Sunday, January 12, 2014

It’s a warm morning in Georgetown with <5kts wind as we sit under the trees at Volleyball Beach watching men groom the volleyball courts (leveling the sand) while we wait the pig roast to start.

There aren’t many people here yet, but expect it to get busy. There are kids swinging on the rope swing.

Having the rare day with low wind, Phil and I went across the harbor to Georgetown to get a few items from Exuma Market, get gas for the dinghy, fill 2-5gal jugs of water and drop off garbage. We filled the water tanks and then drove over to SV RodeTrip to check out their double pole downwind sailing rig which is new since we last saw them. They are going fishing and if they are her Tuesday, we may go with them.

Later after the pig roast, we will go to St. Francis to buy some WiFi ($2 for 85 min) so that we can use the Magic Jack phone to call family back home. We got Victoria’s voicemail but can’t use cell data to call back. I really love that I can talk for free when I have Wifi. The connection may not be great, but it’s better than nothing.

We arrived here this past Tuesday morning on light winds. And have come to VB beach to get a Kalik beer for Phil and a diet coke for me while watching volleyball, knitting and then learning how to make baskets with palm fronds. There are very few boats here this season. Typical is 300-400 boats at peak season and there are less than 100 now. We are planning on staying here until our friends Ken and Jeanne on SV sail Away arrive. We know they are south of Shroud Cay now but haven’t heard how far as they are moving today. The days start with Chris Parker at 640am. I have had a very hard time hearing him on SSB, so have used the web cast a few times until he comes in clearly. Then at 8am on VHF Channel 72 comes the cruisers net that last about 15 min. The weather is given, High and low tides, then local business can advertise followed by Community announcements, Boaters General when people ask questions or let people know if they have items available for trade. Often you hear about Taxi rides available to share and then Cruisers Regatta announcements. We have breakfast and may do work around the boat in the morning, or go into town to wash clothes, take a walk on the beach or just relax. I have tried to fix the main meal at lunch time in case we have happy hour later. Then early afternoon we take the dinghy if weather permits (waves low enough that we don’t get wet) to socialize on VB beach and meet new people. I am starting to weave a coke can cozy. Typically by 4pm people are going back to their boats. One evening we went to a beach bonfire sharing dishes. The occasion was to share fish someone had caught.

We’ll be staying here for a few days to less than 2 weeks. Will try to post more.