February 15, 2022, Georgetown, Great Exumas Island, Bahamas

Sailing hubby & I had no expectation that sailing would be 100% perfect but thus far, we had woken up with the mantra of “I love my life.”  This might be the first day where we didn’t.  Sailors always say, “the highs are higher, and the lows are lower.”  I never knew what that meant til I was on this journey.  We are starting to feel like we couldn’t find good weather if it smacked us in the face.  Let me tell you it isn’t all sunshine, adventure, and rum out here.  OK – well there lots of rum.

Let me explain what I mean.  Yesterday we heard the announcement that there was a diver who has been run over by a dinghy.  Then the weather kicked in.  Our last two days have included:

•        anchored near too many boats that came in last minute and anchored too close, making us move and re-anchor in crappy windy weather. 
•          Ron has been awake most of the last two nights trying to make sure we are not the ones dragging while listening to the VHF (which is insanly loud and impossible to sleep through) all night
•          we have slept fully clothed and awake at 6:30 to listen to our weather service webcast from Chris Parker
•          last night a boat south of us (glad we re-anchored even if it was 4 times) that was not only dragging and had run into two boats, but ALSO got his anchor caught on one of the other anchors and was now dragging BOTH boats!
•          Our anchorage is rolly as heck and I am debating taking a seasick med just in case we end up having to do anything

75 boats where there should be 30 during a stormy weather

 The best of all is its only Tuesday.  The weather is expected to get worse tomorrow and not stop til Thursday morning.  We get a couple days rest then another front coming through from the winter weather starting next Tuesday and since it takes a couple of days for the seas to calm down, travelling in the open ocean in between is not a great idea and I think we are stuck here through the next system as well.  If we were to attempt to sail in open ocean, the waves would be 10 feet.  This is not an option for us and thus, we’re here for the foreseeable future.

So, while folks up north are trudging through the snow and shoveling driveways, just know it’s not all sunshine and starfish here either.  Winter in the Bahamas is no joke — trust me.  Right now Georgetown is ground zero.  We hope to be back to “I love my life” mantra but right now it’s on vacation somewhere there isn’t 35 knots of wind with overnight squalls.  It isn’t in the Exumas.