Red Shanks, Bahamas
23.28.894N
75.44.111W

If the night of rain, rocking and rolling didn't convince us to move, the weather report predicting a front containing 20 kt. winds passing through on Sunday did. We're now in Red Shanks. It isn't too far from Volleyball Beach and the summer camp for old farts aura that the last anchorage seemed to exude. There we could play games, learn to basket weave, attend Bible study, go to the bar, attend a fishing information workshop, or a group chart reading workshop, or . . . so on and so forth. We can dingy back if we want to join in the fun.

This anchorage is as quiet as the last one was bustling. We needed a high tide to get in but once here, it is great. There are a couple of boats here, but each one is tucked up inside its own little cove so you get the impression that you're the only one here.

We dingied around the area and wanted to see the ruins of another 1700's plantation that still had some of the terraced gardens but Crab Cay (where it's located) is now privately owned with signs posted every couple of feet decrying "Privacy Please - Construction Site". We were able to see the hulk of a freighter that ran aground after becoming embroiled in some legal wrangling, which was kind of cool. It was also rather neat to turn the corner to find another boat tucked up inside yet another cove. The catamarans have a definite advantage in this anchorage.

One of the truly great advantages of this anchorage is that we can scoot to Georgetown for groceries and the like through a dingy route that is well protected so that we're not getting soaking wet crossing the main harbor like we had to from Volleyball Beach.

After we got back, Dale took advantage of the calm conditions and tore apart the shower sump pump to clean out the accumulated debris. It works a lot better now. The old adage of cruising means fixing your boat in exotic ports isn't too far off the mark. It wasn't that it was broken, just slow. Tomorrow he wants to tighten down the controller that sits on top of the generator that's suddenly become wobbly.

We overheard a guy on the radio that just came in from the BVI's. He said that the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico was flat calm and power boats were taking full advantage of the unusual sea sate. It makes me want to leave now but I think Dale wants to stay here until after Christmas to see if Rainbow Rider ever shows up.

There are several boats heading south and we're all getting together on Monday morning to discuss the matter (another workshop). This should be interesting. I've been reading about some of the anchorages further south on the more remote islands. I don't think they'll support more than 5 or 6 boats at a time. Anyway, it should be enlightening to get together with the other boats to hear their ideas and meet the people on them. We've already met the one who decided to organize the workshop. He's very opinionated and seems to believe that if you talk the loudest, you're the most correct. The last time we saw this guy in action, the quietest man in the group was clearly the most experienced and knowledgeable. Dale got together with him the next day after "Mr. Know It All" left. With any kind of luck, the guy that we heard on the radio who just came back will be there too. He seems to be a loud talker as well. It might be entertaining to see the two of them together. We'll see. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the quiet here and read some more.

Georgetown, Bahamas
23.31.055N
75.45.481W

Not much to report today. We had a holiday sing along on the beach last night and for the most part, didn't sound too bad. Mike, from MTNest, had a keyboard and a plastic box full of folders with printed lyrics. The front of the folder read: The Beach Church. I wondered if he was a retired minister. He and his wife were returning to their home in Minnesota for the holidays but will be heading down island when they return. They said that they would like to tag along with us but would understand if we got a weather window and had to leave before they got back. Hopefully, we will be able to meet up with them later.

We're still trying to find Gary & Linda on Rainbow Rider. We met them in Jacksonville maybe a year ago and shared our mutual desire to travel south. We'd heard they had left a couple of weeks ago bound for Georgetown. We try hailing them on Channel 16 a couple of times a day and every time we see a Lagoon catamaran with a back arch pull through. Nothing yet.

We sat with Roger & Elaine on Doc-No-More for the better part of the afternoon pouring over charts and guidebooks trying to decide where to go next. We've pretty much agreed that we'd all like to see Conception and Rum Cays before heading off to the Turks and Caicos. We'd also like to see Samana and they would like to see Mayaguana.

We dingied around the various hurricane holes today exploring and took a walk on the beach on the eastern side of the island. It was gorgeous; hardly any flotsam and jetsam washed up on that shore. With the tide out, it was a wide beach with several sand dunes and a fairly steep hillside covered in sea oats. Except for the steepness of the hill, it reminded us of the Panhandle area with the fine grain sand, dunes and sea oats.

Last night the wind shifted to out of the Southeast and kept us rocking most of the night. It quieted during the day but now has started to pick up again. I guess it didn't read the guidebooks that say that the wind dies down at night and picks up during the day. If it continues, we may move over to an island not too far away called Red Shanks. We'll keep you posted.