Previous Port: Miami to Long Island, Bahamas
Anchorage: N23021.200 W075008.100
During most of time in George Town, there was an active front or trough or some other weather condition that made it difficult to totally enjoy the area, but also made it difficult to leave. I'm convinced that the Exuma Sound is almost as bad as the Gulf of Mexico for choppy waters. We bounced and rocked in the Volleyball Beach anchorage but that was still better than being underway in the sound.
The morning of the 24th was one of those great weather-window days. We headed south out of George Town with Island Dreamin' and some 20 other boats. Most all the other boats were heading to Conception but our destination was Long Island. When we arrived at the Thompson Bay anchorage, there were only three other boats there and three of us coming in. By the following afternoon there were thirty-plus boats in the anchorage. You would think that all of George Town had headed south but the vacant spots there were soon filled by boats that had been waiting north of G-Town for a good passage into Elizabeth Harbor, the actual name of the G-Town anchorage.
On our first full day in Long Island, we shared a rental SUV with Island Dreamin' and Patrick & Shirley on Intrepid. The island is far too long to cover it all in one day but we did get to collect shells on a couple of beaches, buy reasonably-priced fresh produce from the Packing House, and have a nice lunch along the way. Unfortunately, the growth along the roads prevented us from having a good view along the drive but it was nice to ride along for awhile anyway.
We all agreed that Long Island is by far the nicest of any Bahamian island we've visited. All the houses we saw were clean and nicely maintained. The streets and roads were clean and had none of the big potholes that's typical of other settlements. Also, it didn't have the groups of locals just hanging in the streets like in George Town and Black Point.
After the day of exploring, we made our way to the
Thompson Bay Inn for dinner. The owner/cook, Trifina, served the best food we've
had in the Bahamas. It was served "family style" in a nice setting and
included fish, ribs, fried conch and chicken, along with all the fixings. The
cost was $12.00/person plus gratuity and that was a bargain. Trifina was
certainly one of the friendliest people we've met here.
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