Tag: Food and Drink

Stuck on Stocking Island

The island to the east of George Town, Exumas is called Stocking Island. There are many beaches on this lovely island and lots of places to anchor nearby. For most of our time in the George Town area, we anchored Sava near, and got stuck on Stocking Island.

Stocking Island Exumas
Stocking Island Exumas

Since this is a big area for cruisers, we tried to participate as much as possible to meet other sailors and learn from them. We went to the places they go, tuned in to the net and went to events for cruisers.

The Daily Cruisers’ net

Every morning at 8am, we tune in to the George Town cruisers’ net on VHF 72. This 30 minute conversation is led by one volunteer sailor and all the other boaters participate.

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Places to Go In George Town

We arrived in George Town last Thursday. George Town is the capital of The Exumas, where we’ve been sailing the last couple of weeks. It’s a popular spot for cruisers, with great anchorages, beautiful scenery and a lot of amenities. If you come here, especially by boat, read on for places to go in George Town, Bahamas.

map Bahamas
Nassau to George Town map

About George Town

George Town is a town on the island of Great Exuma and is the capital of the Exumas. It is the site of an annual sailing regatta, but we were about a week late for that event. Even so, when we arrived in George Town there were 100s of boats in the area, and fortunately lots of different spots to anchor.

George Town Bahamas anchorage
A view of one of the anchorages near George Town Bahamas

Overstaying in George Town

We had planned to stay less than a week but circumstances change. We were waiting for a part for our engine and our windlass broke yesterday. The windlass lifts and drops the anchor so we need to fix that! Yesterday morning we moved to an anchorage closer to town so we could pick up the part that was supposed to arrive. After dropping the anchor, the windlass started letting out more chain on its own. The control box wouldn’t work so we had to flip it off at the switch. Brian has been trying to fix it and only when he does are we leaving.

Here are our recommendations of places to go in George Town.

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So Much To Do In Key West

When someone mentions Key West, you think sunshine, music and beachy cocktails. Having come from there just now, yes, yes and yes but so much more too! We found there was a lot to do in Key West, and here are our recommendations.

About Key West

Key West is known as Margaritaville after Jimmy Buffet, who lived and worked on boats there in his 20s. Much of the music style heard in the bars on Duval Street today is a descendent of Buffett’s “yacht rock”.

Key West street scene
Busy Key West streets

We learned a lot of bits of history on our tour with Key Lime Bike Tours, an entertaining 3 hour roll through the town’s highlights. Bike tours are generally a good way to get an overview and see a lot of a new place and this one was no different!

Key West is also known as The Conch Republic and got that name after a P.R. succession from the union to protest a government roadblock at the entrances to The Keys. It worked! Locals call themselves conches ever since.

We loved The Conch Republic and its residents. They embrace weirdness and like to have fun. Like Nashville and New Orleans, the bars are open early and full of live music. The restaurants are also good, serving local seafood and Cuban cuisine.

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