Black Point to Georgetown

 

Hi all,
We are now at anchor in Elizabeth Harbour just off Sand dollar Beach on Stocking Island. It was an easy day trip out in The Exuma Sound down to Great Exuma Island. We are traveling in some of the best fishing grounds around but our freezer is full so no fishing today.

Elizabeth Harbour is nine miles long and almost one mile wide. Georgetown on Big Exuma Island sits directly across the Harbour.

This will be the southern terminus of our trip this year. We are certainly not alone. We share the anchorages with about one hundred other boaters. The harbor is empty compared to the winter months. Most of the “snowbirds” who call this home part of the year have already begun to migrate north. At one point last year, almost 400 boats were anchored in various spots throughout the harbor. Most of these cruisers spend three to four months at anchor and don’t move until it is time to head north.

We end up spending seven nights here, way more than we would have liked. The winds have been nonstop 30 knots or more most days. Even in the protected harbor, several days were too rough to put down the dinghy. With a case of cabin fever, we took advantage of every opportunity to go ashore.

Georgetown is not someplace we would come back to. The town is crowded with lots of cars and very dirty. Other than the one grocery store not much else would bring us back. The remainder of our time was spent on Stocking Island. Here we found many nice hiking trails. The Monument Trail was calling so we hiked to the top for some great views of both the harbor and Ocean. We hiked many other trails which would bring us across the island to secluded beaches on the other side. Combing the beaches for shells, our collection continues to grow.

The big event in Georgetown is the Family Island Regatta which starts in a few days. This is their “World Series” of sailing. We have seen several of these small wooden sailboats coming into the harbor. Many of the hulls are brightly painted in team colors. The native Bahamians come from all the family island for this weekly carnival. We are somewhat disappointed to miss this event but with a weather opportunity approaching we will make our escape tomorrow.

Total Miles: 61
Total Miles This Year: 753