3/24/16 Sand Dollar
Thursday morning, since it wasn't as windy as it had been, the Reuters dinghied to Georgetown to do laundry and restock their larder, and we headed ashore before lunch to walk on the beach and hike up to the Monument. We wanted to hike up the 'gentle' slope, further N on the beach, rather than attempt the 'steep' sand bank approach (far easier to slide down than climb) to the Monument, and since I was enjoying looking at what the tide had washed in along the beach, we'd do the Monument trail on the way back. We made it to the last cairn on the trail, atop one of the hills overlooking the sound, and with neither trail nor more beaches in sight, headed back, we'd gone as far N as we could without bush whacking.
We were further from Monument hill than we realized when we took the
side trail marked 'Monument" by the stone wall, and had to negotiate
several sand dunes before we got to the final climb up to the
Monument. The view from the top was impressive. It's always a bit
surprising to see the flat, swampy area just below Monument hill to
the W, a mud flat, with the potential to be wonderful mosquito
habitat, one of the reasons we prefer the anchorage off Sand
Dollar. Leonard commented the water looked calmer at that anchorage
than at Sand Dollar where waves seemed to find a way to wrap around
the end of the island. Sliding down the 'steep' path was similar to
skiing on snow, only filling your shoes with fine sand instead
snow. It was close to 1700 when we got back to the boat. After
dinner we headed to Imanja for a game of Mexican Train dominoes.
We'd planned on playing for an hour, but it was closer to 2, and we
still far from finished with the game.
3/25-26/16 23 30.299N 75 45.866W Regatta Point,
Georgetown 1.2NM
Friday morning we picked up our anchor and headed to Regatta Point to be in position for an early run to the market for groceries before catching the free, 1030 ride to the Prime Island Meats Saturday. We hoped to find a convenient spot to drop the hook since a lot of boats had headed back to Stocking Island since town was closed for Good Friday. We did, right next to the yellow sailboat from Australia where we'd been anchored before.
Being Good Friday, nothing was happening in town except practice races for the Junior Regatta. We dinghied into to town to fill our solar shower and take a walk - for once, traffic wasn't a problem! Back at the boat, we watched the junior sailors run practice races not far from the boat. One of the boats capsized, and unlike the FJ's used by the junior sailors at LCYC (easy to right and bail), this boat required a tow to the beach and some work to get it upright and bailed out. They ran a final race, and we watched as the boats sailed back past us, heading into the harbor. Racing is serious business down here, and can be great fun to watch. The Family Island Regatta (with multiple classes of big boats) will take place the 3rd week in April, and is a huge event, with participants from all the family islands participating and competing for top honors.
Easter weekend is interesting in the islands. I'm not sure how much
of the long weekend (Friday - Monday) is Easter and how much is
traditional island's holiday. Everything was closed for Good
Friday, Saturday most businesses were open (I recall shorter
business hours in past years), and to my surprise, the Exuma Market
would be open on Easter morning for their normal, abbreviated hours,
with everything shuttered again on Monday. The main event this year
was the junior regatta, an inter-island event, with races both
Sunday and Monday.
We wanted to take on water. Although we've stretched the 2 side tanks to 10 + days rather than the usual 7, and still had the full bow tank, we were down to 1/2 tank on port side. Our choices for getting into a dock to take on water or fuel are far and few between this far S. We can use the marina at Georgetown (shallow water and open to the wind and waves), Emerald Bay 10NM N of Georgetown, Staniel or Highborne Cays back up the Exuma chain, or lug water or fuel to the boat in jerry cans (which we don't have). Friday the wind had moderated to under 10 kts in the afternoon, making it ideal for going into the dock, but everything was closed.
Saturday morning, the trade winds were back at a steady 15kts from the E. High tide was around noon, giving us ample of water to get to and from the dock, but since I planned to go to the meat market, we'd have to wait until we got back to the boat before going into the dock. As expected, no one was around when we walked over before going out to the boat, and we couldn't raise anyone by cell phone or VHF before going to the dock (this IS the islands...), so we hauled anchor, threaded our way through the numerous vessels anchored nearby, approached the dock, and did a 180 to dock into the wind. This seemed easier, or at least less worrisome, before we had the boat painted. We did a class A docking, no part of the hull touched the dock until I got the spring line tied around a piling, with a fender at the piling (and we were bow out for an easy departure). Phew. We took on 47 gallons of water and 9.9 gallons of diesel (both last topped off in Nassau 3 weeks ago), now we were good to go cruising without worrying either water or fuel.
The trip to the meat market had been successful too. Apparently enough cruisers called requesting a pickup before next Friday, that the owner deemed it worth his while to do a Saturday pickup in town. The truck was full - a good deal for the cruisers and the meat market folks. I don't know how they do it, the meat is comparable to what we get at home, both in quality and price, much nicer(and less expensive) than what's available in the markets in town. The freezer is once again full, so I don't need to invent 'creative cuisine' using whatever I might find on board. This trip the veggies (when fresh off the boat) have been nicer and more varied (for a price), than what I recall from our last trip down this way.
With both water and fuel tanks full, we debated heading back to Stocking Island for the night, but getting the laundry done was also on the list, and the spot where we'd been anchored was still open (we ended up less than 15' from our previous position). We've been wearing the same sets of clothes - a salty pair of shorts and tee shirt for going ashore, and a 'clean' (unsalty) set for below. Although we rinse the tee shirts when we shower, the salty set was salty enough to never feel dry, especially the shorts, and it was time for clean sheets and towels. The trick was to wash everything and get it back to the boat without getting it salty going back to the boat (I don't think we've ever had a salt free trip out of Lake Victoria). We wore bathing suits and salty stuff ashore, packing clean clothes to change into at the laundromat. I had no problem stripping down to my bathing suit on the dock for the ride back to the boat. It was, as usual, a wet ride out to the boat - the laundry was kept dry in a big plastic bag. It was 1700 when we got back to the boat - a long day - so we stayed put for the night.
We'll rejoin the Reuters at Sand Dollar on Sunday to discuss plans to venture over to Long Island and Conception Island when the 15-20kt trade wind is forecast to drop some and go a bit to the S next week, possibly Monday, although that weather feature seems to be getting delayed a day every time we check. Lighter winds a bit more from the S would provide us with a nice sail. Meanwhile the diurnal wind has kicked in again, blowing 15-20kts, keeping the batteries well charged. The anchorage is a bit lumpy, but a couple of keys help break up some of the fetch, and the number of boats has thinned considerably.
3/27/16 23 30.896N 75 44.671W Sand Dollar Beach (Again) 1.6NM
Thursday morning, since it wasn't as windy as it had been, the Reuters dinghied to Georgetown to do laundry and restock their larder, and we headed ashore before lunch to walk on the beach and hike up to the Monument. We wanted to hike up the 'gentle' slope, further N on the beach, rather than attempt the 'steep' sand bank approach (far easier to slide down than climb) to the Monument, and since I was enjoying looking at what the tide had washed in along the beach, we'd do the Monument trail on the way back. We made it to the last cairn on the trail, atop one of the hills overlooking the sound, and with neither trail nor more beaches in sight, headed back, we'd gone as far N as we could without bush whacking.
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| Looking N toward Conch Cut from the end of the trail on Stocking Island |
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| Hurricane holes on Stocking Island as seen from the Monument |
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| Looking S along Stocking Island and down to flats by Monument Beach |
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| Looking down the 'steep' route to the Monument (photo looses the perspective - it was straight down) |
Friday morning we picked up our anchor and headed to Regatta Point to be in position for an early run to the market for groceries before catching the free, 1030 ride to the Prime Island Meats Saturday. We hoped to find a convenient spot to drop the hook since a lot of boats had headed back to Stocking Island since town was closed for Good Friday. We did, right next to the yellow sailboat from Australia where we'd been anchored before.
Being Good Friday, nothing was happening in town except practice races for the Junior Regatta. We dinghied into to town to fill our solar shower and take a walk - for once, traffic wasn't a problem! Back at the boat, we watched the junior sailors run practice races not far from the boat. One of the boats capsized, and unlike the FJ's used by the junior sailors at LCYC (easy to right and bail), this boat required a tow to the beach and some work to get it upright and bailed out. They ran a final race, and we watched as the boats sailed back past us, heading into the harbor. Racing is serious business down here, and can be great fun to watch. The Family Island Regatta (with multiple classes of big boats) will take place the 3rd week in April, and is a huge event, with participants from all the family islands participating and competing for top honors.
 |
| Three of the Jr Sailors heading into Kidds Cove |
We wanted to take on water. Although we've stretched the 2 side tanks to 10 + days rather than the usual 7, and still had the full bow tank, we were down to 1/2 tank on port side. Our choices for getting into a dock to take on water or fuel are far and few between this far S. We can use the marina at Georgetown (shallow water and open to the wind and waves), Emerald Bay 10NM N of Georgetown, Staniel or Highborne Cays back up the Exuma chain, or lug water or fuel to the boat in jerry cans (which we don't have). Friday the wind had moderated to under 10 kts in the afternoon, making it ideal for going into the dock, but everything was closed.
Saturday morning, the trade winds were back at a steady 15kts from the E. High tide was around noon, giving us ample of water to get to and from the dock, but since I planned to go to the meat market, we'd have to wait until we got back to the boat before going into the dock. As expected, no one was around when we walked over before going out to the boat, and we couldn't raise anyone by cell phone or VHF before going to the dock (this IS the islands...), so we hauled anchor, threaded our way through the numerous vessels anchored nearby, approached the dock, and did a 180 to dock into the wind. This seemed easier, or at least less worrisome, before we had the boat painted. We did a class A docking, no part of the hull touched the dock until I got the spring line tied around a piling, with a fender at the piling (and we were bow out for an easy departure). Phew. We took on 47 gallons of water and 9.9 gallons of diesel (both last topped off in Nassau 3 weeks ago), now we were good to go cruising without worrying either water or fuel.
The trip to the meat market had been successful too. Apparently enough cruisers called requesting a pickup before next Friday, that the owner deemed it worth his while to do a Saturday pickup in town. The truck was full - a good deal for the cruisers and the meat market folks. I don't know how they do it, the meat is comparable to what we get at home, both in quality and price, much nicer(and less expensive) than what's available in the markets in town. The freezer is once again full, so I don't need to invent 'creative cuisine' using whatever I might find on board. This trip the veggies (when fresh off the boat) have been nicer and more varied (for a price), than what I recall from our last trip down this way.
With both water and fuel tanks full, we debated heading back to Stocking Island for the night, but getting the laundry done was also on the list, and the spot where we'd been anchored was still open (we ended up less than 15' from our previous position). We've been wearing the same sets of clothes - a salty pair of shorts and tee shirt for going ashore, and a 'clean' (unsalty) set for below. Although we rinse the tee shirts when we shower, the salty set was salty enough to never feel dry, especially the shorts, and it was time for clean sheets and towels. The trick was to wash everything and get it back to the boat without getting it salty going back to the boat (I don't think we've ever had a salt free trip out of Lake Victoria). We wore bathing suits and salty stuff ashore, packing clean clothes to change into at the laundromat. I had no problem stripping down to my bathing suit on the dock for the ride back to the boat. It was, as usual, a wet ride out to the boat - the laundry was kept dry in a big plastic bag. It was 1700 when we got back to the boat - a long day - so we stayed put for the night.
We'll rejoin the Reuters at Sand Dollar on Sunday to discuss plans to venture over to Long Island and Conception Island when the 15-20kt trade wind is forecast to drop some and go a bit to the S next week, possibly Monday, although that weather feature seems to be getting delayed a day every time we check. Lighter winds a bit more from the S would provide us with a nice sail. Meanwhile the diurnal wind has kicked in again, blowing 15-20kts, keeping the batteries well charged. The anchorage is a bit lumpy, but a couple of keys help break up some of the fetch, and the number of boats has thinned considerably.
3/27/16 23 30.896N 75 44.671W Sand Dollar Beach (Again) 1.6NM
Happy Easter! Our day dawned bright and clear with the wind still blowing.
It got a bit lumpy at Regatta Point overnight with the trade wind blowing 15-20, so after breakfast we motored back over to Sand Dollar Beach, tucking a bit further in this time since there were far fewer boats anchored there. We hoped being closer to shore might give us bit more protection from the waves. It certainly was calmer than it had been at Regatta Point. With clean clothes, there was no way we were going into town to watch the races. Even the big dinghies looked like they were having a salt sprayed ride out of the harbor. I was surprised at the number of dinghies that made the trip over from Stocking Island, but I guess if you needed something from the store, it might be worth the bone jarring ride over and back.
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| Lynnea picking a path through the rocks |
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Sand Dollar Beach looking N
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| Sunset from Sand Dollar Beach with GT in the background, much of the time the sun has set behind clouds |
Lynnea
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