A Week Aboard S/V Sabado: 3/14/2021 – 3/21/2021

Hi guys!! We decided to combine footage from last week with this week’s video, you can watch it here and let me know what you think in the comments. 🙂

Last Sunday we spent the day at home, napping and relaxing, and got Eve’s 5 day COVID test taken care of (she’s still negative!). Monday afternoon we took Eve to shore for her flight home. She grabbed a taxi and we grabbed some lunch while on land, then headed home and caught up on some boat chores.

By Tuesday, we realized we’d been in George Town/Stocking Island for over a week, and we felt like we had done all there is to do, and seen all there is to see. So, we spent the day reading on the bow, enjoying the sunshine, and pondering our next move.

By Wednesday, we were itching to get going. We were hoping to make it to Emerald Bay Marina that morning to get some projects done that would just be easier to do at a dock, but the entrance to the marina is notoriously challenging. Unless it is flat calm you’ll be surfing huge waves into a narrow channel, which is a chance we aren’t willing to take in our boat. Unfortunately the conditions weren’t quite right, so we spent (yet another) day hanging around on the boat. This is a part of boat life you don’t always hear about- sure some days are full of excitement and adventure, but others are mundane- even boring.

That afternoon we noticed a potential toilet clog- a boater’s worst nightmare! Ray has dealt with his fair share of head issues on this boat and was instantly against the idea of fixing it himself, but that would make us completely reliant on one bathroom and if something were to happen to it, we would be shitting in a bucket until we got back to the States. So, after watching a few YouTube tutorials and quizzing Ray about the system (marine toilets are complicated), I decided to give it a look. Luckily, after poking around a bit (I’ll spare you the details), I fixed it. Dad if you’re reading this I hope you’re proud of me!! In all seriousness though, it ended up being way less dramatic than we anticipated and it was quite an easy fix. Plus, I used to work with fecal samples in a lab, so very few things gross me out anymore.

That night we took the dinghy over to Chat N’ Chill to pick up some dinner to go, and ate it in our pajamas with some popcorn and a movie.

On Thursday our frustrations escalated. We needed to get fuel before we could leave George Town, but there was some sort of widespread fuel contamination in the area. Apparently the diesel looked like almond milk? Definitely not a good sign. We figured fueling up at the marina could be a loophole, but we couldn’t get a hold of anyone to confirm the fuel quality there. We were also planning on getting all our laundry taken care of there, but heard rumors that there was only one working washer and no dryers. To top it all off, we were out of groceries again, and it was too rough to make the dinghy ride to the market from where we were anchored. We were beginning to feel as though “all the resources for cruisers” in George Town were just a facade, because they seemed unattainable when we needed them most. So, our plans were up in the air and our patience was running thin. In an attempt to turn things around, Ray made us dinner reservations at the resort nearby. ❤️ We took our dinghy through the very shallow channel to the restaurant (I may or may not have had to hike my dress up and push us for a bit since Ray was wearing jeans).

We ordered some Prosecco, a couple of appetizers, had an amazing meal paired with a bottle of wine, annnnd every dessert on the menu.

This was the same restaurant we went to for Eve’s birthday last week, but the menu changes daily so we were able to try a bunch of new things, and we had the entire dining room to ourselves! ☺️ If you’re looking for a good meal in the area to boost crew morale, we definitely recommend the Beacon Restaurant at Kahari Resort.

Friday morning we headed over to the marina with our fingers crossed! We didn’t have any wind, so we motored the whole way. 

We were pleasantly surprised when we reached the entrance and it was still flat calm- mission accomplished! We tied off and checked the place out.

The dock master made it very clear that we could easily access everything we needed through their facility! Free laundry (4 of the machines were working), access to rental cars for provisioning, a 24hr gym and lounge, pizza delivery, boat cleaners, COVID test for guests if needed, an ATM, etc. he explained that they were out of diesel (our hearts stopped momentarily), but that they were getting more that evening so we could fuel up on our way out. We took a big sigh of relief, and celebrated with lunch + a view.

That afternoon the dock master sent over some workers to scrape our hulls for us, we plugged in to shore power, did a load of laundry, took hot showers, and slept like rocks in our air conditioning. Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re not even remotely close to roughing it on Sabado; but when other aspects of boat life become difficult and make us feel stuck, the luxuries that come with being tied to a dock are definitely appreciated. 

The next day we got to work. Our to do list looked a little something like this:

• Rent a car 
• Provision
• Laundry
• ATM
• Scrape the hulls✅
• Wash the boat
• Get fuel 
• Update haul out project spreadsheet 
• Upload YouTube video 
• Clean up harddrive and clear out SD cards

We rented a car through the marina that morning with Japanese buttons, and headed out. 

Our first stop was the liquor store, then the grocery store. We went to Prime Island Meats, Deli and Grocery Store and got a TON of groceries for the same amount of money we spent on 1 week’s worth of groceries at Exuma Market. I will say though, their produce selection is limited. We stocked up on meats, cheeses, dried and canned goods, and made a second trip out to Exuma Market for fruits and vegetables. By the time we got everything out of its packaging, washed and put away, it was 5:30pm. So, I worked on cleaning up our hard drive and SD cards for a bit, then threw in a couple loads of laundry before making dinner and heading to bed. 

Today is our cleaning day! I’m in charge of the inside, Ray is handling the outside. We’ve got a couple more loads of laundry to get done then, weather pending, we’ll fuel up on our way out tomorrow. 

I hope you had a good week! ❤️