A Study in Contrasts

We left the very upscale resort-like marina at Emerald Bay today – having enjoyed the clean hot showers, the beautiful clubhouse, the free laundry room, and the near-by use of the gorgeous Grand Isle resort facilities – gourmet restaurant, infinity pool, beautiful powdery ocean beach, etc.

We even took a long walk and ended up on a self-guided tour of Sandals Resort – the pics below will tell the story.

Then we went from the 360-degree protection of the marina harbour to the very rolly waters of Exuma Sound for a two-hour trip to Rat Cay (no rats involved J). This is totally opposite to what we had experienced in Emerald Bay – remote, open turquoise water on the Exuma Bank – only two other boats in sight. There are no services at all – we need to be completely self-sufficient here. But it’s just as gorgeous in its own way. Even the weather contrasted from a glorious sunny day this afternoon, to a dark stormy sky, resulting in a steady downpour at dinner-time, just after I blew my conch to the setting sun. As I write this, the only sound I hear now is the gentle lapping of the nearly still water against our little dinghy, tied up to Sea Change.

We’ll spend the next couple of days here, until we run out of supplies – then off to explore new places. This is so great!

A Rainy Day at the Cottage

We made it! Yesterday we sailed away from Elizabeth Harbour, with our refrigeration working - hallelujah J!!!

The day before, we move Sea Change to a beautiful, peaceful cove called Little Crab Cay, where the only other boat was “Temptress” – the captain of which is a fridge expert (how lucky can you be?). Clark came over and with a little soldering magic, he repaired the problem in 10 minutes. Then we spent the rest of the evening chatting over snacks and drinks. Clark and his wife, Emily, are probably the most interesting people we’ve met here so far – living full-time on their boat, and bringing their many skills and talents to helping people in the harbor with their various boat issues. Both are “retired” at 36 (him) and 31 (her). Are you jealous, yet?

Yesterday, under a clear blue sky, and with 10 knots of wind, we had a leisurely trip under full sail to our favourite up-scale harbour – Emerald Bay – about 4 hours from Crab Cay (part sail, part motor). We celebrated with our first dinner at a restaurant in 3 weeks, right by the infinity pool under the up-lit palm trees. A lovely break from Marilyn’s home cooking (though my captain would say it’s fine – but he knows what’s good for him).

Today we’re enjoying a rainy day at the “cottage” – with thunder rolling in the background and both of us engaged in neglected rainy day projects. Next stop, probably Cat Island – new to us – in a couple of days.

The Ecstasy and the Agony

The Ecstasy – yesterday, climbing Monument Hill on a hike to the top, and then down to the ocean side. The most exquisite, white-sand beach and roiling blue ocean we’ve ever seen! We had the miles-long beach all to ourselves, while we ate our picnic lunch and marvelled at the power of the waves.

Then some new friends from the New Year’s Eve party appeared and we hiked back and met them on the harbour-side beach for a swim. A perfect afternoon!

The Agony – today as we battled the elements to and from George Town, where we needed to do some errands. The waves in the harbour were two feet high, and we smashed through them in our little dinghy, ferrying water, ice and provisions to Sea Change, and then risked life and limb transporting them from the dinghy to the boat – wicked! The passage out of Elizabeth Harbour, through the underpass into placid Lake Victoria was like riding white water in a canoe – and we arrived back at the big boat soaked to the core.

The photos below are from yesterday – there was no chance to pull out a camera today in all of that chaos – you’ll have to take my word for it! The good news is that we managed all of that with no injury to either of us, though our evening consisted of rubbing each other’s aching muscles with Voltaren and mumbling about getting a water maker J.

Happy New Year, 2019!

Well – it’s been quite a week! Our lack of refrigeration continues, despite efforts from Jeff and fellow cruisers to remedy the situation. We’re still waiting for our friend, David, to arrive from Florida with the part to be replaced, but he’s been thwarted by consistently strong winds – making the Gulf crossing impossible.

The upside is that we’ve, for the first time in 5 years, had a chance to visit many different beaches in Elizabeth Harbour – each with its own special charm. And we’re meeting dozens of fellow cruisers, who are also prevented from sailing away by the weather.

We started out in Red Shanks – a calm, well-protected harbour about an hour outside of George Town. There we met another couple who became friends, and we spent many lovely hours with them walking the tiny perfect beach, toasting each other at “sundowners” on our two boats, and generally “chillin”. We saw dolphin and sea turtles from our dinghy cruises around the harbour and enjoyed beautiful sunsets from Sea Change, celebrated by the blowing of my conch “horn” (I'm improving daily).

In contrast to the peacefulness of Red Shanks, we then returned to the George Town area for laundry, groceries, water and ice for the fridge, and began a round of beach parties to celebrate Christmas and then New Year. Two separate New Year’s Eve beach parties included fires, drumming and dancing, conch-blowing and lots of good pot-luck food. Last night’s even featured a well-put together ritual to welcome the New Year!

Finally, we continue to make progress with boat issues – all getting resolved (apart from the fridge so far). So we’re ringing in 2019 feeling grateful to be here, determined to “pay forward” the loving kindness of everyone we meet, and wishing our friends and family back home the best of everything life has to offer. Happy New Year!