Georgetown is the largest town in the Exumas. They have a good supermarket, ATM, liquor stores, and restaurants—all the necessities for the cruiser. We enter a straw market with many little booths operated by women who live here. They are busy weaving baskets, making jewelry, or selling T-shirts and other trinkets. The women are very friendly and we enjoy talking with them. Greg runs back to the ATM to get some cash and we proceed to help the local economy.

Grocery shopping and a bottle of rum later we are back to the boat. Checking the weather, a cold front with strong wind is coming in tonight. We had hoped to leave Sunday but the winds do not look like they will be letting up until the afternoon. When the winds die down we plan to leave the marina and join the other cruisers that are anchored out so that we can get out of the harbor earlier in the morning.

Monday will be another long day sailing to Rum Cay. Historians note that Columbus made his second stop to the new world on Rum Cay, naming it Santa Maria de la Conception. The modern name is said to be in memory of a shipwreck whose cargo of rum washed up on the shore. Can you say PARTY TIME.

From Rum Cay we plan to sail straight for 30 hours. If everything goes as planned we will be in the Turks and Caicos on Wed. night. This will be quite a challenge for us and we are both a little apprehensive to say the least. I have checked the weather at least 10 times to confirm that we have a good window. I am sure I will check it a few more time before we leave.

The nickname for this harbor at Georgetown is “chicken harbor”. Cruisers get here and then chicken out to go any further south. I can understand why.

The next blog will be from the Turks and Caicos.

picture- On the Deck of Exuma Yacht Club Marina