It's the in-harbour race in Georgetown - a race amongst various shoals,coral reefs and about 300 anchored boats and private yachts with a crew composed of people from all over the world, some of whom had never sailed a monohull before, let alone knew where Messenger's main halyard was.
The race is part of the Georgetown Regatta held by cruisers. Our crew was Scott,myself, Reg and Aidan and then we had Alan and his 16-year-old daughter from Vancouver (Alan originally is from Johannesburg, S. Africa), Tony and his friend Jeff from New Hampshire and Ken Sadler, originally from New Orleans.
Aside from the brisk conditions in the harbour, the tricky thing was deking around the hundreds of anchored vessels directly on the race course. I'd never raced a keelboat as a spectator sport before. It was a bit unnerving to cut so close to someone's stern that they could pass you a sandwich, but once we'd done it a few dozen times,we almost got used to it.
The crowds were great, people were screaming and cheering us on from their boats.
We acquitted ourselves quite well, not sure of our place yet. Those results won't be known until after Wednesday's race around Stocking Island. We're not sure if we're going to do that one yet and not sure yet if we're staying in Georgetown much longer.We'll see what the weather suggests. I'm longing to leave, to stop at Emerald Bay for great wifi, laundry and showers, oh, the showers. Then on to the northern Exumas again, to walk on secluded beaches, see the striking cays, reefs and waters. Then Spanish Wells (likely), the Abacos again and homeward.
But for now, Georgetown beckons forcefully for the kids. Lots to do and and some kids to hang with. Hard to beat. Reggie is entering the dinghy sailing race tomorrow and there a couple of other activities they'd like to do.
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| Whipping by Georgetown |
Pics to follow.
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