We needed to push ourselves and leave Clarencetown for the Exumas and specifically Georgetown, to get some mechanical help. Arriving in George Town was bittersweet. We were saying goodbye to Steve, who had been with us for more than 700 NM, but saying hello to Jeff, who was joining our journey back to the US. We also had to fulfill the requirements of the Bahamas by getting a nasal swab test on day 5 of being in the country. The process was easy and quick. We also picked up an ALIV internet puck; the cost was $140 for a month with 150GB of data available. Wow...what a great price and it works REALLY well.
On our final day with Steve, we took a dinghy ride to the blue hole on Stocking Island and then took a small hike to the ocean side. Wow...what gorgeous water! The snorkeling on both sides of the island was great including the small patch of coral in front of the 5 star resort on Stocking, near Chat-n-Chill. I have never seen so many flamingo tongues on one bommie.
And, on our final afternoon we also flew Jeff's drone over Stocking Island for some great aerial shots. We have had a drone for almost a year and have never flown it because that's just who we are...neither of us taking the time to learn how to do it due to the never ending list of TO DO's.
We did have a mechanic look at our engine and he was fantastic. We learned that our issue is a seal leak between the engine and the transmission. We will have to fix it, but it's not urgent and a big job....we will wait until we get back to the US.
This was a GREAT jumping off point for us into the Exumas and we are SO excited to see the rest of the chain. #sailing#sailboat#sailingprojects
NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia.
So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too!
As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures!
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We are leaving this island paradise headed to Georgetown, the Exumas. It's been a wonderful
stay here in Clarencetown. We're certainly going to miss this beautiful water but hopefully we'll
get to see this as well when we get to Georgetown. And after 700 nautical miles we will also be
saying goodbye to Steve. We are so thankful for his help over the past two weeks because without him
we could not have moved this far. And he also helped us with so many boat things like generator
and engine maintenance, setting up our fishing lines, helping Brown fix broken items, and
teaching us how to pull up an anchor stuck in mud. His advice, support, help shifts, laughter and
stories were invaluable. When we get to Georgetown we will drop him off and pick up our friend Jeff
who will travel back to Florida with us. One of the requirements of the Bahamian health visa is
to complete a daily health form for two weeks and after five days in the country get COVID tested
which is our plan for today. St. Andrews was founded in 1802 though the church you see now
is not the same one built back then. Records from 1847 show that there was no church in Georgetown
at all. The original St. Andrews was abandoned and left to rot during a time when pirates dominated
and she makes amazing desserts. Tell me which ones you have here today. Okay so today I have
a delicious banana pudding topped with walnuts. I also have my carrot cake with homemade carrot
cream cheese dressing. I have a double chocolate cake and I also have two Bahamian favorites.
One is called coconut tart and it's made with our native coconut picked right off the tree
and the other one is a guava dough with our native guava. This is the most popular Bahamian dessert.
Yes and it's made with guava fruit? Yeah it's made with our guava fruit, our own native fruit. We peel
it, we take the seeds, we strain them and puree them and create a sauce with a little bit of milk
and powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and then we take the fruit and we infuse it into this
so if you look right here you can actually see pieces of the guava fruit infused. And I have
had it before and it is amazing. This is served warm. You pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds,
the sauce slightly melts over it and it's absolutely delicious. So I will take one of those.
Thank you. There it is. Guava dough is what it's called. Famous Bahamian dessert. The last time we
had it we were with Ted and Gail in Alutra. She introduced it to us. So how can you pass it up?
You can't. Once you had it once. Is the rest mine?
All right victorious trip to Napa. What's wrong with this picture? He's standing in the boat and
mush mush. This is what our lives have amounted to.
Oh it's so nice having someone planning with me. So nice. Aren't you a beautiful little bird.
Got a lot to say today. We are on the way to the Atlantic Oceanside of Stocking Island. We just
beached our dinghy and we are headed up over the dune ready to see what the Atlantic looks like.
Whoa look at that. Oh my gosh. The Exumas are a district of the Bahamas and consist of more than
365 islands also called keys spelled c-a-y-s. They are not as popular as the Abacos or Alutra
due to their distance from Florida. However, they are considered the most beautiful of the
islands in the Bahamian chain. The largest of the keys is Great Exuma which is 37 miles in length
and Georgetown is its capital with a population of 1,500. Georgetown was named in honor of George
III to whom the settlers maintained their loyalty. Although there are many beaches around the world,
very few can boast of crystal clear water and powdery white sand like the Exumas. The islands
were not formed by volcanic rock like the Caribbean and Pacific islands. They are a
geographical marvel formed by the interplay of wave action over limestone and coral reef.
The water color ranges from sapphire to turquoise and every variation in between. Combined with
shifting sandbars and shallow coral reefs, the Exuma's geological character is a work of art.
Rare footage of the two of you.
Two days ago, we tore ourselves away from Long Island thinking that beauty might be hard to find
but little did we know that jaw-dropping scenery would surround us on every Exuma island and in
between.
