Georgetown Gem

2.20.11

We have found a gem here in Georgetown. Apparently the secret is out though, as we are only one of 250 sailboats in the harbour. When we were in Marathon we were introduced to our first “cruising community”, where the sailors organized a cruisers net every morning and group activities on some days. That was small scale compared to this! The cruisers here are gung ho about getting together, drinking, singing, dancing, playing games, and fixing things. Every day of the week there is something going on – volleyball everyday, softball twice a week, poker twice a week, discussions on battery usage and care, and most importantly, the upcoming cruisers regatta.
A regatta is, in history, a party centered around the racing of boats. Well, this is more of the racing of boats and other games, centered around the party. There is drinking encouraged at every event – kayak races, tug of wars, competitive volleyball, small boat sailing races. There are 2-3 events everyday for two weeks. I don't know whether some of these people will make it out alive! The regattas in the Bahamas usually center around the racing of the Bahamian boats, but the cruisers in Georgetown apparently wanted to have a really big bash before they all head back to the states and Canada, so they came up with this regatta idea. There is really not so much racing involved as there is drinking and laughing. Although we are not as gung ho about this event as some of the people, we have gotten kind of involved and are going to be there for the second week.
Brad has been going to the Poker Tournaments and hopes to play in the final tournament next week. He has also been playing softball with the cruisers twice a week. The practices all lead up to the big event – playing a competitive game of softball against the Bahamians. It should be fun and apparently the Bahamians in Georgetown dominate all the other teams in the Bahamas. After watching our cruisers play, I think that there's a good chance they will not be coming home with the trophy this year.
The real gem behind this cruising community is the level of friendliness and helpfulness. We have had so many problems on our boat since leaving Florida and we have been able to fix all but one thanks to the help and knowledge provided by all the boats in the harbour. Everyone is so generous, lending out parts, selling parts on their boat if they have extras, or just giving general recommendations for what we should do to fix the problem. Thanks to them, we were able to revive our old batteries, get a new battery charger for 1/5 the cost that it would normally be, and we now have hot water for showers!
The Bahamians are also extremely friendly here. They know that the cruisers are most of their yearly income so they bend over backwards to make sure that we all have a great time.
Although we do love it here, we are getting antsy and are ready to move on. There is still so much of the Bahamas left to see!
We are heading over to Long Island in a few days and then will be back in Georgetown for the end of the regatta and to pick up some of our friends who are flying in for a visit. We will have five people sleeping on this boat at one time – it's going to be a bit cozy!!