More of Georgetown/Stocking Island

With the length of time we spent in Georgetown, I managed to miss some high points worth coming back to mention.

No sooner than we docked the dinghy at Queen's Dock and stepped onto shore, we met a couple who gave us a rundown of the path and all it had to offer. 

Queen's Dock

Dock is inscribed:

“QUEEN’S DOCK
BUILT IN 1975 BY NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES
REBUILT YEARLY BY BOATERS”

So, off we go on the path from Monument Beach to the Atlantic coast.

On the path to the Atlantic Coast

 

"Which way do we go, Jim?  South Beach Monument it is."

"Jim, where are you going?"

Jim is obviously on his own path, so, before heading up to the Beacon at South Beach Monument, let's take a few steps back to an unmarked, yet well-traveled, path leading to the "Bum Tree."  Bum Tree, you say?  Yes, a tree resembling a naked person with their head stuck in the sand.  BWAHAHAHA!

The "Bum Tree"

Back on the trail to South Beach Monument, we find ourselves trekking a few miles of overgrown paths, obviously not recently traveled, leading us on stretches to the top edge of cliffs and other times deep into the forest.  Eventually, we lose the trail altogether so we make our own way.

The path ahead of us

A confident Jim ready to tackle the challenge

Though, not exactly unscathed, as Jim has multiple scratches and blood trickling down both arms from pushing through the underbrush, we make it to the top and land at the South Beach Monument.

The Beacon at South Beach Monument

What was there to see at South Beach Monument?  Although the Beacon was not much to look at, we had a spectacular view of the hurricane holes and all the way across Elizabeth Harbour to Georgetown.  The same one-mile dinghy ride we take pretty much every day, and some days multiple times, to take our garbage to shore and bring water and groceries back to the boat.

South Beach Monument overlooking the hurricane holes
and across Elizabeth Harbour to Georgetown

We came upon a nicely engraved marker, memorializing someone obviously much loved and missed a lot...

"In Loving Memory
of
Barbara L. Hart
You Will Always
Be In Our Thoughts
Love
Kim, Doug, Donald, Duncan"

It was time to head back so we began the steep trek down the hill.  We came across an older couple heading up the hill, who seemed to find it much easier getting to the top than we did.

We climbed some steep hills to get to the top
and they we no less steep on the way down

We get back to Queen's Dock in no time only to realize we had been told how to get to South Beach Monument, via the "LONG ROUTE."  Had we taken a closer look while coming past Hamburger Beach on our way to Big D's for lunch, we would have had a much shorter walk to the top.  We will just say we took the scenic route.

Hamburger Beach

 Did you notice that little sign on the tree?  Obviously, we didn't!

Jim at the Flintstone's playground

Big D's

Georgetown

Georgetown (January 19-February 14, 2013)
Red Shanks (February 14-February 19, 2013)
Kidd Cove (February 19-21, 2013)

No matter on which side of Elizabeth Harbour you anchor or what the weather, the party is always on in Georgetown.  With it being only a one-mile dinghy ride from the Georgetown side of the Harbour to Stocking Island, it is easy to make many trips across the Harbour every day. 

Each day begins with the 8:00 a.m. Cruiser's Net, hosted by fellow cruiser Herman on s/v White Wing.   Here, we get our daily weather update, news in the Harbour, pleas for help with boat projects, “buy, sell or trade” and a brief introduction of newbies to the harbor and farewells to those departing.

Immediately following the Net, the whir of dinghy motors is heard as most head to Volleyball Beach for morning yoga.  Then, it is back to the boat for our 4-hour work day of chores before heading back to Volleyball beach for afternoons filled with volleyball, bocce ball, water walk exercise, basket weaving, jewelry making, games of Scrabble, Texas Holdem Poker and Trivia Pursuit along with many choices of interesting lectures on advise to those going further south, those planning to visit Cuba, the history of Georgetown and healthy living, to mention a few.  The list of things to do is endless.

  

While here, we were invited to more parties and social events than we could possibly attend at the Chat-N-Chill, St. Francis Marina, Queen's Dock, Big D's, Monument Beach, Hamburger Beach, Volleyball Beach, and Sand Dollar Beach.  Every day and every night was something special.  We loved every minute of it, but top all that off with the annual regatta activities and it became exhausting.

Monument Beach on Stocking Island

Hamburger Beach

Sand Dollar Beach

Kidd Cove

It was here that we had to say "Goodbye" to our friends David and Pat, on s/v Sanctuary.  We had met them while in Marathon, Florida and reconnected as we came into Chubb Cay, where we checked into the Bahamas.  We had no idea the impact their departure would have on us as we had immensely enjoyed traveling with them, planning our days, socializing, meeting new friends, enjoying potluck dinners and celebrating holidays as well as carefully checking weather and planning each passage from island to island.  So much so that we hadn't given it a second thought they would be leaving soon to head back to their home in Florida.  The day they departed hit us really hard and it took quite a few days to get into our new groove, but we finally did.

Pat and David Tye

A heavy cold front was to come in on Valentine's Day, with very high winds and an ocean surge that we knew all too well was going to make for a very uncomfortable rough ride in Elizabeth Harbour, so we pulled anchor and headed for Red Shanks, the calmest of the anchorages, about 3 miles south of Volleyball Beach and Kidd Cove.  We thought we would only be there a day or two, but once there it hit us that we had been running nonstop for the preceding month and it felt great to take a break from it all.  So, a day or two turned into six days of peace and quiet with a dozen or so other boaters seeking shelter from the weather.

Heading to the Atlantic side of the St. Francis Resort

Loving the day!!!  - Atlantic Coast off of St. Francis Resort

The Atlantic winds were blowing on the back side of St. Francis Resort

Nature's wind direction indicator

Pat and David heading back to Elizabeth Harbour

There are several paths on which to cross the island
from Elizabeth Harbour to the Atlantic Ocean

Jim returns to the Elizabeth Harbour shore

The trail disappeared on our way to the Monument

Overlooking the anchorage

Waterway leading to hurricane holes and Jacques Cousteau Mystery Cave

Boats are everywhere

Having experienced 5 weeks of pulling anchor and moving from one side of Elizabeth Harbour to the other seeking calmer anchorage due to the continuous clocking winds, we were more than ready to move on.  We moved more times than I can count, from Kidd Cove to Volleyball Beach to Red Shanks and Sand Dollar Beach, back and forth, again and again.  We witnessed many boats dragging anchor, several emergency situations, some things that don't warrant mentioning here and even the rescue of a little dog that went overboard during some bad weather.  With hundreds of boaters anchored together, something was always happening.

As we planned our departure, we came to understand why Georgetown is referred to as "Chicken Harbor."  Two-thirds of the hundreds of boats here intend to, but never make it any further south than Georgetown.

While we met some great people here and we most wanted to sail south with them, after 5 weeks and 3 times of refueling, lugging water to the boat and provisioning to leave, we gave up the ghost on the other boaters and left the island to sail it alone.

When sailing, you are never really alone as no more than an hour into our travels, we met up with sailing vessels Hali, Vivachy and Trudy Mae, 3 other sailboats heading to our same destination.

Next stop, Calabash Bay, Long Island.

Little Farmers Cay

Little Farmers Cay  (January 17-19, 2013)

There were two anchorages in Little Farmers Cay.  We opted to anchor at the Farmers Cay Yacht Club.  The first night, we stayed on one of Little Jeff’s mooring balls across the channel from the Yacht Club.  Little did we know there would be two contenders for anchorages in such a small space.  The cost was $20/night.  Funny thing was Little Jeff and another guy came out to the boat and after diving the mooring ball, told Jim they needed him to let down the anchor as they were going to set it.  Isn’t the purpose of a mooring ball so you don’t have to set your anchor?  David on s/v Sanctuary had already dove his mooring ball and put a line from the bow through the eye at the bottom of the mooring.  At that point, we all slept well though were not happy to pay for poor mooring.  Next day, we moved to the other side of the anchorage, which was better mooring for the same price.

Farmers Cay Yacht Club

We had lunch at the yacht club.  The pan-seared snapper was tasty, but full of little bones so somewhat of a challenge to eat.

Because the island was small, we decided to take the dinghy all the way around the island.  As we were rounding the southern part of the island, we took notice of some coral heads, decided to go exploring and were pleasantly surprised.  This exploration turned out to be quite magnificent as it was a fairly large coral field located in 5-10 feet of water.   The coral was teaming with life with bright colored sea fans, large brain coral and numerous large lionfish.  Unfortunately, Jim didn’t bring his spear so we were unable to get dinner.

Yet again, we were met with a destruction of dreams.  While on our dinghy adventure, we came across a beautiful compound that looked like it had been 90% completed and then went belly up.

Someone's dream

 

The sunsets here were stunning and always enjoyed with a glass of wine.