I won't say it more than just once, but boy, is this place crowded. We climbed to the top of Monument yesterday and took some pictures to show that we are definitely not alone in Paradise. The bad thing, almost 280 boats anchored here in Elizabeth Harbor, Star of the Sea and OZ among them. The good thing, this is a paradise (although a shared one), we have a good, safe anchorage spot, and if you can get away from the VHF radio, it is quiet, warm, and beautiful.

On Tuesday we had an easy and uneventful trip back from Thompson Bay, Long Island. It was sad and glad both as we'd all had such a good time there but were getting the two-weeks-at-anchor-in-one-place itchy feet to move on feeling. So, back to Georgetown, all sails set and if you check out the gallery, OZ got their spinnaker (big balloon-type foresail) up for the first time in a couple of years! It was a perfect day to come back into Elizabeth Harbor, but all of us had this niggling fear in the back of our minds that we weren't going to get a good "parking space" in the newly formed Georgetown Regatta crowd of cruising boats (I keep thinking about Joni Mitchell......tear down paradise and put up a parking lot).

Luck was with us all and we are settled in after being here for five days. Peaches and I were not perfectly happy with our spot, a little too close to the shipping lane and all the tugs and barges that come by so close to us. We moved Wednesday morning when OZ called and said there was an opening in front of them. It was our own little Chinese fire drill this time, and we are just right now. As Wednesday progressed, there were over 20 sail and motor yachts coming in, just in the couple of hours after we moved. Whew!

This brings up a new term we heard in Thompson Bay............Harbor Sweeper. The definition is a cruiser who puts down lots and lots of chain when they anchor so they will be safe in all winds, all directions. Their long chain sweeps out all the other boat's anchors in the harbor as it moves across the bottom from side to side as the winds and tides change directions. We just might have sort of been that boat last year. We were sure that more was better. We are almost conservative now, no harbor sweeper, us, any longer.

Our trusty dinghy has gone across the harbor to town three or four times already. We are stocked up on food and fuel and have made more new friends. We've attended an ARG meeting on the beach since we returned. We had another pot-luck dinner on OZ this time, with Ten Years After and LaDanza, full of good food and good company. Pat and Dave from Ten Years After, have now headed north with their boat into the Abacos, trying to get back to the States in time to make their April flight to Costa Rica to be with their family. They left their friends behind, but left with full stomachs and good wishes for gentle seas and winds. Last night was happy hour on Star of the Sea, a reunion with Karl and Jan from White Pepper, OZ and LaDanza (Reto and Sally). It's amazing how different each of these happy hours are with lots of finger foods and drinks contributed. Never a need for dinner after!

The rest of us are listening to the net in the morning and deciding if we want to join in any of the Regatta hubba-hubba like the dinghy poker run, the coconut run (many dinghies going after floating coconuts in a confined space), trivia nights, Texas hold-um poker nights, Bridge tournaments, the In-Harbor Race, the Around the Island Race, the talent show, and more and more. This is like a high priced nursing home (yachts for everyone) with an over-zealous activities chairman beating on the drum. Like high school, there are cliques and spats and gossip galore.

BUT, there are lots of great people here to meet as you walk the beaches or attend Chris Parker's (weather guru) seminars at St. Francis Resort. Peaches, Connie, Beth (from Mad Cap) and I went to the Beginner's presentation about weather this morning. Peach even got Chris to sign our copy of his weather book. We are one of the in-people now! We're going to the advanced seminar tomorrow morning while Ken and Jim (Mad Cap) are going to the Grib File reading course in the afternoon.

Yesterday, Peaches achieved her goal of walking up the big hill to the monument, bad hip or not. She did it her way and was 100% successful. Ken, Connie and I went down to the beach on the Sound side of the island from the monument while she back-tracked to Alvin's beach bar to wait for us. We took so long; she was just about to get a search party to find us. We walked the beach picking up some shells, clambered over some rocks and ultimately walked some trails through the low trees and brush, eventually coming to a main trail ending at Alvin's. We needed drinks, time to tell our stories, and time to relax and meet some new people. Walt and Barbara, from Philly, are here on their two son's sailboat for a couple of weeks. Peaches announced the good news, there was plenty of beer, but not cold beer. No ice in Georgetown for a couple of days, bad news. But Alvin just got some so we switched to rum and Cokes to overcome our thirst. Barb and Peaches talked about her impending knee replacement and also Peaches' hip replacement when we get back. Yep, it's a regular organ recital here in the land of retired folk.

We went back to the smaller, but just as awe inspiring blue hole on Stocking Island yesterday after lunch. Peaches had some leftover hamburger and bun and just for the fun of it, I tried taking some pictures. It was a not-much-wind day, and the sun was directly overhead. The pictures look like I was swimming with them rather than looking down at them from our dinghy. We went back after the seminar today again, with ripples on the water and the sun not quite overhead, but the fish just jumped out of the water for the bits of leftover hamburger bun and French fries. Paradise for sure.

So, some time for relaxing, but we are thinking about fielding a couple of teams for trivia tomorrow night at St. Francis. I know it is an organized 'sport' for us cruisers, but we have a medical person for two teams, at least one Canadian and American for each team, a nun (ace in the hole) for the religious questions, and a couple of regular people who store up trivia as we voraciously (like chain-smokers almost) read book after book. A regular night on the town! That's all for now, Star of the Sea, Out.