Monday 29 February - George Town

Monday 29 February - George Town
Elizabeth Harbour is a mile wide and I am over on the other side. First thing Sunday morning I stopped by to chat with the only Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) boat I have seen. Surprizingly it is a Monk 36 trawler. Carol and Peter put 70,000 miles on their sailboat, then "retired" to the trawler, "Eight Bells". They graciously hosted me for sundowners, then dinner twice. I really appreciated and enjoyed it. Then to say hello to Catherine and Howard on "Pilgrim". They also hosted me for drinks and dinner, but back at South Side Marina in Provo, Caicos. Across the harbour to church, typically Anglican, and their singing was unbelievable! But during the 1.5 hours of church the wind picked up dramatically, blowing from the boat across the harbour. The chop on my side was really bad, maybe one foot waves three feet apart. Going straight into the waves was at the limit of what the dinghy could take. The bow is very low, and the bow would stick into the oncoming wave and scoop water in. I "tacked" at 45 degrees. The dinghy was more comfortable, but the spray was like a bucket of water on every wave. The trip back to Advent took an hour, and I was cold and soaked. I can dry off and warm up, but I had put on clean shirt and shorts, socks and new shoes. I never like it when I soak clean clothes in salt water.
When it is dark, no moon, Elizabeth Harbour is absolutely beautiful. All the boats have on anchor lights. I want to say millions but I counted up to 150 before I lost track. They are low on the cabin top and high on the masthead, near and far. And it is easy to get lost and not be able to find your boat at night so people will have other identifying lights, blue or orange or yellow. Sometimes Christmas decorating type lights, and some red and green running lights. Add in lights of different kinds on shore, and the effect is spectacular. I have the same reaction every time I come here.
But now it is time to leave here. Still, the priority is to use the engine as little as possible. My plan is to leave here about noon to sail up the Exuma Sound to Eleuthera, arriving after daylight Tuesday. Eleuthera is a big hook with several places to stop for the next weather system. The forecasts today say that Wednesday will be calm, then two fronts, Thursday and Saturday, then calm for a few days. But the forecast changes every day. I could wait for the settled weather next week, but today is good so I will take it.
Bill Doar
s/v Advent II