George Town

There are more than 200 boats anchored in the area around George Town. We're told the number can get as high as 500 during March for "regatta week," whatever that is. I hope we'll be elsewhere. 200 boats already feels quite crowded to me.

But in some ways this feels like a homecoming. Around us are all sorts of boats we've seen along the way or listened to over the ham radio or heard about from other sailors. Just after we anchored yesterday, Dean noticed a catamaran, Neverland, which had been at our marina in Charlestown the first winter we lived aboard. I remember when Bob and Sheila were preparing to leave Boston the following fall. I was so envious, and I worried that we might never pull it off ourselves. So today we dinghied over to them, finagled an invitation aboard, got a tour of the boat (it's huge and full of light), and swapped stories over drinks.

We also spent some time in George Town, restocking our larder (all I had left for fresh vegetables were three carrots), checking email, and making use of the free wireless connection near one of the hotels. Dean bought himself a pole spear, vowing to return to Musha Cay and find that grouper in his cave.

George Town's grocery store is large by Bahamian standards--about the size of a large pharmacy in the States--and the mailboat had arrived the day before with supplies, so we had planned to buy more than just the basics. But as I reached for a bag of cornmeal, I noticed a small moth fluttering nearby, then another, and another. Back went the cornmeal, bread flour (we're going to start making our own bread), and anything from that aisle. When we got out of the store we went straight to the dumpster with any cardboard packaging. On the boat, I put dry goods into any Tupperware I could find. Pantry moths are a nightmare, and the only thing worse than having them in your kitchen is having them on your boat. It's a reminder to us that, as we head south, we need to be very careful of what comes aboard. Though I suspect the moths I saw came in on the mailboat and will therefore infest both businesses, I'm going to try the place across town and hope for the best.

On a brighter note, George Town made a deal with the developers of the Four Seasons resort, which was constructed nearby a few years ago, and the resort provides free reverse osmosis water to much of the island. There's a spigot and a hose at the dinghy dock; you just pull up and fill your jerry cans right in your dinghy. While we're here we may actually begin showering every day.

Greg Burd is coming in tonight; we expect to have many stories to tell during his stay.

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