January 25 -31, 2022- George Town

January 25, 2022

6:30am-  Did my regular exercise routine before watching the gorgeous sunrise with Steve this morning. 

Breakfast this morning was muffins, cantaloupe, strawberry, blueberries and of course coconut. 

After breakfast, Steve and I went to feed the iguanas. This was a special place for me since he surprised me a couple of years ago when I turned 65 and brought me to this isolated islands where we fed the iguanas. ❤️

We spoke to Gunter and Sue after we came back and made the decision to go to Georgetown. We want to be settled before the next front comes thru. We plan on coming back here. So much to discover. 

9:15-  Steve decided to put out 2 fishing rods today. He is determined to catch a fish. 

9:30am- Big freighter coming from Georgetown went by. 

11:30am-  Just going by Emerald Bay Marina. From a distance, you can see they have water sprinklers on their golf course. It is rare to see that in the Bahamas. 

12:30pm- Well no matter how much we sang, danced or begged, we did not catch one fish!  It’s the luck of the draw. Now I have to figure what we will have for dinner because it ain’t fish! 😆

1:30pm-  We are anchored and settled at Georgetown by the Monument. 

2:30pm- Went across the bay to show Gunter and Sue where most things are in Georgetown. While we were there we stopped in the grocery store and noticed a huge improvement in layout and supplies since the last time we have been here. Apparently there is a new owner. We bought yogurt and bananas but plan on going back in the next couple of days when the supply boat delivers. 

When we got back, we went for a swim off our boat. I did 3 laps around then went kayaking. I then enjoyed a nice hot shower afterwards since the motor heated up the water on the way here. 

Scott, a live aboard who was anchored beside us, came to introduce himself. Originally, he was from Windsor but sold his house and lives on an old Chartered Beneteau which he purchased.  At noon tomorrow, he and Steve are going to go spear fishing. He knows a good spot. Who knows, he might get lucky. 

5:00pm- I practised my guitar while my potatoes were boiling. 

6:00pm-  We sat at the bow of the boat to watch the beautiful sun set.
We had a great dinner with chicken thighs, potato salad and a green salad while listening to Kenny Chesney ‘ No  shoes radio’ on satellite. 

There must be around 160 boats anchored here. Gazing out over the night sky line, all you can see are anchor lights. Like stars on the water. 

Watched a series before bed. 

January 26, 2022

5:45-  I could hear rumbling and voices in the distance. As I looked out, it was a cargo ship coming in. I was particularly interested because there were sailing vessel that were anchored close to the shipping lane. The cargo ship has only a limited amount of space to come in and they have to come in at high tides. 

As I watched, I could see bright lights shining off their bow looking to see what was in front of them. I thought I wouldn’t want to be the sailing vessel anchored even close to it with all the noise it makes. I am sure it woke them up unless they are sound sleepers. On your navionics, it shows where the shipping lane is however can be very confusing for someone anchoring for the first time in Georgetown.  I always thought they should have buoys to indicate it since there are so many boats anchored here. 

8:00am- We listened to the Cruiser’s net which is a broadcast on VHF channel 72 which communicates any information such as events, community services,  things boaters are selling, Trader giveaway, kid’s corner, etc…

9:00am- We dropped off our laundry and it will be done by 4pm. 

Once we got back to the boat, Steve filled up the diesel  tank and then went back across the bay to refill them. I cleaned the back of the boat. By 10:30, we had everything done and now we relax. 11:30am- Bart, from Wychmere power boat kindly approached us to let us know we will be having 40knot winds on Saturday and wanted to know how much chain we had out. For now, we will enjoy the calm. We reassured him we already had 75 ft of chain out and he was going to put out another 15 ft.  You always want to know you are well anchored before a storm. 

1:00pm- Steve was happy to go spear fishing with Scott, from s/V beside us. Scott said they won’t come back empty handed. 👍

I went for a long kayak ride. Came back and did some art work. 3:30pm - Went across the bay to pick up our laundry. 

4:15pm- Went to Peace and Plenty for Happy Hour however I think it was Happy Hour for the bar. One Virgin Strawberry daiquiri and one beer cost $20. Guess you  have to donate somewhere!! The deal was 6 beer for $32. Regular price was $36.  

6:30pm- Hot dogs and coleslaw for dinner. 

We watch a series before going to bed. 

January 27, 2022

6:30am-  Woke up to a beautiful scenery of the sunrise 

7:45am- Because we were anchored close to Scott’s boat, we decided to move closer to Monument beach. 

I entered this photo in a contest in George Town. Looks like red smoke coming out of the monument. 

8:00am- Listened to the Cruiser’s net. They announced they are having movie night dinghy drive in. Everyone is behind a catamaran on their dinghies and watch a movie. Tonight’s feature is Avatar. So cool as long as it is calm.  Not sure if we are going. 

10:00am- We went across the bay in town in hopes that the provision boat arrived this morning. We saw dolphins swimming under our dinghy just before going under the bridge. Never seem to have my camera ready. First we went to “Top to Bottom” hardware store so that Steve can replace the rubber on his spear gun. He also bought batteries for our underwater flashlight. 

When we went in the grocery store, we noticed the fresh produce isle was empty. We assumed we were too early. 

We decided to go for coffee (I had cappuccino) and a donut with Gunter and Sue after taking a brief walk in town. After an hour of killing some time, we went in the grocery store and found out the provision vessel did not arrive as scheduled and will be here tomorrow instead. I got a few things like potatoes, onions and lettuce but we will have to go without broccoli, strawberries and blueberries for when they arrive.

12:15pm- We made water.  The generator has to sit on the side of the boat. 

Same time Steve fixed his spear gun. While the generator was running, Steve read.

1:00pm- After lunch, I kayaked to the beach and wrote GaYa with rocks so that when I walk up the monument hill, I will be able to see it. It was so hot on the beach. 

4:00pm-  Went to Gunter and Sue for Happy Hour. 

It was a gorgeous sunset when we got back to our boat. 

We watched a series before we went to bed. 

We are enjoying the calmness before the high winds come on Saturday. 

January 28, 2022

It is a good morning when you see the provision boat arrive. We will now be able to get fresh produce   Great timing also since tomorrow would probably be too rough to cross the bay since the front is coming and we are suppose  to get 40 knots of wind. Hard to imagine when it is calm now. 

8:45pm-  After listening to the Cruiser’s net, I followed Sue on my kayak while she swam from her boat to the beach and back. Steve replaced the online fuse holder for the water maker. Unknown to Steve, the old one was corroded which created resistance, which created heat and started to melt the holder until the fuse blew.  Thankfully the fuse did its job and that Gunter had a spare.  

As I was kayaking, I noticed how clear the water is and saw several star fish.

10:00am-  Off to the market we go. The funny thing is how we did our grocery shopping. As they were bringing out the stock in the shopping boxes, Steve was picking the produce out of the boxes before they even stocked the shelves. It only took us 10 minutes of shopping but took us 1.5 hours of waiting. As we came back, we noticed everyone was coming in on their dinghied to shop. So we beat the rush and got what we wanted. 
On the boat, there are tricks to making your produce last longer. For example, cut the bottoms of the asparagus and place in an opened mason jar with one inch water at the bottom. Place a loose Saran Wrap on top and put in front of the refrigerator. So we will see. I washed the strawberries and blueberries in water and vinegar, dried them out and placed back in the plastic containers wrapped in paper towel. Got to keep those strawberries firm. 

2:30pm-  We decided before the front comes, to go visit a friend who we met through another friend Dr Jim. He has a gorgeous place on Stocking Island. It was nice visiting with him for an hour trying to solve the world problems.  

Once we got back, we climbed Monument Hill  From the hill, I saw GaYa which I spelled  out with stone on the salt flats yesterday. 

Such a gorgeous view. 

You can see GaYa and Sun Spirit from a distance. 

4:00pm-  Came back to the boat and went swimming, took a shower and started getting dinner ready as we sipped on a Margarita. 

Dinner tonight is chicken shishabob with rice and bean. 

Watched a series before bedtime. 

January 29, 2002

1:30am-  Woke up to heavy rain and some gust of wind but nothing to worry about. The boat got a good wash. 

6:30-  Enjoying our coffee while the sun is rising behind clouds. 

8:00am- Enjoyed eating our fresh fruit with yogurt while listening to the Cruiser’s Net. Funny because they started with a song “Riders On The Storm”. 

9:00am-  We decided to clean out our fridge and to defrost it. After a while there is frost build up on the plates. It feels good when it is all cleaned and organized. 

10:30am- Made pizza dough and 8 hamburger buns.  Do you notice 2 of them are missing? You can hear the wind blowing through the boat at 20.5 mph right now. 

Kind of day you don’t mind baking.  

Pizza made for dinner. 

I like to make it ahead and then heat it up on the barbecue. 

3:00pm-  The wind is gusting up to 30 mph now and I am trying to do crafts while Steve reads. 

After dinner we watched a series. 

7:00pm- Steve started the engine to boost up the batteries since there wasn’t much sun today to recharge batteries via solar panels. 

Watched several other series before going to bed. 

January 30, 2022

Good morning. Had to wear our fleece this morning with it being 66F. Not that we are complaining since I know it is a lot colder back home. 

The sun is trying to peak out of the clouds. Since the wind is now blowing NE, a lot of boaters are now coming this side of the bay to anchor and trying to get a good spot now that it is a lot calmer. 

8:00am- Listened to the Cruiser’s net before enjoying our blueberry pancakes. 

915am- Steve making water and filling up the front tank while I do my weight exercise. 

10:15am- Gunter dropped off fresh Cinnabon buns straight out of his oven. It will be a nice treat with a coffee later after our walk. We are so full with the pancakes. 

11:00- Nice to get off the boat and go for a walk. We rediscovered Flip flop beach. 

The scenery is just breath taking. I can never get enough. 

Sue and I even found a swim on the beach 



2:00pm- Came back to the boat and had Gunter’s cinnamon bun. Yummy! 

4:30pm- Gunter and Sue came over for dinner. I made Buffalo Chicken, broccoli casserole with cornbread. 

7:30pm- After our get together, Steve watched some football and  we watched several series before going to bed.

January 31, 2022

8:00am-  During coffee and breakfast we listened to the Cruiser’s net.  They announced there was 296 boats anchored in the George  Town Bay. 

9:30am- Went across the bay and had a nice long walk. 

We went by the Doctor’s Hospital. It looks more like a clinic. 

While we were there we checked to see if there was any yogurt. Guess that will come another day however I did get yeast. 

11:30pm-  We later dinghied around different beaches to see if we can find turtles or sting rays. But nothing found.  Funny how we ran into Gunter and Sue on their dinghy near the turtle hole. 

We then noticed Shooting Star on anchor and Ruth Ann and Fred invited us on board. As we were eating their homemade brownies, Ruth Ann was really trying hard to convince us to sail to the Dominican Republic with them.  We just told them we are not prepared to do that trip since I need to learn more. 

They are still hoping to go by themselves. 

1:30pm-  Had lunch on our boat and Steve read while I worked on art. 

5:00pm- I noticed something floating in the water. It was a paddle board which Steve recovered and brought it to the proper owners. In these winds if you don’t tie down your dinghy or paddle board/kayak, you can easily lose them. 

5:30- Dinghied across the bay for the Rake ‘n Scrape  event.

 Rake-and-scrape is the traditional music of The Bahamas, alongside Junkanoo. It combines African musical elements with European musical elements to create a sound comparable to other Caribbean music while remaining distinct.

We ate at the restaurant with Fred, Maureen form s/V Shooting Star and  Chris and Renee from s/v Oceanaire. The meal was really good, reasonable priced and huge portions. We then danced to the band which one of the instrument was played with a hand saw. 

We had chicken, beets, mac&cheese and rice&peas. 

One of the locals would go around putting on  some sort crown and skirt and had you dance.

The skirt was too big for me so I had to hold it up while dancing. It was lots of fun. 

The funny part we all knew we had to cross the bay knowing we would get wet in pure darkness. Good thing we brought our foul weather gear and good lighting. We were back at the boat a little after 8:00pm. 

We watched one series before going to bed.