing “seminar” Russ and many others attended? Getting that darn fish- likely to weigh more than 20 lbs- hauled in and subdued sounds like a huge ordeal to me. Not to mention the hefty equipment you need; this isn’t fishing in a stream, this is big game fishing. Hundreds of sheckles later (assuming you get a good ebay deal or similar) you can now set out at least 4 trolling lines and wait, hoping that you get a hit when you’re not in the middle of tacking or gybing. Oh, and be sure to get it hauled out of the water before a shark smells blood! Heaven forbid you get two hits at once.
For now we’ll be very content to buy freshly caught (frozen) snapper, mahi, conch, lobster and grouper at the local hair salon. Yes, you read that right- isn’t that where you’d expect to go? The salon owner’s husband goes out fishing most days and the next day you’ll find a good selection at reasonable prices.
The other day we found a great book at the library, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois. Fabulous, easy and delicious recipes. We are gung ho on making and consuming as much as possible. Russ made a yummy rosemary and shallot focaccia bread to bring to our very first happy hour on the beach. Not only was it a hit; it provided a topic of conversation when we set it out.

Focaccia bread a la Ortolan

Background music, compliments of the various informal groups of cruiser/musicians. We met several boats from Sand Dollar area and were surprised to be greeted by Diane of One White Tree, the catamaran we’d met in Nassau. Ross, her guitar-playing half, joined us after his set and we caught up.
I planned ahead- how unlike me uh?- and made conch chowder for us to eat after the beach party; just re-heat and serve… with tasty olive oil herb bread. My Bahama Mama cookbook is getting a workout- finally. The chowder is a tomato- based one, plenty of seasonings and I even had the turmeric called for. You chop/dice the conch and let it tenderize in several tablespoons lime juice until ready to plop in the chowder. Paid $3 for the conch meat- cheap enough.

by

By George (Town) we arrive!

Deemed by many to be the cruising Mecca of the north Atlantic, George Town promises and delivers an experience to be remembered and repeated time and time again. Elizabeth Harbour sits between Great Exuma Island to the west and Stocking Island to the east. The anchorages are along the beaches of Stocking Island: Monument Beach, Honeymoon Beach, Volleyball Beach and our spot, Sand Dollar Beach. While 200 boats rest peacefully throughout the harbor now, 99% of them at anchor, by mid-Feb to mid-March nearly 400 will be packed into the harbor for fun, games, hikes, meeting old and making new friends and simply enjoying life on the water.

We liked the looks of Sand Dollar Beach; less boat traffic and less beach activity than the others, also reasonably good holding in mucky sand. We did what cats are required to do and that’s get in close to shore in shallower water and drop the hook. Maybe a bit too close in; 4.2 ft at low tide was acceptable, but if the wind switched to out of the west we’d be in deep- no, shallow do-do.  The next day we moved about 2 boat lengths south along the beach and out just enough to place us in 8ft. I lost count of the number of attempts we made to get it right- ‘cuz hey we also had to be positioned properly with regard to the two boats behind us.

Unless you are anchored in Kidd Cove right near the entrance to Lake Victoria- the hub of George Town you’ve got yourself a mile-plus dinghy ride. We won’t mention the continued problematic chaps on Bunting – nooo, the problem side doesn’t get lifted off out of way because the Velcro/Hypalon patch worked soooooo well- unh uh. Many who spend serious time in GT have adopted the GT dinghy stance, made necessary by the very long, often wet ride into town or even to one of the beaches from your home base.  We’ve noticed that boats will leave their spot to spend the day in Kidd Cove then return and re-anchor just to avoid that fun slog in to town.

Looking across to Volleyball Beach

 

George Town Dinghy Stance

 

Lake Victoria has one narrow entrance point and when the wind is up the swells can catch you off guard; luckily the incoming dinghies have the right of way. On our second trip in (Sat) we had visions of water over the bow as we plowed up to the entrance.

Entrance to Lake Victoria, GT

The main road and businesses ring the lake and just about everything one would want or need is here. We joined the library for $3/yr and that got us books to swap and books to take out- return whenever you can! Exuma Markets provides a long dinghy dock as well as good water with a hose hook-up. At the Shell Station you can purchase diesel and gas for approx $5.75/gal- ouch- just dinghy up and fill your jugs. Yes, the price is high, but Chub Cay was $6.05 and in Nassau we paid about $5 for diesel. The goal is to fill up our diesel tanks once more before we cross back to Florida, not counting an occasional 5 gal jug of diesel to replace what we use to run the genset.

Wi-Fi is available in town and some boats are lucky enough to get it from the harbor. We have finally learned not to judge a business by the building.  J&K Productions, operated by Julius and his wife is the place for a good internet connection, technical assistance, spare parts and getting more air time uploaded onto your phone. For the next week the blog is coming to you from Chez Julius- not free as you may recall, but a reasonable $15/week. Maybe I should ask for Wi-Fi donations rather than Bahama Mamas!

Various activities take place on the beaches and are announced on the net at 8am each morning. Sat at 3pm was a jam session on Sand Dollar of string instruments so we timed our beach walk then enjoyed the music for over an hour.

String jammin' on the beach