The Georgetown Playground

We have discovered that life in Georgetown is exactly the Shangri La for boaters as described in all the cruising books. It is a little "over-organized" for us, but we have come to experience what this curious community offers, so we try to participate in as many of the activities we can stand and manage. It is so easy to lose track of time here - as we have found. Day one, we dinghy over to Volleyball Beach where the hangout, Chat 'n Chill, is located. The beach is full of dinghys, boaters, kids, and generally a lazy, laid back cruising mentality - maybe this is like the Margueritaville type of existence that Jimmy Buffett became famous writing and singing about. Blair and I have lunch at the Beach, and wander around talking and catching up with people we know - and talk to many we have just met. Before we know, our first full day in Georgetown is over. Dave and Joanne on Tropical Breeze join us for dinner as we finish the last of the Mahi Mahi.
We spend the next couple of days mainly wasting time, doing some small chores, visiting the St. Francis Resort - and generally just trying to stay occupied. The conditions in the Elizabeth Harbour are a little rough, so it makes it difficult to get across the Harbour to Kidd Cove and the dinghy dock to visit Georgetown. We have made it over once to replenish our fresh fruit and vegetable supply, but we managed to be completely soaking wet from the rough conditions.
The famous marine weather forecaster, Chris Parker, is visiting on Lee and Charlies's boat, WindStar IV. He is going to be presenting a number of infosessions on weather during the Georgetown Regatta. We attend a couple of them and while they are pretty basic, Blair feels they are good refresher courses that serve to strengthen his confidence in reading the weather. Chris Parker is a knowledgeable young man with a passionate interest in weather. He has created quite a niche for himself, and most of the boaters we have come across (ourselves included) listen to his forecast every morning at 6:30am. We will definitely become subscribers to his services in the future for as long as we cruise in the south. Without his forecasts, there would be a lot of confused boaters who would be forced to formulate their own forecasts - or who would be reluctant to venture very far from a safe protected haven.
Our newest boating repair requirement occurs on the afternoon that we are at the St. Francis Resort listening to Chris Parker's seminar. As we return to the dock, we notice that our dinghy is looking pretty low on air. We race back top Odissea xx with the air escaping quickly from the dinghy, safely making it before we can get into any trouble. It seems that there is a hole in the fibreglass bottom and the bolt has come up (problem #1), puncturing a hole in the rubber inflatable tube (problem #2). It never seems to end...but Blair goes to work - the thinking part of the problem, anyway. For the time being, though, we raise the dinghy out of the water, tying it to the davits in order to ensure that there is no further damage to this poor little dinghy. We have come to learn that you cannot survive down here without an operational dinghy - it becomes your lifeline.
The next day, Monday, we get a tow to Volleyball Beach where Blair goes to work to refibreglass the hard bottom of the dinghy. Once this has set (and after a couple of layers of fibreglass), Blair glues a patch on the hole in the rubber inflatable tube (with glue courtesy of Tropical Breeze). Monday is also official registration day for all Regatta activities, so we run around here on the Beach signing up for a couple of activities. Blair attends another weather session...and then: POOF! the day is gone again. We get a tow back to Odissea xx, and although it looks as though the patch didn't hold because we are losing air, the next morning everything appears to be fine and the dinghy is operational...another successful mission accomplished!