Mike
03/15/2008, George Town

March 14...

Since banks are closed on Saturday and we are just about out of cash , our goal for the day was to find some money. We also took our water containers to fill while in town. The harbor was calm again so it was one of our few dry rides over to the other side. Our first stop was the home of the Harbour Wi-Fi guy. Which was a walk of about 4 blocks. Then it was back to the Exuma Market for a few groceries. Finally we went to the bank and waited in line for about 20 minutes to only to find that my debit card was declined. We had no choice to but go back to the boat and get Kathy's card. After the trip back to the boat and another 40 minutes in line, Kathy's card was denied as well. We could get a cash advance on a credit card but there is a $60 charge.

Anyway, we decided to hike to the other end of town to the only other bank. There was a atm in the entryway and we both withdrew some cash without a problem with the same cards that were denied down the street.

We filled up with water and crossed the harbor for the fourth time of the morning.

After lunch we listened to the Spartans win a rare road game.

We spent quite a bit of time during the afternoon working on the computer and reading before heading out to the concert. There is a band called "White Folks on Boats" that were giving a concert on a Catamaran very close to where we are anchored so we took the dinghy over at 5 and rafted up with about 100 other dinghies for the show. We were shocked... it was a great concert.

Afterwards everyone went to shore on Hamburger beach for snacks and a bonfire. We met some folks from Ann Arbor who now live in North Carolina.

Back on the boat we watched another of Abby's hand me down movies ...


March 13.

Happy Birthday Davey!

This morning the Harbor was calm for the first time so after coffee, I worked on the blue stripe on our topsides and sanding teak. I finished after lunch and was off to a dinghy repair seminar held on a beach to the north. Since dinghy repair is a vocation that I have considerable experience in, I decided to find out exactly what I have done wrong. As it turns out most of my repairs were acceptable. I did learn quite a bit about what to look for when purchasing a dinghy as well as what types of glues should be used.

Our evening entertainment included attending the Racing Awards Program at 6 and directly after, a dance on the Chat and Chill deck with Rockin- Ron. Most of our friends had the same plans so we invited, "Restless", "Viking Rose", and "Tilt" for snacks before we set out for shore.

The dance was a fun but the deck proved again to be too small for the crowd.


March 12..

We woke to about 12 knots of wind which was perfect for the "In harbor" sailboat races that were scheduled for today. Most of the morning was spent on the foredeck watching the race with the glasses. There was also a play by play broadcast on the VHF radio which was interesting.

After the race and a little lunch I went to shore for a bridge game which lasted most of the afternoon.

I returned to find that Kathy had two invitations for the evening. We ended up going to "Viking Rose" for a dinner of grilled Mahi-Mahi which was perfect.

......I should mention that this is regatta week. The highlight of which are the two races: the Around Stocking Island Race and the In Harbor race. The In harbor race is a normal three-mark race while the Around Stocking Island race gives points for fish caught during the race and some other things.

There are also tons of other activities during this two week period. There are Volleyball, Softball, bocce, and bridge tournaments. There is an opening night gathering, a pet parade, kids day, a variety show, a dance, .... most of the time we watch. I am going to assist with the bridge tournament on Saturday. I would have played, but during the sign-up period we were on Long Island. There is also a Bahamian music festival next weekend that many of the cruisers attend.

Mar. 11 Emerald Bay to Georgetown

We left Emerald Bay at about 9am and fished our way south for the 8 miles to Elizabeth Harbor. We passed "Restless" at Hamburger Beach and continued to the area off Volleyball Beach where we were anchored the last week. There was quite a bit of room so Steve and Carol brought "Restless" down and anchored nearby.

At two we all went to shore to see what was happening but there really wasn't much going on...there was a Bocce tournament on the beach and I watched some friends play a few hands of bridge. After a while we took Steve and Carol over to St. Francis Resort for a rum punch. ( they have only been here a couple of days and haven't been to the hot-spots yet).

Back at the boat we put together some snacks and returned to "Restless" to watch the sun set. Richard and Penny from "Viking Rose" arrived here today and stopped by for a visit as well. On their way down to Georgetown today they caught a 40 pound mahi mahi and invited us to fish dinner tomorrow .

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Mike
03/10/2008, Emerald Bay, Exuma

March 9... Emerald Bay

It was a sad day when the alarm sounded at 5:30. There was a flurry of activity, the taxi arrived, and the girls were gone. It was cloudy and breezy as the forecast cold front stalled on top of us. We listened to the Spartans lose and spent the rest of the day reading. Kathy found some more things to wash since laundry is free here but that was about the extent of our productive endeavors.

I miss the girls. K

March 10... Emerald Bay

Caleb Rolle was were at about 9 to recharge our refrigerator. He had to sweat on another valve and was here for a couple of hours. We're not sure that the refrigerator is fixed but if not, we at least know which part needs replacing. Kathy was once again working on more laundry...all of our foul-weather gear was salt encrusted and needed some work as did our rugs. I took our gerry cans over to the fuel dock and topped off our tank. In the afternoon we walked to the grocery to pick up a few things and then called for a shuttle to come pick us up.

We read until supper and later watched one of Abby's "hand me down movies" that Sam had delivered.

Tomorrow morning we will sail back down to Georgetown and are looking forward to seeing Steve and Carol who arrived there a couple of days ago.

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Mike
03/09/2008, Emerald Bay, Great Exuma

March 7th... Emerald Bay.

After breakfast...(our company demands more that coffee and nuts) the girls sunned and Kathy started a couple of loads of laundry. Due to squalls a the occasional rain cloud, we have lots of wet towels and damp clothing, so getting laundry done while it's free is important. The girls did their laundry yesterday so they could take home clean clothes.

After finishing with the clothes and eating some lunch, the girls and Kathy took the shuttle to the mall for some supplies while I showered and did the dishes. We spent the afternoon lazing around the boat mostly reading and finishing a few small jobs.

We grilled hamburgers for dinner and played some more cards before going to bed.

March 8th... Emerald Bay

Kathy did a couple of loads more of laundry in the morning and then we took off to hike to the Resort. We had a map and took off around the tee box of hole #12 which is right behind us and then through one of the gated condo communities to the beach. The resort was half way down the beach. We walked up the boardwalk to a central area that was about two acres of palms perfectly landscaped with a pool that curved through the entire area. Around the pool there were canopied chairs throughout with waiters circulating. We wandered over to one of the outdoor restaurants and ordered drinks and lunch which, although pricy, was excellent.

During our meal the sky turned dank and about the time we finished, there was a down pour. We were in the Hotel at the time ... shopping so stayed dry. I called the marina on the VHF for them to send a car over and Bradford was there in about 5 minutes. It was quite a place.

We did some more reading in the afternoon and I planked some chicken on the grill for supper... which we ate with black beans, rice and a Caesar salad.

The girls arranged for a cab to get them to the airport at six in the morning which was complicated a little by the fact that we were changing to daylight savings time at midnight. After one of the worst movies of all time everyone hit the sack.

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