Georgetown Finally

May 26, 2009

May 23, 2009:

     We awoke to lightning and hard rain so we delayed our departure from Staniel Cay until mid morning after it had cleared off some. It only took us an hour and a half to arrive at Black Point settlement.  After anchoring and eating some lunch, we ventured ashore to explore.  There

was a lot of activity on the government dock which also holds the dinghy dock. Several boats seemed to be preparing for Saturday afternoon races. We went looking for a grocery store run by Mrs. Adderly. We found one but she had no lettuce.  She told us of another store, J & J,  down the road which we got bad directions for from another  2 women ( must have been tourists),so we never found it. We stopped in at Loraine's Cafe to make reservations for the night. whatever anyone needs when visiting Black Point Settlement, you can get from Loraine. She seems to be the hub of this settlement.  She offers free internet  and has 4-5 computers to use, but asks for a donation to pay for the electricity used.  We found the police station with a separate building for the jail.  The school with its  basketball court included several buildings.  The library was next door.   We passed several other restaurants and bars , but nothing seemed to be open. All the activity was down at the dock where a delivery ship came in.  The proceeded to load two pickup trucks onto it.  Women were selling beer and conch fritters at the dock and a teenage boy was acting as DJ.  A group of boys were trying to play baseball on the street using a tennis ball.  We obtained some ice and went back to the boat where we sat in our cockpit to watch the three sailboats race.  Black Point has a huge regatta in August and these sailors are very serious about their sailing.  It was exciting to see them hike out on long boards.   We went back in to have dinner at Loraine's.  I had a delicious lobster; Marilyn had Mahi-Mahi and Charlie had grouper. Even though it was a small place, they also had wine and mixed drinks.  After our dinner, the other bars seemed to be open though we didn't see many customers, but the locals were hanging around.  Back at the boat we took the engine off the dinghy and stowed the dinghy topside.

 

May 24, 2009:  

     Since we had a long trip to Georgetown, we were up at 0600 and underway by just after 0700.    We went into Exuma Sound through Dotham cut and headed for georget

own.  the wind was right on our nose so we had to tack across our courseline again. We also began to encounter scattered rain which became heavy rain off and on the rest of the day. We were very grateful for our cockpit surround even though we kept having to mop up where ran leaked through openings. Just as we were to enter Elizabeth Harbor, the rain went away and we had sunny skies for awhile.  We anchored on the shore of Stocking Island near the Peace and Plenty Beach Club just before 1800 (6p.m.).  We had dinner on the boat. 

May 25, 2009:

     We did not see the sea of boats at anchor in Elizabeth Harbor when we arrived and thought they must be around the corner, however, they are just not here. We turned on the VHF for the Cruiser's Net but it did not happen either.  We went across the harbor to the Georgetown side looking for the dinghy dock.  What we saw was a decrepit dock with timbers missing and no ladders to get out.    We ended up using the Peace and Plenty Hotel dock, going into their bar to buy a drink in payment for the use of their dock.  someone from Chicago who has a house 

payment for the use of their dock. house here helped dock us and welcome us.   They have a great Pina Colada and their bartender, "Dr. of Libations" was very friendly.  We continued our exploration to a nice gift shop across the street from Peace and 

Plenty, then  proceeded down the street to the Towne Cafe for lunch.  this was a very busy place with locals coming in for takeout.  Everything was in styrofoam.  We had some great Bar-B-Q ribs with peas and rice, slaw and another side. We found the Exuma Market grocery store, the biggest on the island and supposedly the best stocked grocery in the Exumas.  It was OK, but not nearly as nice as the Marsh Harbor one on the Abacos.  I don't know how they serve 3-400 boats and the locals during the winter!   We did buy groceries and ice.   The cruising guides say all boats have to check in with the harbormaster and I tried to do so.  I finally found his office which was locked and empty, so maybe this just applies during the "season". We took the groceries back to the boat, rested during the hot afternoon before going to explore

our nearby beach.  We picked up litter along the beach. We had lobster and Mahi-Mahi salad from the leftovers.  We enjoyed the beautiful starry night with a sliver of moon and the twinkling lights across the harbor of Gerogetown.  Summer lightning in the

distance added to our light show.