To Farmers and Further South

The Five F’s Festival at Little Farmers Cay is a big draw for cruisers this year.  The weather is settled and anchoring in the lee of the islands will be safe and comfortable.  By Friday morning the majority of cruisers have arrived, and the boat count is somewhere around 130.  We anchor about a mile north along the western side of Great Guana Island and gaze southward at a sea of mast.  The Bahamian c-class sloops are congregating – some having been towed to the site while other are on the deck of the Captain C, a small freighter that makes runs from Nassau to the Exumas.  The first race is scheduled to begin at noon, but we are on Bahamian time so add an hour or two to that.  

While waiting for the races to start, these guys show up with a "portable " ice machine atop a runabout and powered by a generator.  They off-load many bags of ice for the bar and then sell the rest to bystanders. There's no denying the Bahamians come up with creative solutions to logistical problems.

 We congregate at Ty’s Sunset Bar and Grill which overlooks the sailing venue.  Beers are flowing and Bahamian music is blaring from an array of speakers. The breeze is lighter than we would like, so the boats generally have crews of 4 to 5, rather than packing them full of crew for ballast.  They are sporting their largest rigs and sails, and a few bodies are required out on the boards. 

Golden Girl flies by with style

The two races on Friday are considered practice races, but they are exciting to watch, nevertheless.  

Close maneuvers at the jibe mark

We bring beach chairs and an umbrella and enjoy relative comfort on an otherwise brutally hot day.  The boats head offshore and return, dodging the huge fleet of anchored boats and finishing right in front of the beach bar with much cheering from the crews and supporters onshore. Our favorite, Smashie from Blackpoint, is out in front and making an impressive showing. 

Smashie sails by, victorious after the first race

After the races, the libations and music continue, and at sunset a small junkanoo band arrives to entertain the crowds with energetic dancing and drumming. 

It is hard not to bounce with the beat when a Junkanoo drummer shows up

We return to our quiet anchorage exhausted.

After a morning walk into the settlement, we return to the race venue for the actual races. Huge trophies are on display and dignitaries arrive by plane, helicopter, and fast runabouts. Due to the heat, many of the cruisers choose to remain on their boats, but the beach scene is alive with spirited Bahamians.   

Homecoming is an important event in the settlement and visitors come all dressed  up for the events.

We watch the races but are sad to see that Smashie has broken her mast and will be eliminated from the competition. Three races morf into only two – “Bahamian Time” again.  By late afternoon the boats are all anchored and crews are ashore for the trophy presentation.  The National Anthem is sung, a prayer is given, and plenty of speeches are made by government officials. And, finally, the awards are presented along with cash prizes of over $1500.  

The proud crew from the winning boat with all their loot.

 It is truly a regatta unlike any other we have witnessed. Bahamians are very supportive of their sailboat racing as it is integral to the culture of the country.  We retreat to our boat for another quiet evening and stay an additional day to do some hiking on the nearby island.

Weather conditions are favorable for the forty mile sail south to George Town.  We go through Galliet Cut into the open waters of Exuma Sound.  Now we have no protection from the easterly trades, but conditions are calm, and we find ourselves motor sailing the entire way through the deep, crystal clear, sapphire colored waters.  The radio is full of successful fishing stories as nearby boats are having a field day catching large dolphin (mahi-mahi) in the open water. We easily negotiate Conch Cut despite an oncoming freighter and drop anchor off of Stocking Island, a mile away from George Town proper.  We are in the company of almost three hundred other cruisers anchored along several miles of shoreline. 

A small section of the anchorage off Stocking Island.  Our boat is anchored in the very back row in this picture

We have arrived back to relative civilization.  Our first stop in town is the Bahama Telephone Company office where we surrender all hope of making our current phone successfully work and purchase a Bahamian smart phone that easily tethers to our computer.  We hope we have finally solved our internet frustrations.  Next stop is the well stocked Exuma Market.  It may not be as glitzy as stateside groceries, but when the freighter comes in, it generally has most American products one might desire.  And we immerse ourselves in what George Town has to offer.  There is wonderful hiking and swimming on the ocean side of Stocking Island.  Miles of beaches beckon walkers with silky soft sand and rarely another person in sight.   

A small portion of beach on the eastern shore of Stocking Island.  The sand is powdery soft and tinged with pink.

Burt jumps right into the volleyball scene while I take up basket weaving with the local silver palm fronds at the nearby picnic tables.  We have happy hours and dinners with friends we haven’t seen since last year.  Valentine’s Day takes us to the St. Frances Resort for a gourmet dinner, and then we head over to the deck at Chat and Chill, the nearby beach bar, for dancing under a full moon.  Sunday evening is Trivial Persuit at St. Frances, and we mange to take third place on our first evening there. The next day we have a Seven Seas Cruising Association picnic on the beach and two days later a Ladies’ Luncheon at St. Frances. There is much more going on but we need to have down time for chores and recuperation.  No wonder George Town is considered adult daycare for cruisers. We plan to stay for a few weeks until the itch to move gets the best of us.