BACK TO GEORGETOWN.................................

It really was difficult to leave such a beautiful and pristine island as "Conception", but there was another cold front on the way with winds in excess of 35 knots expected. A real good time to go................ hence back to Georgetown with STOCKING Island to offer some protection. Prior to leaving, we had dolphins playing around the dinghy, pretty much oblivious to us, and before we left we were still able to get some great walks in on the windy side of the island, as in the beach in the photo below (right).............. An awesome place with incredible coral outcrops in fairly shallow water, whose elkhorn tentacles would reach out in fan-like shelves of 15-20 feet away from the base. The strong currents and heavy swell (and the cold water) prevented us from doing anything more than cruising around them in the dinghy. Spectacular, if the water was still............Disastrous if you get caught on them and deadly if you get wrecked on this shore during a sizeable storm.............and here it doesn't take much for the weather to change........




Now that we are back anchored close to "volleyball beach and the 'chat & chill' bar" near Georgetown we are surrounded by some 150 other yachts, all different and all chatting away on the VHF radion channel 68. A real circus...........a very well organised chaos......... we escape it whenever the wind lets up by finding new beaches and follwing trails on Stocking Island as in the photo above with the 'Queen' sliding down the sand dunes........... And for a sand-slider she comes up looking pretty good, don't you think............... now the tree in the photo alongside the "jungle Queen" is 'gumbo-limbo' tree. This tree when you touch it give you an itch and a rash. The perfect tree to give to someone with a truly negative disposition, for then when they plant it, they finally have something to really gripe about.................



And being part of a yachting community requires other rituals as well, such as no speeding in "Lake Victoria". This is where all the dinghies are tied up to a floating dock, while everybody does their shopping. .........



And then there is,...... "fixing the gas line"on Wednesdays at 1100 hours, when we all line up to fill our propane gas bottles from a truck...... what a scream that is........ and speaking of screaming, this is the inter-island high speed ferry that travels back and forth to Nassau at scream-speed.



And if your shopping includes items not available in Georgetown itself,..... well then, the custom is to hitch a ride. Interestingly, almost every vehicle will stop for you, and since most are pickup trucks (utes,) we pretty much scream as we fly along, The "Queen of Florida" included, with hair flying, and bouncing amongst the tools,tiles and tyres in the back (now that's a first for Laurie)...................island style....................



Now to update the blog, we have to go back to the "International Communications Centre" of J&K in Georgetown, and grab a seat inside. Domestic communication is through the window...............it works........ And,.....Oh, let me tell you about the near disastrous "International Incident" that occurred on "ARITA" when Laurie was baking some of her delicious bread......... She thought she saw a cockroach on the fridge top alongside the stove, and instantly wacked it with a woooden spoon. Turned out that the 'mystical' cockroach was a small colour picture of the Bahamian Prime Minister in the newspaper. We are not sure whether to send His Excellency a belated apology or simply some aspirin.................. He's got to have a massive headache, because she really wacked him one...................... Oh, the joys of cruising................