Sunday 16 Feb, BHS day 48, from Boysie Cay to George Town: Bumpy motorsail, join the hundreds of boats anchored behind Stocking Island, and head ashore for a sample of the social scene.
We didn’t get a peaceful night, but we did manage some sleep. Glen on the settee, close to the anchor alarm, and me rolled to sleep in our cabin. It’s amazing what few more knots of wind do to the sea state. Despite our concerns last evening, the anchor didn’t move an inch throughout the night. Normally, in sand it digs deep but here the sea bed is hard and it was basically just resting on the surface, not dug in at all.
Yesterday, we were keen to head ashore again today, to see the two beaches and the undercut of Square Rock at low tide, but over breakfast we decide to move on, in order to arrive in George Town on a rising tide.
So by 9am our we go through Rat Cay Cut, being welcomed into the Atlantic by white caps and choppy sea. The wind decreased from 17kts to 12kts, but the waves built up throughout the night. And we get lots of spray over the decks. So much for Glen’s efforts, desalting the windows and fittings yesterday. With east wind, we motorsail the 9 miles to Emerald Bay Marina making some water to replenish what I’ve used with the spa session yesterday afternoon 😊
We were contemplating fishing, but in the end we just keep close to the coastline. In between the cays we see the calm electric blue water on the other side… no more of that for us. We feel a bit sad about that. Plenty of long white sand beaches all along the eastern coast of Great Exuma Island, and we make a mental note to look it up on google maps satellite view.
Only two other boats out, both going the other way… sensibly. A big difference to yesterday when it seemed everyone was making passage in the very calm conditions.
The entrance to the Emerald Bay Marina, where we need to refuel, is directly into the eastern shore and has the reputation for being potentially treacherous to enter. But it was not too bad for us. A bit rolly coming in but no breaking waves. Once in the marina it’s very calm and we are quickly tied up and refueling. It’s a smart little marina, attached to Sandals Beach Resort. Glen offers me to stay in the marina and have a day pass to the resort. But the tickets are $180/person, plus the marina cost $2.25/ft. Crazy price! So I decline the offer. But he is not off the hook yet for missing the Sandals day-pass opportunity in Nassau, where he had promised me we would return to! I still hold him onto that promise…one day 😊
The refueling turn around is very quick, and $500 poorer we head out of the marina back into the swell. It’s another 6 mile run to Conch Cut which leads us into George Town Harbour. Even before we get there we can see an armada of yacht masts in the anchorage. There must be several hundred yachts anchored here. Apparently, lots of north American cruisers sail and stay here all winter, every winter! So they have quite a community here. A little bit like the French boats in La Marin, Martinique.
Among the hundreds of masts we quickly spot Mahina’s FinDelta sail and we anchor a couple of boats away from them. And, ironically, right next to the Australian couple on their yacht Marley. This is the 4th time we’ve ended up anchoring right next to them, all purely by coincidence.
Once settled we quickly find it damned hot. The anchorage is nicely sheltered from the wind, but heat is the downside. So for the first time for quite a while, our large over-boom sunshade comes out and we have instant relief from the sun. It was certainly one of our better investments. Made for us while we sweltered out a week or 49degC temperatures in the south of Spain, 4 years ago.
We learn from the Australians that in the nearby Kahari Resort there is a special yachty happy hour 2-5pm. So we are soon off in our dinghies along with the Marley and Mahina crew. But as we dinghy towards the venue, lots of dinghies are coming out. Hm…is that a bad sign? Maybe not, as the dinghy dock it’s an enormous parking of dinghies, the largest number we have ever seen.
But the venue and atmosphere was not really our scene. It was a grab-the-mic happy hour being entertained by people who could neither sing nor play the instruments, and being served rum punches with no rum in them. Plus the whole place was full of cruisers people who… well, not wanting to sound rude, let’s just say they are not our scene. So after our watery punch we leave.
Having a stroll through the beautiful gardens of the Kahari Resort, we head to the resort bar on the beach. And what a beautiful beach it is. Much more lively, younger people, better music, nice atmosphere, and expensive drinks … but at least with some alcohol for your money! We sit for a while, chatting and watching the various “TV” around us – meaning youngsters having fun pouring shots at the bar, taking silly pictures and generally misbehaving 😊 like one does on vacation or on a Sunday!
From the beach bar, we head back to the dinghy dock. Where, tour astonishment, there are only two dinghies left: ours and Mahina’s. All the dozens which were here two hours aga have all disappeared.
We dinghy out of the lagoon to the Chat’N’Chill beach bar. It’s much more of a rustic place than the last, but not too bad. Above the bar room there are (what feels like) a hundred hanging t-shirts with writing on each. All donated by customers. Hardly anybody around, despite still being only late afternoon. And it’s Sunday! Where is everybody from these hundreds of boats which are anchored outside?Along with our rum punches we decide to have dinner here. Just fast food, but will have to do. We have been warned by other fellow cruisers that when it comes to Chat’N’Chill, you either love it or hate it, depending on your experience. We do not have a verdict just yet, we’ll check it out again in the coming days.
As we leave back to our dinghies on the beach, we realise we are the last ones here too. What had looked like a real happening-place when we arrived is now deserted. Boy oh boy, these cruisers may party in the afternoon but looks like they all need to be back on their boats before dark! Why is that? We’ve heard the joke that 8pm is cruisers midnight, but this is only 6:30pm!
Dwelling on that, we say good night to Mahina and head back to Cloudy Bay where we have a quiet and relaxing evening.
