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Snowmagedden– Red Shanks Georgetown, Bahamas – Groundhog Day, 2026

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Snowmagedden – Red Shanks Georgetown, Bahamas – Groundhog Day, 2026

Well, we have been enduring the coldest event in the Bahamas this year because of a bomb cyclone that hit the US east coast this week dropping up to 8 inches of snow in Columbus!  The temps here have been a low of 60 degrees, but we have had 35-40 MPH west winds.  West winds protection is difficult to find in the Exumas. Needless to say, we have been on the boat for the last few days and the last month we have been hanging out between here and Salt Pond, Long Island just south.  It has been fun since we have a few friends here to hang with and we have managed to get in on some local events like Junkeroo!  This is a great local parade and festival celebrating the freedom of the black slaves. Take a look.

We also managed to make a stop in one of our favorite anchorages, Calabash Bay.  The water here is so beautiful, and it gave us a chance to do some snorkeling since they have a very nice little reef there.  On our way home we wanted to take a little tour into the mangroves and soon found out how very shallow it is back there!

Perfect little beach!

Since then, we have been simply paddleboarding and snorkeling and that is about it.  The weather here in January seems to be filled with little more than one cold front after another coming off the states.  Keeping ourselves based out of Red Shanks means we are within a day of being fully protected from all sides.  Red Shanks is a lovely little place inside the Bahamian National Park with Mooring balls where you are not allowed to anchor.  It is important since there are currently 280 boats crammed into Georgetown and someone will inevitably come and drop anchor 10 feet from you at the last minute when these windstorms come through.  It is a high risk their anchor will drag and not a place we want to put ourselves.  My busybody husband has been busy learning how to make sourdough bread, pizza dough, and he is preparing to make cinnamon rolls soon!  It is good to be married to a man who can cook 😊.  Sadly, the groundhog has said 6 more weeks of winter so we may end up with much of the same schedule for February.  Stay warm all & til next time!

Can’t Beat the Water – Georgetown, Red Shanks, Bahamas, December 21, 2025

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Can’t Beat the Water – Georgetown, Red Shanks, Bahamas, December 21, 2025

Friends told us our first year here in Georgetown that we would be back to the Bahamas and you won’t be able to beat the beautiful turquoise water here no matter how far south to Grenada you go.  I am here to attest that this is a true statement and at this point we have certainly become “water snobs.”  Since Thanksgiving in the Exuma Land and Sea Park we have meandered our way down through the Exuma Islands, including Emerald Bay (which is a lovely little marina to get diesel fuel), Black Point, and Elizabeth Harbor. 

There are a couple of downsides we got going for us at this point.  Number one, Ron needed to climb the mast to replace the wind sensor we broke off on one of the bridges (El Pablo) on the intercoastal.  When we got down to Georgetown, he tried a couple times, but his fear of heights didn’t let him get to the top.  Remember the sailing karma we try to create?  We got it.  The guy Ron ended up helping saw the cable from his anchor was parked right next to us here in Elizabeth Harbor and has offered to climb our mast and replace the wind sensor!  Whew!  Now Ron will eventually need to climb the mast to polish stainless rigging but it won’t be such a crisis and we can get to this in our own timeline while having a wind sensor (telling us wind speed) in the meantime.  Very nice and thank you to Dane from SV Tamika.

Quick work!

Issue number two was that I broke my big toe again.  Ugh.  I slipped and fell on the back of the boat getting on my paddle board and bent my toes back completely.  I can walk in flip flops, but it has turned nicely bruised and I cannot wear tennis shoes or fins.  Guess I won’t be hiking much for the next few weeks until I can stand wearing real shoes again.  I can still swim and paddle board on my knees but I think we will be laying low here and have decided to move over to a mooring ball in Red Shanks, where we are the only boat in the bay.  It offers 360 protection, a nice dose of privacy, and easy access to town for grocery and propane.  We are fairly close to turtle bay and plan to head over to feed the turtles and too many large red starfish to count.  It is lovely and if we are stuck for bit this is a great place to spend Christmas.  Looks like we are attending the lovely potluck planned here on Chat ‘N Chill Beach!

Ouch