Georgetown Cruising

The area commonly known as Georgetown is actually a section of Elizabeth Harbour bordered on the west by Great Exuma Cay and the town of Georgetown and on the west by Stocking Island. There are many anchorages here with most people choosing to anchor off Stocking Island at Monument Beach, Chat n Chill, Sand dollar Beach, or in the hurricane holes. On the Great Exuma side is Kidd Cove and Red Shanks.

Chat n Chill

Red Shanks is south of the town of Georgetown and is known for being well protected and a great hide out during west or north winds. Unfortunately, there is nothing there. There is one tiny beach to take Bullet but not big enough for socializing. There are no bars or restaurants and getting into town is a long, wet, dinghy ride. Red Shanks is a fabulous place to hide out from weather though, so we ended up here twice.

We used Georgetown as a home base in February and March and moved in and out of the area quite a few times. From here we explored some of the outer islands. Georgetown is great for stocking up the pantry, water tanks, fuel tanks, and an occasional boat part. We even brought Bullet to the vet and groomer. Big shout out to Exuma Humane Society, https://www.facebook.com/exumabhs/. These wonderful people take care of the island’s pets, help with adoptions, and even have a visiting vet every 3 weeks. Dr. Hanson travels from Nassau for the weekend. The community boards and feeds him. He and his team work hard to care for the animals and neuter the island dogs. Most of the surgeries are done for free to control the dog population. Bullet had a minor procedure done to drain a hematoma on his ear. The procedure, meds, and anesthesia came to a whopping $65. We were shocked as we expected it to cost a few hundred dollars. The cost of grooming was similar to cost in the US but Bullet really needed a good bath and clipping. Well worth the money.

Our days in Georgetown were fairly simple. The mornings were school and boat projects, boat laundry or fetching groceries, water, gas/diesel. Each afternoon we headed to Chat n Chill for beach volleyball, drinks, and hanging with friends. The kids became remarkably good at volleyball. Both had a blast and looked forward to it every afternoon. This was also a great time to meet other boat kids as there are kids of all ages from all over the world. One cruiser mom even organized a beach cleanup for all the teenagers. A lot of trash washes up on the east side beaches throughout the Bahamas, especially plastic and fishing nets. It's pretty horrific how many water bottles and flip flops we've seen washed up these last few months.

Beach Clean Up Day

We didn’t do a lot of exploring in Georgetown but there was a lot of socializing and fun. There were a few walks to the Stocking Island east side beaches, and a hike up monument hill. Most of the people here had been isolated on their boats for months only seeing other cruisers. Everyone coming into the Bahamas was tested twice and every community was very strict with masking and hand sanitizer. This allowed us to feel fairly comfortable socializing with other cruisers. The Bahamians, outside of Nassau, have had good luck keeping COVID away. It's imperative that they do as the only decent medical care/hospitals are in Nassau with a very expensive transport.

Working Out in Georgetown

Splicing Class at Chat n Chill

Georgetown didn't have their traditional cruisers regatta this year, but a few boats decided they would have an informal one. Of course Mike had to race the boat. We removed as much heavy stuff as we could and prepped the boat for race mode. We picked up some additional crew, Jane and Ella from Ptarmigan and Kevin, a fellow Lakewood member. We had a blast racing up and down Elizabeth Harbour. Unfortunately it was a reach/reach kinda race and we ended up second monohull (out of 2). Oh well. We had a blast anyway.

Raising the Battle Flag Before the Regatta

We left Georgetown for the final time on April 8th to begin our trip north through the Exumas and eventually towards the US east coast. We really don't want to leave. We've debated many times heading south instead of north but there's just too many reasons to head back to the US for the summer. Honestly I could stay in the Bahamas indefinitely. It's unbelievably beautiful and the people of so friendly and welcoming.

I don't want to leave

Next post I’ll tell you about some of the great trips we had in and out of Georgetown over the 2 months we were there.