February 10, 2020 - February 16, 2020
On Monday morning, Bob called a local refrigeration expert and made arrangements to have him come to fix the fridge on Friday while we are in Emerald Bay Marina (about 12 miles north of George Town). Finally there was some hope! In the meantime we planned to keep the fridge cold with bags of ice purchased at the Exuma Market. So, off we went in the dinghy to buy ice and get RO water. The wind was strong and the tide was going out. With the 20 foot wide opening to get into Lake Victory the opposing wind and tide created a washing machine effect and by the time we got to the dinghy dock we were soaked. (That 15 HP engine is looking better and better.)
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| We had to get through this narrow passage to get from Elizabeth Harbour to Lake Victoria. |
We cleaned up when we got back to the boat, had lunch and relaxed for a bit. Since we didn’t have any repairs to work on we went into Chat ’n Chill and Volley Ball Beach where many of the cruisers hang out in the afternoon. We watched the games going on over French Fries and Kalik Beers. There was volley ball, dominoes, various rope swings, and swimming at the beach. About midway through our beers some friends who lived next to us one summer at Anchorage Marina stopped by our picnic table. It was great to see them (Bobbie and John on s/v Ambience) and talk about our adventures since we last saw them in Baltimore. We talked about meeting up for lunch on Wednesday.
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| Nothing fancy about this beach bar |
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| Inside the walls and ceiling are covered with mementos from former visitors, shirts, burgees, undies, etc. |
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| In the bar the bartenders provide the entertainment with their amusing comments and happy smiles. |
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| Dominoes |
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| Rope swings Notice there are lots of kids here from babies to teens. |
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| The beach |
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| Our friends, Bobbie and John enjoying our conversation with a Kahlik. |
Tuesday was very windy again and kept us boat bound.
Wednesday morning we had to go into George Town to get more ice to keep the fridge cold enough to prevent everything from spoiling. What a ride! The closer we got to the entrance to Lake Victoria the worse it got, again we were soaked. Going back to the boat wasn’t any better. We decided showering would be useless as we were going back into town to meet Bobbie and John for lunch. On our way in the engine stopped when we were smack in the middle of the entrance to Lake Victoria (the worst possible place for our boat to quit). We scrambled to get out the oars and then the boat behind us offered to help us get to the dock. First, he tried to push us, but we couldn’t get the boat facing forward. Then he passed us and handed me a tow line. I was stretched out flat on the dinghy sides and the seat holding on to the tow rope for dear life. Finally, we got the boat facing forward and it was easier getting to the dock. I was sure my arms and shoulders were going to feel the pain of this effort in the morning.
After all of that excitement, lunch was a calm affair at Driftwood Cafe with Bobbie and John. We walked around town a bit and then headed back to the boat. Again, it was fun meeting up with friends from the states.
Thursday morning we left our anchorage for our stay at Emerald Bay Marina (a part of the near by Sandals Resort). It was great getting plugged into electricity allowing us to run the air conditioner and get “real” hot showers.
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| This house sits above the channel entrance to the marina. Notice the channel is cut out of the limestone rock that created the islands. |
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| This is the entrance channel into the marina. |
After having our fridge fixed (it turned out to be a simple easily fixed problem, phew), we had our Valentine’s Day lunch at La Fourchette the restaurant connected to the Paradise Bay resort. Paradise Bay is a small resort on a beautiful bay off the ocean. It has a small pool and about nine one and two bedroom cottages right on the beach.
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| We could see the bay, the cottages, and the beach from our table on the porch of La Fourchette. |
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| Here's Bob waiting for our great lunch. The highlight was the rum cake with vanilla and caramel ice-cream. |
Since we already had the quarter berth torn apart we spent Saturday doing boat maintenance. We changed the engine oil and filter, checked all fluid levels, replaced the engine water pump impeller (the worst of the jobs), cleaned out all of the raw water strainers, and changed the water maker filter. Quite a day! After getting the boat put back together we were exhausted and ready for nice hot showers.
Our plan (always fluid) was to leave Emerald Bay on Tuesday, but when Bob checked the weather forecast the wind would be too strong for us to leave until Thursday. Our time table for passages is always based on weather conditions.
Thank you for reading my blog.
