Saturday 16th December
Volleyball beach
Stocking Island, Georgetown.
23 31.212 N
75 45.437 W
Having spent a reasonable night at the Exuma docking services slip we listened to the weather forecast and were dismayed to hear that the winds were increasing to 25 knots and coming out of E.NE until Friday. This meant that our proposed 2 night stay in Georgetown would have to be extended until then as we would otherwise be bashing into the wind and seas all the way to our next stop and once were got there the anchorage would expose us to some uncomfortable rocking and rolling around. The wind direction also meant that we would be blown onto the dock if we stayed where we were so the decision was made to move the boat across the harbour to Stocking Island. Before moving we headed up the dock into “town” – more like a small shopping area where we first tried to go to the internet café – it was closed, and then headed to the grocery store. We picked up some fresh fruit and vegetables along with cold cuts and a few other essential supplies, loaded up the backpack, sold our share of Microsoft to pay the bill and headed back to the boat. We filled the water tanks, treated the water, paid the dock fee and then Gerry went to see a local man about a WIFI connection that we had been told about. On his return he told me that he had obviously interrupted the man as he poked his head out of the door, answered yes to Gerry’s request for an internet user name and password then vanished inside. He reappeared with a bag of what we assume was dope in one hand and a card with internet details in the other. For the fee of $15 for the week he gave Gerry the card (Not the dope!) and assured Gerry that if we had a range extender we would be able to pick up the connection across the harbour at Stocking Island. We tried it out in the dock prior to leaving and got a connection so we then set ourselves adrift from the dock and motored over to Stocking Island – about 10 minutes later we were dropping the anchor at Volley ball beach. The beach is what most people imagine a tropical island to be like – beautiful white sand with chairs and umbrellas surrounded by sparkling clear azure water and trees. There is a volleyball court and a locally famous bar – the “Chill & Chat”. It sounds good doesn’t it? The biggest problem with the harbor here, according to the tourism minister, is that the harbour has a “sanitation problem”. There is not a good current flow through the harbour so it doesn’t get flushed out regularly –YUK. As hundreds of boats use this harbour all year round the water contents don’t bear thinking about – it’s little better than a very large sewerage pond, even though it looks pristine clean and crystal clear. Anyway once we set our anchor we tried the internet again – not a blip! $15 down the drain. It was a pleasant enough day so we took the dink off the davits and did a tour of the area – looking at all the boats and various beaches, we knew no one! The remainder of the day was spent lounging around the cockpit reading our books. The wind began increasing during the night but we were well anchored and didn’t move anywhere.
Stocking Island, Georgetown.
23 31.212 N
75 45.437 W
Having spent a reasonable night at the Exuma docking services slip we listened to the weather forecast and were dismayed to hear that the winds were increasing to 25 knots and coming out of E.NE until Friday. This meant that our proposed 2 night stay in Georgetown would have to be extended until then as we would otherwise be bashing into the wind and seas all the way to our next stop and once were got there the anchorage would expose us to some uncomfortable rocking and rolling around. The wind direction also meant that we would be blown onto the dock if we stayed where we were so the decision was made to move the boat across the harbour to Stocking Island. Before moving we headed up the dock into “town” – more like a small shopping area where we first tried to go to the internet café – it was closed, and then headed to the grocery store. We picked up some fresh fruit and vegetables along with cold cuts and a few other essential supplies, loaded up the backpack, sold our share of Microsoft to pay the bill and headed back to the boat. We filled the water tanks, treated the water, paid the dock fee and then Gerry went to see a local man about a WIFI connection that we had been told about. On his return he told me that he had obviously interrupted the man as he poked his head out of the door, answered yes to Gerry’s request for an internet user name and password then vanished inside. He reappeared with a bag of what we assume was dope in one hand and a card with internet details in the other. For the fee of $15 for the week he gave Gerry the card (Not the dope!) and assured Gerry that if we had a range extender we would be able to pick up the connection across the harbour at Stocking Island. We tried it out in the dock prior to leaving and got a connection so we then set ourselves adrift from the dock and motored over to Stocking Island – about 10 minutes later we were dropping the anchor at Volley ball beach. The beach is what most people imagine a tropical island to be like – beautiful white sand with chairs and umbrellas surrounded by sparkling clear azure water and trees. There is a volleyball court and a locally famous bar – the “Chill & Chat”. It sounds good doesn’t it? The biggest problem with the harbor here, according to the tourism minister, is that the harbour has a “sanitation problem”. There is not a good current flow through the harbour so it doesn’t get flushed out regularly –YUK. As hundreds of boats use this harbour all year round the water contents don’t bear thinking about – it’s little better than a very large sewerage pond, even though it looks pristine clean and crystal clear. Anyway once we set our anchor we tried the internet again – not a blip! $15 down the drain. It was a pleasant enough day so we took the dink off the davits and did a tour of the area – looking at all the boats and various beaches, we knew no one! The remainder of the day was spent lounging around the cockpit reading our books. The wind began increasing during the night but we were well anchored and didn’t move anywhere.
Labels: Bahamas
posted by SV Orpailleur at 9:42 a.m.
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