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Dear Ocean, Thank you for making us feel tiny, humble, inspired, and salty … all at once. - Unknown We had several opportunities to snorkel around our Georgetown anchorage of Red Shanks. Our first underwater adventure were several of the coves along the back side of Crab Cay just near where Journey was anchored. The winds have stirred up the water but we saw some beautiful fish and a deep blue hole that most likely went up under Crab Cay.
Next there was a small cut near the entrance of out anchorage that we were told to snorkel, but the weather just did not provide a good time at slack tide to actually snorkel the cut, but we snorkeled near the cut and came across this little starfish. Of course, our favorite place to snorkel was the canal on Crab Cay where the turtles swam and fed. Sadly my camera died during our big snorkel here but thanks to Dee we have some great turtle shots. If you snorkel here look in the rock wall they love to hide here while you swim by and don’t even notice them. One of our final nights in Red Shanks Journey and Salt Wife had quite the Dance Off on the front decks. Before we leave Georgetown we must share one of lessons learned. Yep, we have been saying that we need to keep check of the gas on Shelby. I said I would make it one of my jobs, but yep! I failed and as we went to snorkel one morning with plans to get gas later we ran out. Thankfully not that far from Journey and we had some extra gas onboard. Lesson Learned check the gas in the dingy often and check it again. Our time here is coming to and end …. We will miss the sunsets, Spectacular views and blue water, hiking, spending time on the beach Enjoying Georgetown and its people Leaving our mark on Red Shanks……
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Used There are Good Ships and Wooden Ships, Ships that Sail the Sea, but the best ships are friendships may they always be! -Irish Proverb It is time to climb Monument. I first shared Monument as we entered Elizabeth harbor as one of the many anchorages. It is also a hike everyone says to make especially to see all the names of the boats in the sand below. Monument is located on Stocking Island. According to Wikipedia: Stocking Island is lightly inhabited, with a population of only 10. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) from Government Dock, Georgetown, across the harbor. The long narrow island protects Georgetown from ocean waves, creating a natural harbor. There is one high hill, known locally as the Beacon, which is capped with an old, unused gas beacon. The glass top portion is missing, but the concrete pillar is visible for miles. The central part of Stocking Island features an inlet known as Hurricane Hole where sailboats anchor for protection during storms,. Opposite Hurricane Hole is a sandbar beach where locals have built a popular bar/restaurant accessible only by boat known as Chat and Chill. After reaching the peak of Monument and taking our selfie it was time to explore the Exuma side of Stocking island and the beaches. Off to find a trail to the beach. We enjoyed hanging out on North Beach and discovering the hidden beauty we find so many places in the Bahamas, As always I enjoyed picking up shells. Photo op for us both as we posed on the beach. Finally, getting some sun before heading over to the Peace and Plenty Beach club for a hot dog and Rum Punch which cruisers said was a must stop for a quick meal on the beach. The time as come… Our friends on Salt Wife who you first met during our August 2019 boat trip together, arrive in Georgetown. We are super excited to to hand out with these two. We closed out the first evening with sundowners on the deck. Before the fun can begin, Scott and Mary arrived just ahead of weather. Wind Weather see all the white caps. Four days of rocking and rolling in the anchorage with 30plus MPH winds. We thought it was rough and we were pretty protected compared to all the boats anchored in Elizabeth Harbor. After Four day, we all had cabin fever so it was time to go ashore, find a cold beer and just be on land. Dee and Scott decided to give the Hook and Ring game a go but found the one located at Cheaters near Georgetown a little more difficult. They got some help from some locals on how to play, but still no one not even the locals were able to hook the ring on this day. We all just blamed it on the weather! Mary and I just enjoyed our cold beers. Might I recommend the Kalik Mango Radler. We did finally get our hands on a Sands beer in Black Point and loved it, but sadly Dorian put this brewery under water but they should be back on line probably now as this video comes out. Now that the winds have stopped,Back in our anchorage we were finally able to get to know some more of our neighbors. We recognized Lawrence and his boat MinnieSS who had anchored near us in Black Point, we stopped by and he invited us aboard for a cold beer and conversation…. Lawrence is 81 and from Canada he keeps his boat stored in Florida and drives down each winter for his annual trip to the Bahamas. Most years he single hands it but sometimes he has friends and family join him. In Black Point he had his daughter and her friend with him. You might think Lawrence’s story is unusual, but not really in the cruising world. what is unusual is this. Lawrence has had several strokes. He told us of the one he had right here in Georgetown while alone on his boat. He awoke one morning and one side of his body was numb and partially paralyzed. He tells how he managed to get himself in his dinghy, get is started and drive himself the 2 miles to the dock to get help. He made it to a clinic and a nurse did what she could there but he would need to go to Nassau to get the treatment he needed. They arranged a flight but before he could go he needed to return to the MinnieSS to get some clothes and other necessities. The nurse True to the Bahamian nature went with him to care for and help him. After his treatment and recovery in Nassau he returned to his boat and continued his trip and obviously his passion of being on the water. You can still see the effects of the strokes on his body and speech but it doesn’t slow him down. As we watched him prepare MinnieSS for his trip home, we discuss how he shouldn’t be out here alone or he should be traveling with a buddy boat. All thoughts I am sure his family feel also, but who are we, mere novices at this life on the water, Lawrence is the model we can only hope to achieve. Fairwinds and following seas our friend. It is not always cold beers and great stories sometimes we have to do laundry which is always an adventure when you live on a boat. Scott was all about making conch horns and he was no doubt good at making and blowing his conch horn. Dee on the other hand, well he is still working on it. We ended the night sharing our lights on the water. Salt Wife is Green tonight and Journey is showing off her blue! Until next time when we go underwater in Georgetown. |
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