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| ...Our sailing into George Town... |
We sailed the 20-25 gusting 30 knot North Northeast winds and ran for George Town. This was a 36 nm leg and we sailed all of it with just enough motoring to get out and set sail and to drop the anchor. What a great say of sailing. We use the B and G autopilot set to wind vane steering so the boat will hold a given angle to the wind. This allows us to set sail and the boat will follow the wind. On this leg, it was set at 115 degrees. We started the sail with 110% jib out and ended up with the full 135% jib out as we sailed into George Town. Island Packet Yachts love 20-25 knots of wind as they are full keel, heavy displacement boats that need lots of wind to sail well, the trade off is that in this condition they are also very, very comfortable because this is what the boat was designed for, ocean sailing. We are always pleased with the way Island Spirit will sail in heavy winds, she is a great boat.
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| Under sail in 20 knots+ comfy |
Once in town, we sailed to Kidd Cove, dropped the anchor and dinghy and headed off to jug 30 gallons of water as we were totally out of water. Over the next day, we jugged 100 gallons of water, 5 gallon jugs, 10 gallons of diesel, and 6 gallons of gasoline. We needed services and in George Town there is free water, you just have to jug it out to your boat. It is the same with diesel, we jug fuel her as well. George Town is a cruising mecca and there are over 300 boats anchored in the harbor. We plan to stay through Regatta week and then move back up into the Exumas Land and Sea Park. For now, it is beach hikes, beach walks, Chat n Chill with buddies, volleyball beach, Beach Yoga, Water Aquatics, and cruiser lectures. So many people and so much going on. We can see why so many yachts make this their winter destination.
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| GoPro photo out the port side |
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| GoPro Sailing photo |
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| Sailing at 7 knots |
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| Blue water off the stern |
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| Radeen manages the log book |
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| 7 knots and sailing well |
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| Hooked on |
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| Island Spirit is very comfortable under sail |
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| This is our course from Miami |
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Boat Buddies at George Town Regatta
Radeen & Hayden. Leslie & Tim, Kathy & Eric |
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| Running into Dinghy Dock at George Town |
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| Anchored off Chat n Chill |
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| Our boat as seen from Chat n Chill |
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| Chat n Chill selfie |
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| Chat n Chill signature drink, Goombay Smash with a floater |
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| My favorite model |
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| Chat n Chill sign post |
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| Great friends, Suzy and Dave on 37 Cay Paraiso |
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| Sunset off Island Spirit |
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| The beautiful church on a high hill in George Town |
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| Anglican Church of George Town |
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| Beautiful sanctuary |
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| Radeen |
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| My favorite model and photo subject |
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| Peace and Plenty cafe in town overlooks the harbor |
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| Refrigerated containers are the way cold food gets here |
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| Refrigerated containers are delivered by mail boat and lifted off by cranes |
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| The generator on a refrigerated container |
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| The entire set up, genset, diesl fuel tank and refrigerator |
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| This is $35.00 of food, now you know why....delivery is very expensive. |
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| Whiteaker Yacht Sales flying off Chat n Chill |
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| Our beautiful home, IP35 Island Spirit |
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| That is us, Island Spirit |
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| What can can be seen from Chat n Chill, THE IP FLAG and WYS |
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| Bubble Bath beach with Suzy and Dave |
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| Radeen and Suzy floating in crystal clear waters |
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| Selfie in the Bubble Bath |
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| Exumas, such clear waters |
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| Look at the fun |
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| Cruising Life is great with good buddies |
George Town is such an easy place to live on the hook, and we can see why there are 300+ boats anchored here for the winter. Beautiful beaches, fun people, lots of activities, trails to hike, and crystal clear waters. From here we will move back up to the Cambridge Cay area, where we hope to break in our new dive gear! It's about time!
