Hi from Clare, Sunday 20th January 2013
A WEEK WAITING
We have spent another week enjoying the beaches of George Town. It is an easy walk across the headland from the bay to the ocean beach. Most days we walk the length of the beach and swim in the surf before returning to the boat. It is about a 4k trip and it is great to get some exercise.
WEATHER PERMITTING
Thankfully the wind has dropped and so the dinghy ride into Georgetown is not the wet experience it was last week. This week it has been quite pleasant traveling in the dinghy to various functions. There are a lot of social activities here like yoga on the beach each morning and volley ball every afternoon. There is also a weekly non denominational church service on the beach, a softball game, a beach dance, BBQs and lessons in basket weaving and jewelry making. There is a local radio net every morning and a 'meet and greet' for new comers every afternoon on volley ball beach. As you can imagine it doesn't take long to become part of the community. We can fully understand why some boats return here every year for annual holidays.
TH CHANGING OF THE GUARD
With the calm conditions a large number of boats have left the anchorage to travel south. These boats have been replaced by boats arriving every day from the north.
We had a final farewell supper on 'Full Monty' Sunday night along with the crew from 'What If' and 'Good Trade'. Since then we have kept in touch with 'Full Monty' by radio and they are now in Jamaica enjoying Reggae music and good provisioning for their next adventure.
Blair our Scottish Piper on 'Strathspey' left Tuesday morning but returned later in the day as the seas were too big. Bad luck for Blair and Mary but we were pleased that our evening concerts were not completely over. They left again on Thursday and this time didn't return; looks like we are back to the Ipod for music.
We have met new people and had a terrific night with American friends Kathy and Kurt on 'Five n Dime' along with crews from 'Echo' and 'Why Not'. The four guys are Engineers and so it was hard work keeping them out of the engine room and off the technical stuff. Not to worry all the more drinks and nibbles and interesting conversations for the girls in the cockpit.
HOW THINGS WORK
Our pump for the Water Maker arrived last Tuesday and the Navionics Chart Chip is due in this Tuesday. At this stage, it looks like both items will make the journey in eight days. Not bad considering that the chart has traveled from Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota, Tampa, Cincinnati, Miami (30ks from Fort Lauderdale) Nassau and then to George Town; who can figure it?
SO WHAT'S NEXT
Weather permitting we will be out of here by Wednesday and heading east then south. We are still not sure where we are going as there is a Cholera outbreak in Cuba. We consider we are not in any danger as we have our own water and plenty of food on board. In addition we are in touch with other cruisers who are either in Cuba or have been there recently. Nobody has experienced any problem. However, our concern is more around how well we will be received at our next destination when leaving Cuba. When checking into Jamaica 'Full Monty' reported that they were asked if they had been to Cuba. Fortunately for them they had come straight from George Town, Bahamas. So we have a few things to consider.
Love Candy xx
At 3:04 PM6/01/2013 (utc) our position was 23°31.46'N 075°45.86'W
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