In Georgetown - Great Exuma

AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Sun 21 Mar 2010 14:42
23:30.20N, 75:45.85W
 
We are now in Georgetown, having motored down from Thompson Bay Long Island last Wednesday. An uneventful trip although we were rewarded with a 12" long Snapper taking a liking to one of our lures. Tasted great on the barbecue although it's twin brother would have made a welcome addition to the meal.
 
So far Georgetown has been a working stop - we've had to jerry water and diesel from ashore. The local filling station then ran out of diesel. (it had run out of petrol the previous day) Oil changes were needed on our main engines and we've contributed to the local supermarket profits. We also stopped by Immigration to extend out tourist visas for the remainder of our Bahamas stay. Most importantly a ton of washing was carted over to the local self-service laundry. Provisions here are more expensive than in Marsh Harbour, although it's generally cheaper to eat out. But less sophisticated than Abaco. Yesterday we stopped by at Captain Ryan's fishing boat just back from the fishing grounds.. He had a large cooler full of crawfish tails, snapper, grouper & conch. We bought a large crawfish tail for $12 which we barbecued last night.
 
Georgetown in the Exumas  is the southern hub of the Bahamas for many cruisers. The community here is larger than in the Abacos,  established over many years with the same boats visiting year after year.Some anchors hit the bottom here in late fall and get lifted again in March-April. They never move out of Elizabeth Harbour. The weather is warmer and the fronts less aggressive. From here the surrounding islands can easily be visited between fronts and to the south the Jumentos Cays are tempting if the weather is agreeable.
 
Today we are shifting anchorage for a few days to visit Stocking Island just a half mile away where the bulk of the cruisers are located. The beaches are there to be walked both in the lee and on the Exuma Sound side. Should the mood takes us we can also indulge in volleyball, palates, yoga, bridge and poker to name just a few of the activities available if the sheer beauty of Mother Nature should pail.
 
Will post some pics of Georgetown area when we have some working wifi as despite all that Georgetown offers the wifi seems unreliable, especially over a weekend.