Log 14: The Long-Awaited Family Island Regatta in Georgetown, Exuma

Night has fallen, and warm hues dance in the spotlight of a large glowing outdoor stage. The upbeat Soca music is turned down, grabbing our attention. We stand in the crowd alongside proud Bahamians, sailors, tourists, locals, and Kalik enthusiasts. The Bahamas’ Prime Minister approaches the microphone. He announces that sailing is now the official sport of the Bahamas! Spectators manage to break from the belly-laughing, rum-infused sailing celebration to witness and cheers this special moment in the nation’s history. We stand smiling like flies on the wall, appreciative to witness this long-awaited moment.

A few days before, we settled into Georgetown, Exuma – the province’s welcoming capitol – just in time for the annual Family Island Regatta. Not only is this the biggest event of the year, but also a tradition that has been going on since 1954! Recalling the first time we heard about the event, from a friendly man while at a local grill in Black Point, our informant did not mislead us. Sailboats were anchored everywhere, the city was alive with music, smiling faces, and every Bahamian knew somebody in the race. Whether their representative was a brother, neighbor, father, cousin, childhood friend, or coworker, you could feel the island hometown pride gleaming. And the anticipation of this year’s winner dangled like a treat on a stick. Different islands and cays throughout the Bahamas race their own boat, to represent their home island. We were told the racers must be locals and Bahamian citizens, which makes it the “Family” Regatta. There’s an international regatta that Georgetown also hosts, but the locals repeatedly reassure us, this one, was the best one.

When you dinghy into town from the anchorage, you pass under a narrow cement road bridge. You pop out on the other side to find a long dinghy dock equipped with plenty of cleats, access to clean water to fill up your jugs, and a small garbage truck where you plop your trash in the bed of the truck and slip your cash payment disposal dues into the truck’s cracked window.

Most everything you need is within walking distance, laundry, modest grocery stores to restock your provisions, and little bar and grills if you choose to indulge. Just for this special event, the city installed a nice large stage, and locals constructed a string of little “pop-up” bars from plywood, colorfully painted, where the party was guaranteed to last all night (and morning).

Our friends Greg and Kristin on S/V Granite Chief were anchored nearby, and we took them up on their invitation to watch the day’s sailing races with them on their beautiful monohull. The line up begins, and we randomly wager on the traditional style Bahamian sloops. Suddenly, they take off, pulling themselves forward by anchor, and zipping through the racecourse.

The impressiveness of the speed and beauty of these sloops is matched by the skill, timing, and cooperation it takes the teams to navigate them. Hanging from long-stretched boards to balance the vessel, it’s clear each person has a job to do, and timing is of the essence. Things get real when one of the sailboat’s snap their boom and must be towed to shore. Other competitors skirt by digging into the water to gain heading, inch by inch.

The race concludes, but another will be starting soon. Three classes of boats race each day of the five-day event. Each boat/island’s scores are totaled up after the final race in their class and the sloop with the highest number, wins.

After the day’s races come to an end, we head into the makeshift plywood plaza to grab eats and drinks, dance to Soca music, and mingle with the locals.

The week’s events proceeded as such, and by the end of the week, we had a whole crew of sailing friends, some new and others familiar faces. We indulged in cheeseburgers and played sand volleyball with Kristen, Greg, (their sweet pup Brooks) and our other bud Alex and his friend, whom we met at a marina in St. Augustine, FL. We met up for a snorkel and boat cruise with a family friend from back home in Texas who lives in town. We enjoyed a “lazy river” excursion organized by the local Cruiser’s Net and the ever-hospitable Ron and Cindy on S/V Reef’n It. We awed at the views from on top of monument mountain on a peaceful hike with our new friends Amy and Matt on S/V Florence. We laughed the night away after hosting our first get together on Belafonte with Granite Chief and Florence. And so much more heartwarming moments that filled our spirits and “social tanks” to a glimmering joyous level.

On our last night downtown for the regatta’s after party festivities, we eat fresh prepared conch salads, listen to the prime minister’s speech, and dance to a marching band parade that brought back vibes of New Orleans; Brendan’s “back home.” To top off the beautiful day of laughter, music, dancing, and celebrating, a firework show lit up the sky.

After the regatta, the sloops disappeared, the anchorage become barren compared to its race-time attendance, pedestrians no longer flocked the main street, and clearly the mailboat needed to return after what must’ve been a last provision run from the departed cruisers.

As many would describe as a cruiser’s paradise, Georgetown had so much to offer! Fun, friends, food, and access to resources that in other more remote islands you had to scavenge for.

It was time for us to get moving too. We go over our plans for hurricane season and prep to head to Long Island, the next province in our line up before heading south, (yes, south) for hurricane season.

~ Day 70