PASSAGE TO GEORGETOWN

We waited to leave Staniel Cay until after the mailboat arrived with fresh produce. And after stocking up with necessary supplies on Wednesday, were happy to find a weather window still open—with no cold fronts expected to affect the central Bahamas until after the weekend. It was time to move on again. We took three days to make the passage from Staniel Cay to Georgetown stopping at Galliot Cay Thursday, Rat Cay on Friday and arriving at Sand Dollar Beach, just across the harbour from Georgetown itself just after noon on Saturday. We could’ve made the trip in two days. But three broke the passage into comfortable 20 mile segments enabling us to take time to find sheltered anchorages every day and to enjoy relaxing in the sunshine each afternoon.

We had considered stopping at Little Farmers Cay, just a few miles north of Galliot the first and second nights because the annual “5 F’s Festival” (“F”irst “F”riday in “F”ebruary “F”estival at “F”armers Cay) was in full swing and the place was hopping. The tiny harbour was crowded with sailboats and boatlads of islanders from the surrounding cays were due to arrive Friday and Saturday to take part in the fun and festivities. Young and old, something was planned for everyone—dinghy races, fishing contests, crab races, peas’n rice eating contests, dancing, drinking and it was even rumoured that a boatload of prostitutes would be arriving from Nassau to ensure fun, fun, fun, day AND night! Apparently this festival got a little out of hand last year degenerating into raucous debauchery as the evening wore on and cruisers were being advised to pass it by. As much as we would’ve actually LIKED to attend it this year, our boat buddy SaltyGoose was in favour of moving on to Galliot ensuring that we got into Georgetown before the weather turned. And so we moved on too. Had we waited an extra day, the crowds of cruisers already at Farmers would be heading south at the same time as us and we’d all be competing for the same anchorages. Better to be safe than sorry.

At Galliot Cay we were anchored off a sugar white beach along with three French-speaking boats from Quebec. Across the cut we could see Musha Cay, which is the private domain of David Copperfield. Perched at the highest point on this island his large “main house” was clearly visible commanding wonderful views in all directions. Six smaller villas were discreetly scattered around the island which rents in its inclusive entirety for a cool $270,000.per week!!

On Friday morning at slack tide we hoisted our sails and gingerly passed through Galliot Cut out into the Atlantic. Winds were a steady 10-15knots from the east with sea swells of 3’-4’. We had smooth sailing along the eastern side of the Exumas all the way to Rats Cut where we dropped our sails and motored in to a little cove behind a collection of rocky islets just east of Rats Cay. This delightful spot is not even marked as an anchorage on any of our maps. It was a place that Salty Goose had discovered years before and there was just enough room for both of our boats. We were surprised to discover just south of our anchorage a simply gorgeous spit of sand jutting out into the turquoise water “set up” with two beach chairs and a yellow striped umbrella. At first we thought we had stumbled across a photo shoot but about an hour after we arrived a float plane came in for a landing just off its beach and disgorged two upscale passengers. We watched as they spent the afternoon strolling the shore, lolling on the sand and splashing about in the surf. Towards the end of the day their plane reappeared and whisked them back to wherever they came from. They probably shelled out thousands to arrange for their quiet interlude on this special beach. And it’s ironic to think that we can dinghy over to the same place for nothing! All of Bahamas beaches are public and, aside from Musha Cay which has had “special” privileges granted it by the government, you can land , dinghy and beachcomb anywhere.

That evening the winds picked up and we spent a worrisome night as seas surged beneath the boat. When morning came we prayed that we’d still be able to make it to Georgetown—so close and yet so far away! We hoisted the main with two reefs in the relative calm of our anchorage and ventured out. The waves were rolling in from the east at 6’-8’ under 15-20k winds but with the sun shining it didn’t seem so intimidating. The boat handled well and at 12:30 we sailed through Conch Cut arriving at last at Elizabeth harbour. Beneath us the choppy waves miraculously turned to mere ruffles of pure turquoise. Off the starboard side we could see the Batelco tower and Georgetown itself in the distance and on the port, just off Stocking Island, hundreds of sailboat masts beaconed to us around the point of land at Monument Beach. We were so happy to finally be here! Slowly we glided past little groupings of boats strung for several miles along the shore until we came to the end—Sand Dollar Beach—where we dropped the hook in 12’ of turquoise water. Salty Goose arrived about an hour later and we both spent the rest of the afternoon winding down and settling in. That evening we joined a group of sailors at a bon-fire pot-luck on the beach where we met up with old friends and made new ones. And, after dinghying back to the boat just after dark, enjoyed a peaceful sleep in the security of a safe anchorage