CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored near Moss Cays, about midway between George Town on Great Exuma Island and Stocking Island, Exumas, Bahamas
23 30.546' N, 075 45.529' W (CLICK HERE for Google Maps)

Preparation for cruising involved a lot of reading, and in all of the reading we did (both books and articles), we were assured that LP (liquid propane) would be no problem to obtain, anywhere in the world. Well, our experience thus far is that while it may be true that propane is widely available, in the Bahamas it only comes to those who are willing to wait for it.

We carry two 10-lb LP tanks here aboard Prudence, and (as mentioned in our previous blog entry) each one lasts us about 6-8 weeks. Well, we ran the first tank dry just as we were leaving Green Turtle Cay, on December 6th. We tried to get the tank filled in Hope Town, but that would have required that we wait until the day where they send all of the tanks over to Marsh Harbor to be filled. Not wanting to wait around in Hope Town for that particular day of the week, we stowed our empty tank and sailed onward.

Our stays at various islands in the Exumas, en route to George Town (GT), coincided with the holiday season, making it difficult to find any businesses which were open. Therefore, the empty LP tank remained empty. As soon as we arrived in GT, we inflated Patience and ran the empty tank into town to be filled. That was one week ago, and the tank still sits at the only propane place in town, waiting to be filled. It is surrounded by dozens of other empty tanks left by our fellow cruisers here in Elizabeth Harbour. We are not alone in our wait for propane.

We had thought about heading out of here on a currently developing weather window (sailing on to points south and east of here); however, we really cannot depart without a full tank of LP (our dwindling supply in the current tank is likely to expire in the next few weeks). When we checked yesterday, they expected the truck to arrive late in the day but were unsure whether the truck would still have propane when it arrived here (due to other stops along the way). The next truck is not expected until the end of the week.

So, here we sit. Our water tanks are topped off, all diesel cans are full, and even our gasoline supply (for the Evinrude on Patience) is at maximum capacity. We have provisioned with all the food items we need from GT's relatively well-stocked markets. The liquor cabinet is even re-stocked with cheap rum. Save for LP, we are ready to go.

Since find ourselves held hostage by propane, we are attempting to make the best of it. We spent time the other evening aboard First Look with Bob & Vicky (whom we know from North Carolina) and Ron & Judy from Pioneer. First Look is a beautiful Offshore 40 and a comfortable place to spend an evening socializing. Bob & Vicky stopped by yesterday for a tour of Prudence, and our extended stay here in GT allowed us the opportunity to invite Bob & Vicky to come back and join us for dinner.

We enjoyed Japanese curry with sweet potatoes, a good red wine, and wonderful conversation. The hours flew by, and it was after 9PM before we knew it. A very late hour for us cruisers. With reluctance, we said goodbye to our guests and washed up the dinner dishes.

I suppose that we will just have to continue to try and make the best of things here in GT until we get both LP and another good weather window. There could be worse ways to be stranded here in Paradise.