George Town, Great Exuma, 1/17/01 -

On the 17th we tried to sail from Lee Stocking down to George Town.  This time the problem was wind on the nose and/or very light.  With our centerboard down and the sails properly trimmed we can sail about 30 degrees to the apparent wind, 45 degrees to the true wind.  We made pretty good progress through the morning hours, but when our boat speed dropped to 2 knots we gave up and motor sailed the last bit into Conch Cay Cut.  Once in the harbor we found Frangipani and anchored off Volleyball Beach.

Our first job after arrival was to do laundry.  Eleven loads!  We also dropped a good deal of cash at Exuma Market in order to restock the larder.

One day Maria and I went over to Crab Cay to explore the ruins of the former plantation there.  Rather than be a party to the revolution and colonial government some Americans gave up there land holdings in the U.S. and emigrated to the Bahamas.  The thin soil and British emancipation meant that these loyalist plantations were short-lived.

At this writing it is February 5th.  We have had marvelous weather except for one day of moderately exciting weather.  That day we had strong NW wind after watching the wind go all the way around the compass over the previous two days.  In going all the way around the compass our anchor rode got wrapped on the anchor shank.  On the morning of the high wind the wrap on the shank caused us to pull out the anchor and drag.  Fortunately I was on board and got help from Jim on Frangipani. 

While the parental units were here in George Town we made a few car trips to various spots on the island.  I give high marks to a visit to Musgrove's Nursery at Moss Town. 

One of the many beautiful sunsets we have enjoyed.  This one is in George Town and includes just a fraction of the 400 visiting boats.  The sunrises are equally beautiful.

George Town is filled with yachties with a lot of time on their hands.  They are involved in doing things for the local community as well as indulging in themselves.  Among other projects they resurfaced the b'ball court in town and helped clean up one of the school playgrounds.  If you are coming south and have room you might think about bringing a box of school supplies for the elementary level.  Had we known about this we would have made space to bring something.

While here Christopher has been in heaven.  There are lots of other teens.  He spends a lot of time on the beach, racing the dinghy and riding his windsurfer.  Diana also has other kids to play with.  Life is not too different from the suburbs with play dates and such.  We've been exploring by foot Crab Cay and Stocking Island.  I tried volley ball one day but was told that I belonged on the other end of the beach with the beginners.  They take their volleyball very seriously.  For those who are interested there are softball and basketball.  There are also lots of happy hours and picnics on the beaches.  In short, life here is not far removed from summer camp.

Maria relaxing at Chat 'n' Chill, the bar and grill.
	Camp Saturnalia: Rope swings for the kids. Picnic tables.  Five or six volleyball courts.  It doesn't get much better.  Oh yes, they do have beach church here on Sunday mornings to atone for the sins of the week.

Of course, the boat has to get its licks in also.  Our inverter shorted out on 1/21/01.  We depend on this to turn DC into AC power for use of the microwave and recharging different devices.  Fortunately Maria was going back to Philly for a week of work so she was able to get a replacement for us.  On the 22nd our tachometer, measures engine RPMs, gave up the ghost.  We rely on this to determine fuel consumption.  The remote for our wind, depth, and speed display at the helm finally came in (recall we sent it back to the U.S. from Nassau), but of course it doesn't work.

It is a small world indeed.  We met Dana and Kim Gibson on Hanna II when we were up at Cambridge Cay.  Dana is a marine historian from Maine.  They named their boat after a Penobscot Bay boat of the same name.  The original boat was one of the first chartered by the colonial government to fight the British on the water at the time of the revolution.  As it happens, the Hanna was owned by COL Jonathan Buck, my 6x great grandfather.

We've been having a lovely time, but while Christopher is in the U.S. for a visit we will be oging on to visit Long Island, Rum Cay, Conception and perhaps San Salvador.