Monday 17 Feb, BHS 48: Chill day in George Town anchorage with Cloudy in summer mode.
We wake up well rested in this nicely protected anchorage with no tidal current, for once. As we have breakfast under the over-boom sun cover we discuss that it might be nice to be back in Mediterranean mode again, with the tent and spray top down leaving the cockpit totally open under the large sunshade.
Also as we have breakfast we hear VHF conversations echoing across the anchorage and we remember these guys have a cruiser’s net from 7 to 8:30 each morning on ch72. So we switch over to listen. They are onto the section where people announce things they have to sell or give away and my interest perks up when I hear someone selling a Pirate-Lights security system. I’d previously been considering buying and installing one.
Then they get to “who’s new in the anchorage”. I’m tempted to answer for CB, but Oana mouths to me (even though no one can hear!) “don’t do it”! So I refrain. The net is quite well conducted by someone called Bill. Clearly he enjoys his job. Then it’s to “any other business” and people ask all manner of things, most of which could easily be found with a quick google search. But in general the community here are very helpful to all the requests. Once the call has ended I contact the security system seller only to find that I’m too late. Someone already bought it, a friend of his!
This gets us thinking, what could we sell that we don’t need? And I joke with Oana that we could announce a ladies sandal auction “we have many pairs in whatever colour you like, but all size 39”. Oana is not impressed though, until I tell her: “well, this way you could buy a bunch more new ones next summer”. Don’t get me wrong, Oana is extremely spend-thrift when it comes to clothes, or anything for that matter, but she does like her colourful sandals and I’m always pulling her leg on the subject 🙂
Oana then focuses on posting the blogs from the last 4 days backlog since we have struggled to have good internet signal. And while she is at it, sorts out hundreds of photos from the last few days, to extract the few for the blog.
Meanwhile, I tackle some cleaning jobs. First, the mirrors inside the boat, then the windscreen and cockpit. It’s actually nice to be cleaning with no fixed agenda (like needing to do it because we are in a marina) and no fixed time scale. After two or more hours the cockpit is not only cleaned, but polished too. And to add to the uplift we take down the tent and roll away the spray hood. We go Mediterranean style: totally open cockpit with the large over boom sunshade. It feels so airy and fresh, yet lovely and cool too. We love it like this but haven’t had it as such in the Caribbean before because, unlike the Mediterranean, it rains so regularly and unpredictably.
By mid-afternoon Oana has finally finished her job. It was a bit of a fight for her with the internet that kept dropping out. So we prepare to go ashore. And as we do, I see Ocean Fox catamaran pass by. I’ve kind of been following their blog the last few months, plus they have just returned from Cuba. Must try to say hello to them.
As we go ashore to catch up with Ian and Michelle, we pass by Ocean Fox to say hello. Carla comes out but our encounter is very brief. I guess they are very popular and maybe a bit fed up with intrusions from readers of their social media?
We first stop at Chat’N’Chill bar but no sign of Ian and Michelle. The beach has quite few cruisers on it, some strumming guitars, some playing beach volley ball. It’s quite a happening scene and it’s not hard to imagine why so many “snow birds” head here for the winter from USA and Canada.
We then take a dinghy tour of the hurricane holes. Lots of long term boats here on mooring balls. Some “boats” are basically caravans on floating pontoons. Clearly only made for living on and not going places. And the mooring balls are so close together it’s hard to see how the boats don’t touch.
We also find Doriana, the Australian couple on a Hallberg Rassy 43 whom we first met in Herrington Harbour North, then again in Lake Worth. We stop by for few minutes to say hi.
Going back to Cloudy we find Ian (sporting a new hair cut …. it seems to be the season!) and Michelle back on Mahina. We had somehow missed them on land. After sunset they come over for drinks and chats, which last till nearly 10pm tonight. They like the new open look and feel of our cockpit and jokingly tease us that Cloudy Bay looks like a super yacht now.
After they leave, we look at the forecast and decide it would be wise to take down the big sunshade. Hm, that didn’t last long. The forecast wind of 18kts tonight might cause some problems. So we return to sprayhood and cockpit tent mode. Well, it was nice to be in Mediterranean mode, even if just for one day! Tomorrow we will hit the town and see what it has to offer.
