George Town, Exuma, Bahamas

The city of George Town is located on the island of Great Exuma, the last island in the chain of the Exuma Cays of the Bahamas. Elizabeth Harbor, AKA Chicken Harbor, is nestled between George Town on the island of Great Exuma, and the sparsely inhabited Stocking Island. The harbor gets its fowl nickname from the tendency of sailors, bound for the out islands and beyond, to become overly comfortable in the beautiful, safe and well stocked harbor. Instead of continuing on to the remote and precarious outislands, cruisers and sailors have accumulated here in George Town, content to stay forever.

Honestly, we can see why folks become blissful bumps on logs here. George Town’s Elizabeth Harbor is an ample mile wide, with room for everybody, all around protection and a nice sandy bottom for strong holding. If one side of the channel gets too bumpy or windy, boats just pick up anchor and move to the other side of the channel. Some cruisers continually do this back-and-forth dance, while some dropped anchor years ago, and haven’t budged through the wind or weather.

In addition to the impeccable anchorages, George Town offers everything a land-loving sailor could yearn for. There’s a well-stocked grocery store, marine parts and services, several restaurants and rowdy bars, a clinic, laundry facilities, trash facilities, a library, community events and shopping. Even a vet flies in from Florida twice a year to service everyone’s furry friends. This place has all the comforts of home, plus smiling welcoming faces and the mood of a slow-paced small town.

Ben, Ruca and I stayed in George Town a few weeks, catching on quickly to the way of life around here. Organized activities are never ending, as the large number of retired cruisers are zealous to organize any group gathering, from basket weaving, to volleyball league, to ladies’ bible study, to harmonica club. Ben pointed out the similarities to high school, or camp, and we began referring to George Town as the Summer Camp for Retirees. Want Water Aerobics? Daily at 9 AM. Want a conch horn making workshop? Sure, Sunday at 2! Want a public poetry reading from local authors (aka kids from the local high school)? It’s on Thursday! The VHF cruisers’ net, broadcasted at 8 AM daily, was jam-packed with announcements about new activities, or clubs searching for volunteers or chairpersons.

Although we chuckled at the overly organized retired folks, we have to admit we appreciatively took part in several events. We thoroughly enjoyed the free daily 90 minute yoga class, and the Saturday night beach party complete with a full band, guitar jam session, and bonfire.

Also, George Town had something we hadn’t seen elsewhere on our sailing journeys - other young cruisers! Most people we meet sailing are retired, but there in Chicken Harbor, we met three or four boats of other young couples living their dreams, the same dream as Ben and me. We shared some drinks and a lot of laughs, and made some good friends! Check them out at their sites below:

Rachel and Lee, S/V Satori: http://www.beautifulcrazyhappiness.com/

Mike and Marjo, S/V Basta: https://svbasta.wordpress.com/

Brandon and Brandon, S/V Serotonin: https://www.facebook.com/Sailing-on-Serotonin-507679039390698/?fref=ts

Anchored near the Stocking Island side of the harbor, Ben, Ruca and I hiked all the trails we could find, which included the southeastern point, treks to see a couple blue holes, the trail across the island to the ocean side, and the hike up Monument Beach hill to see the old lighthouse structure no longer in use.

Every afternoon, we made time among all our George Town activities for some quality beach time. With no shortage of post card beaches to visit, we made it a priority to hit every beach on (and off) the map.

While exploring beaches on Stocking Island, we came across a homemade sun dial, that was right on point! We used it quite often to tell the time after long afternoons of swimming and beach yoga.

We hit up the local bars a few times, including Redboone’s to see a traditional Bahamian Rake ‘N’ Scrape band and karaoke at the Exuma Yacht Club. It only took 4 beers (and one Goldshlagger shot from a lady stranger who had a small crush on Ben) to convince Ben to get on stage to sing karaoke with me.

We had to complete a few errands, too, which included provisioning perishables like butter and milk, and getting our mail delivered to the local grocery store for pickup.

Although we loved George Town and all the activities, we were growing bored of the Summer Camp for Retirees. The activities were great, but were wearisome, and we were spending too much money at the bars and the marine store. Plus, fishing and lobstering isn’t allowed in most of the area, and we were dying for a fresh catch. When our weather cleared in early February for a window to head south into the out islands of the Bahamas, S/V Wanderlust was ready to take the leap.

We waved goodbye as we sailed out of the comfort of George Town. We had escaped Chicken Harbor, and felt proud as we raised our sails and set our heading into the unfamiliar outislands, to a place that few sailors go.

We were headed southeast into the outislands, for uninhibited Conception Island.

Thanks for Reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#destinations #Bahamas