Georgetown Revival and Feeding Fat Ass

November 27, 2006

Sunday, November 19 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

It's great to be back!

We awoke after a blustery night unsure as to whether we would hole up in Farmer's Cay for the upcoming Winds of Destruction or continue on to George Town. Our usual SSB weather guy was unavailable today, so we awaited the 8 AM weather read by some lady over VHF. Chances of death offshore sounded minimal, so we decided to make the run, inside as far as we could go and then offshore the remaining 15 miles to George Town.

The day brought 8 fish strikes. A few were barracuda, but we also had three lure failures. Do not buy 'offshore' lures from Boat U.S.!! Fortunately, these were from our summer shopping spree with credit card points we couldn't use any other way in other words, next best thing to free or I'd be really pissed. Free is good.

We did land one good sized skipjack tuna, so the crew will not starve.

The hook was down by 4 PM, and then it was near pandemonium of catch-up at the Chat & Chill with people already here and gossip about the people not here (who's coming, who's not, why not).

I quickly found that I had not adjusted my sipping speed to Bahamian Standard (i.e., assume all drinks are 90% rum) and was a bit tipsy by the time we made it from Chat & Chill to L'Attitude to visit our friends Kenny and Linda. Longtime readers may remember them from our days on the Morgan, or from last year. While there, I learned that Flip the Bird (their parrot) has a new phrase, which she tried out on me several times:

'Nice tits! How much did they cost?'

(Editor's note: Say it with me, free is good.)

Monday, November 20 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

Crew casualties were high today. Milo has caught a cold and sounds like a little emphysema ferret. We made an early grocery store run for medicine and other supplies. George Town looks pretty much the same as when we left it. Even the new bridge over Lake Victoria looks almost exactly like the old bridge. The more things change and all that....

The morning was spent dosing His Fatness with infant cold syrup. He does not like it, even with a banana chip chaser. Mila, however, likes to lick it off his face.

Leaving Milo to rest under his sister's care, we attended Volleyball Day 1. We are a little short on players, so it was five games of three on three. Thomas did well and I didn't embarrass myself too badly. We both hobbled home.

The pain was dulled by some ibuprofren with rum/beer chasers at St. Francis with Speedo Ed and Bea. Thomas talked computers with the St. Francis owner's 18 year-old son, Greg, and then we played Texas Hold Em for fun, not money. Thomas cleaned up. Word is Greg's right eye twitches when he's bluffing. Needless to say, he's been invited to the cash game set for later in the week. Nothing like fleecing the young.

Fortunately, George (the owner) rolled out some (free!) food later in the evening. I'm not sure the Dream Catcher chef was in any shape to cook, but he made it in and out of the dinghy ok. I think tomorrow we might stop celebrating our arrival. Well, maybe.

Tuesday, November 21 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

Milo seemed especially listless this morning, so I went into a crazed period of Internet research. Basically I learned that it is very important to feed a sick ferret. Hmmm. I'm not sure these online gurus realize how much extra stores he's carrying around in his hind region, but I obeyed.

The sick one got extra doses of Wicky Crack (Ferretone vitamin supplement that they love), hot dogs, and any other high-fat, high-protein treats we could get him to eat. He feigned indifference for about 10 seconds before devouring each offering. I think he may be smarter than I'd originally suspected and will probably exhibit the sniffles forever if it means he gets to eat this good. Even his sister is starting to work up a rather convincing throat-clearing-type cough that gains her a share in the spoils.

On the non-ferret front, there was, of course, volleyball. Another five games of 3-on-3, more ibuprofren, more drinking at Saint Francis. I guess we haven't stopped celebrating yet, but we did manage to make dinner: grilled tuna, potatoes, and an immense salad. The crew was in bed early and slept like the dead.

Wednesday, November 22 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

Worries about Milo have subsided. He is eating on his own and trotting about with his sister. He still has a bit of the sniffles, but I think he'll survive.

That may be more than I can say for myself. I made the mistake of kayaking and doing yoga in the morning, and volleyball was a painful experience. Oh well. You can't win them all. My record was 1 and 4. I might be as bad as the Steelers.

The usual post-volleyball activities and bed.

Thursday, November 23 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

Thanksgiving offered a much-needed day of rest from volleyball. The crew was a bit worn down from the sudden onslaught of exercise (ick!) and did a lot of book reading in the morning.

We also had to prepare our offering for the T-Day pot luck. After much debate, we decided on Bridge Rolls, which are in our bread book. These are basic white rolls but made with milk, butter, sugar, and salt to give them a finer texture and a bit more taste.

All was going well until the cooking phase. We are a bit short on pans and oven space to feed the masses, so we figured we'd do one batch in the oven on our sole cookie sheet and one batch on the grill in our bread pan and brownie pan. I'm still not sure what happened but either the grill was too hot or the bread/brownie pans weren't up to standard, but half our rolls were scorched and our pans permanently blackened. Oops. I was doing my best Marie Antoinette ('Let them eat cake!') when Thomas emerged with news that the batch in the oven survived. These were quite good, and even earned Thomas a marriage proposal from Don on Dark & Stormy. Apparently, the path to a man's heart is through the stomach.

The potluck started at 3 PM. It was pretty fun and the food was good, if you like mashed potatoes, stuffing, etc. I do and was in heaven; Thomas doesn't and subsisted on rolls. After the meal was over, we had our first money game of Texas Hold 'Em. I assumed that Thomas's math skills and my dealing would ensure victory, but alas, Thomas was the first out.

At 8:30, we headed back to the boat $5 poorer. Happy Gobble-Gobble to all and to all a good night. I might be mixing my holidays there, but you get the idea.

Friday, November 24 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

I awoke to the sound of a drunk man screaming 'Good Morning George Town' through the anchorage. Apparently not everyone stopped partying by 9 PM last night. I won't get into the details here, but there is much ado about a crazy lady, a drug boat, and other lurid occurrences.

I spent the morning cleaning and making Tabbouleh Salad, a Middle Eastern wheat and veggie dish I love, if for no other reason than Thomas takes one look and says 'Gross. Are you really going to eat that?' Milo and Mila are more supportive.

We played 3-on-2 volleyball in the afternoon and then dropped by to see Arlean, our favorite Chat & Chill bartender. We intended to return to the mothership for a quiet night aboard, but we were lured against our will to Saint Francis. Thomas played poker, and since it wasn't a money game, won it all. I might be detecting a pattern here.

We did manage to retire to the boat by 7 PM for another seafood dinner of Mutton Snapper and rice.

Saturday, November 25 2006 - Volley Ball Beach, George Town, Exumas
By Amy

A quiet night was followed by a quiet morning aboard reading books and cleaning. I also began a black bean salad dish that will need to chill overnight. I won't pass along Thomas's comments on said dish.

Mercifully, the sun decided to show up. We've been low on power lately with constant overcast days and sketchy wind. The break in the weather also meant an influx of boats. DeJarlo arrived today, and we are pleased to have another volleyball player. Oliver was on the court almost as soon as they had the hook down, and we caught up on six months' happenings in between serves.

Post-volleyball, the crew enjoyed the mega spaghetti dinner and a quiet, budget-conscious night aboard the boat.