We stayed in the Georgetown area most of the week, four nights anchored in front of the town itself, and when the wind shifted to the West-Northwest, we moved across the harbor to anchor of Sand Dollar beach, between the new mooring field and the shore.
Before the wind blew hard, we managed to get in a couple dinghy trips to the various nearby reefs for some snorkeling. It was rough, but we did it anyway, and though we didn't see anything new, we did see a lot of fish and a couple of turtles. No sharks, though.
We took a trip into town as well, for groceries and rum, and I browsed the straw market for souvenirs and gifts. That day - Monday (Feb 5) - the winds started in earnest. We had a couple good squalls as the front came. One of the other cruisers clocked gusts in the lower forties. We rode easily where we were; the new moorings across the harbor got a good workout. Then the wind shifted early Wednesday morning and we were taking the brunt. By Wednesday afternoon most of the boats in our anchorage had moved.
Come Thursday things seemed calmer, but it was mostly because we were all so sheltered by Elizabeth Island. People were starting to get out and about. Dan offered to hold a workshop for kids on the beach near Chat n Chill, teaching them to make Turk's Head bracelets. Dan practiced a bit before we set off, equipped with lengths of string and tools. We had three takers - a four year old girl, a six year old boy, and his nine year old sister. While Dan and I got them started on the bracelets and supervised their attempts to braid it themselves, we were thoroughly entertained by running commentary from the four year old. She was - she was "pretty sure" - an only child. She had a nana who might be older than Jesus, and who fed her chocolate on request. Interspersed with her personal life story were many questions, and observations of us and random things. How old was Dan? Did we know unicorns weren't real? Where did we get all the string? Did we know baby teeth fell out and you grew new ones? The older girl also gave us a synopsis of her life, but her brother barely said a word, he was concentrating hard on weaving his bracelet. We had a great time. 
We sat with our friends Eddie and Gail from SEAQUEL (Eddie was instrumental in recruiting the kids for the workshop) and introduced them to Tracy and Bob from our buddy boat THREE SONS. The six of us talked about our plans to leave Georgetown when the weather cooperated, and Eddie proposed we set out for the Ragged Islands in the morning, to be there when the wind started shifting and slowing down. Dan agreed to go for it, but Tracy and Bob had to remain in Georgetown as they had guests arriving.
So at dawn on Friday (Feb 9) SEAQUEL and we raised anchor to head south. It was mighty rough, but we both were hoping things would settle down once we got beyond the reefs that mark the harbor. By the time we reached Hog Cut we'd spoken with other boats plowing through 6 foot waves ahead of us, and we made the decision to turn eastward instead and head for Long Island where we would be sheltered from the ENE winds in Thompson Bay.
Today (Saturday, Feb 10) the four of us went ashore for a beach walk. We also visited the Farmer's Market and the grocery store. Long Island is a much quieter place than Georgetown. Our plans are to hang out for another day and use the next weather window to head north instead of trying for the Ragged Islands again. It appears we'll have a couple calm-ish days (who would have thought we'd consider 12-15 knots calm!) before the stronger winds kick in again. This certainly has been a windy Bahamas cruise so far!
This is how Tommie does yoga with us. She's the foot warmer. She loves laying on the end of the mat.
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