The Adventures of Monk's Vineyard - The Great Loop and Beyond: Heading Slowly North

1/19 - After a week in George Town we were getting restless and it was time to move on. George Town has a lot to offer, but since this was our first time in the Bahamas, we wanted to see as much as possible. This meant short visits in many places as opposed to long visits in only a few places. Our destination today was based on – of all things – laundry. Why did laundry dictate our choice you ask ?? Well, here is the scenario: In George Town there is one laundromat with very old washers and dryers, we’d have to cart the laundry first by dinghy and then carry it down a few streets, it is quite expensive ($7 for a large load), there are around 200 cruisers in the area plus locals using the facility, and it is in a semi-open air building with little seating room. The Marina at Emerald Bay is a first-class facility and, as part of their accommodations, they have very nice free showers and free state-of-the-art washers and dryers. In addition, with our Royal Marsh Harbor Yacht Club membership, dockage was only 75 cents a foot. A stop here was a no-brainer.

We departed Elizabeth Harbor in George Town at 10:00 a.m. and took the long way out to the Sound through the Southern Cut. This gave the guys an extra hour or so for fishing once we were out of the “restricted park” area. Gerry got one bite from something big, but it broke his line – so no fish dinner.

We had a very nice cruise on perfectly flat seas to the Marina at Emerald Bay. The staff at the marina were very accommodating, bringing out a welcome mat, getting us registered and telling us about the area. There are two resorts adjacent to the area, one of which is Sandals. You can purchase a day pass, but it is very pricey. The other is Grand Isle Resort. Here you can eat at their bar and grille and use their pool for $15 (we may check this one out later). We walked to the grocery store – which was very well stocked – and to the liquor store. Unfortunately the small restaurant in that complex was no longer open. The rest of the day was spent doing laundry. We had several full bags as we had not done laundry since Nassau. We noticed that many boats come from the anchorage in George Town, do laundry and provision, then return to George Town the next day.

1/20 – This morning Gerry did a few boat chores: fixed yet another hole in the dinghy and tried to repair a leak in one of the sea strainers. After that we just sat on the front porch and gazed out over the palm trees and water. There was a slight breeze blowing and it was very pleasant sitting in the wicker rocking chairs. It was a little cooler today – yesterday it was HOT !!

A little after noon we walked over to the Grand Isle Resort. What a beautiful place. We had lunch and drinks at the bar and then walked the beach for awhile. Later, Gerry worked on our itinerary and routes for heading north. However, we'll be staying here for a week as Jana is flying back to Colorado for personal reasons and we'll stay here during that period to wait for her. It's awful being stuck in PARADISE!!

Second Star raising anchor as we departed Elizabeth Harbor

Goodbye George Town

One of the few aids to navigation we've seen in the Bahamas

Approaching the Marina at Emerald Bay

Second Star following us in

The very-well marked channel into the marina

The marina and club house

Monk's Vineyard (and the Captain) at the dock

The marina really rolls out the carpet for visitors -- maybe not a
Red Carpet, but a very nice mat so you don't track "crud" onto your boat

Life is tough -- cruising is hard work

The bar room in the club house. Unfortunately, not a
stocked bar -- it may have been at one time, but things
are a little slow right now and the place seems to be
struggling a little