After our scare during the big blow last week, places that offered protection during a frontal passage became somewhat of an obsession to us. Particularly so in that several more cold fronts were expected to cross our area, predicted to be even stronger than the last. Thus we found ourselves heading south once again, in the company of friends on Starlight and Feng Shui. A nice day sail south from Sampson Cay brought us to Little Farmers Cay.
If you recall, earlier in our planning, we had thoughts about being in Little Farmers for New Years as our friends from the Chesapeake, George and Julie on Seaquel were planning a millennium celebration there. When you hear such good things about a place, you sometimes build up unrealistic expectations. Thus we were sadly disappointed with both the anchorage at Little Farmers and the town itself. Upon our arrival, there was but one boat in the anchorage milling about and they ended up following us through the tricky passage to the preferred anchorage area. Joyce went ashore with Nancy to find a town almost ghost like, with nothing but the local Batelco office (phone company) open. In comparison to Black Point where there were lots of people about, Little Farmers seemed to have no life at all. We came to find out that there were only 50 inhabitants in total at Little Farmers so this may well explain the lack of activity.
All of us wanted to soon get to George Town for a variety of reasons; for Feng Shui it was an opportunity to get their hull repaired after the collision during the Staniel Cay Regatta, and for us it was time to do laundry and send/receive some mail. Thus when the next day yielded light winds out of the north, we slammed our way through the cut at Little Farmers and headed off to George Town.
I should digress a moment to describe these ‘cuts' between Exuma Sound and the Banks as even on a good day, they can be quite treacherous. The Banks, in this case the Great Bahama Bank, is a large body of shallow water, averaging only 8 to 12 feet in depth. The banks are bordered by one island chain or another, the Exumas to the east, Andros to the west, the Jumentos to the south and New Providence to the north. Once through the cut, it's only a short distance until you are in the very deep ocean water of Exuma Sound. So rapid is the drop off that by the time you are one mile offshore, you are already off soundings, in over 2,000 feet of water. The tidal difference here averages about 2.6 feet, not all that much as tidal differences go. But all the water from the banks flow in and out of these relatively few and narrow passages called cuts. The currents that rip into and out of the cuts make the famed Hell Gate in New York seem tame by comparison, particularly so if there is any wind at all blowing against the current. While we were hiding from the storm at Pipe Creek last week, we witnessed what's known as a ‘rage' across the nearby cut. This rage condition consists of breaking walls of water across the entire width of the cut, making passage impossible to even the largest and most seaworthy vessel. Every cut that we've seen has been subject to this rage condition, even the large wide cut into Nassau. Cruise ships will not even attempt passage when the sea is in this rage condition.
Some cuts are of course better then others depending on the orientation of the cut to the wind, the depth and width of the cut, and the existence of submerged rocks and reefs. While the guides indicate that the cut at Little Farmers is relatively good, many cruisers we spoke with later refuse to use it. Even with light winds that day we passed though, Little Farmers Cut resembled a washing machine gone out of control, with the ebbing current smashing into the passive Sound waters. We pounded for about a half mile through steep choppy waves until reaching out into the more regular swells of the Sound. Once through, the seas flattened out, we deployed the fishing gear and turned southeast to run along the coast for George Town.
No matter what anyone thinks of George Town, it must be considered one of the cruising Meccas, at least in the opinion of the 300 plus boats that call this home for the winter. Back when we were making our way down the Intracoastal waterway, when asked, many of the cruisers simply stated that they were headed for George Town. Not the Bahamas, not the Exumas, simply George Town. From the time they left home these folks had but one goal in mind; George Town. We have often wondered about this as there seemed to be so many nice places to see along the way. So just what was the rush? And now we know - George Town is the adult version of winter camp.
The day after we arrived we tuned into the George Town cruisers net, held every morning on the VHF radio to announce weather, news and the days activities, and here is a sample. Starting at 9 a.m., there was a group beach walk. At 11 a.m., yoga on the beach. At noon, you could try your hand at learning Latin dance. Volleyball starts each day at 2:30 p.m. on Volleyball beach near the Chat and Chill bar and grill. So even if you don't play, you can get a burger and a beer, sit and watch and mingle with the other cruisers. A fish fry was to be held around dinner with dancing at the Peace and Plenty Hotel ending in the early hours. Then there are meetings for the group planning the Cruisers Regatta, softball practice, invitations to join the church chorus or the group singing sea chanties, even an AA meeting....on and on. This goes on every day from the time the first boats arrive in early December until late March when everyone starts heading home. Like I said, it's adult camp.
On top of all the activities, the large harbor itself offers many places to hide from the eventual fronts, and Herb, the weather forecasting guru, graciously gives a forecast for George Town each day (even though most aren't planning on going anywhere, except maybe to the other side for more protection from the winds). The town proves accommodating to cruisers as well, with a good laundromat, amply supplied markets, several small boating/hardware supply stores, and free if marginally drinkable (we don't drink it) water at the dinghy dock. The market favored by most cruisers, Exuma Markets, is the focal point for many of the morning activities, as they volunteer to hold mail and packages for visiting boaters, receive faxes every day and have a box for outgoing mail for anyone flying back to the states to pick up and mail once back (which saves a lot of time and postage costs). George Town also has a variety of places to eat and drink, an airport with direct flights to several places in Florida and even some very pretty beaches. We now understand why so many cruisers stick their anchors down the moment they get here and move their boat not an inch for the entire season. For us it has been like returning from the outback.
We've partied pretty darn hard since we've gotten here, reuniting with many folks that we haven't seen since Florida. We even found a 40 or so and under crowd to have a beach barbecue with one afternoon. Another evening we were entertaining on our boat under a clear sky replete with full moon. We made our way to the cockpit around 7:15 p.m. to watch for a probable rocket launch. The air waves hummed with talk and someone even found the Elton John single, Rocket Man, and broadcast it over the VHF. But by eight, most had given up and so had we but we were still in the cockpit when we saw the unmistakable plume of a rocket in flight, right up until the second stage burn out when all went dark again. It was to be an evening for celestial phenomenon, for later that night we witnessed a full lunar eclipse. It didn't start until 10 p.m. and wasn't covered completely until around 11 p.m. so of course Joyce had to wake me up for the event; twice.
George Town, is known by many names, such as ‘Boat Town' or more often ‘Chicken Harbor'. Many people arrive in George Town, stopping ‘only to re-provision', before heading off on the ‘Thorny Path' to the Caribbean. Well, they don't call it the Thorny Path for nothing as the trip to the Caribbean from here represents a tough uphill slog of about 500 miles, right into the prevailing winds that this time of year blow pretty darn hard offshore. Many leave George Town to face for the first time real ocean waves and long overnight passages, only to return here after a few days. I mean, after all, "things are not so bad in George Town now, are they?"
So here we are, at least for a few days (or few weeks) re-provisioning, playing volleyball, going for long walks, barbecuing on the beach and having happy hour just about every night with friends who have come here before us. Wonder if we will ever leave?
Please allow us to take this opportunity to apologize to our dear readers. As we well know, to most, the geography of the Bahamas brings but a vague notion of tropical islands strung somewhere between Florida and the Caribbean. And yet, we have been prattling on page after page, week after week, about these tiny islands and towns without our reader having the least clue as to where we are. Not due to any lack of effort have we've been unable to come up with a map or chart to give some visual reference. But at long last, this omission is corrected. Right on our home page, you can now click on the section titled Maps and Charts. Crude as though they may be, we hope it enlivens our descriptions.
