When Your Ship Comes In...

It's Family Island Regatta week down here in Georgetown and the town is abuzz with activity.  We have never experienced the regatta first hand, but from what I hear, it's a BIG deal in these parts and promises "traditional Bahamian sloop racing at it's finest".  The regatta draws a huge crowd and the population of this small town allegedly doubles this week, going from five to ten thousand people.  Bahamians come in from all the neighboring islands to cheer on their respective boats, captains and their crews.  It's like Mardi Gras meets Key West Race Week and it's (apparently) a week long party that entices spectators from around the world.

When we arrived the other day, a container ship had just come in with a veritable boat load of cargo.  We watched as they launched the wooden sloops, one by one.  Each one was brightly colored, uniquely named and they hailed from just about every island in the Exumas.  While the boats were off-loaded, street vendors worked at setting up a long row of colorful food stalls (similar in style to Potter's Cay) to make sure all the participants and spectators remain adequately hydrated and fed throughout the week. The excitement was palpable, and we have been promised by locals that this is not a week to be missed down here. We'll let you know...

Dockwalk Party

If I would have known at, say, 20 years old that there was a whole industry where you could travel the world by boat on someone else's dime while making money and partying with some of the best looking folks in some of the most exotic places on the on the globe, well, my life might have turned out differently...

I'm talking about the yachting industry, where (mostly) young (mostly good-looking) folks take a couple of courses in order to qualify to work on mega-yachts as "stews" (stewards, stewardesses), bosuns, deck hands, engineers, mates, chefs and a slew of other positions catering to the rich and famous.  While we've definitely crossed paths with many mega-yachts in our travels, typically the "yachtie" set and cruiser set don't mix...not because of any sort of acrimony, but because we cruisers are (usually) cheap and the yachties tend to have a) more money to play with and b) are working.  There are negatives to this seemingly awesome job, of course (it is a job, after all): sometimes the owners of the yachts are jerks, you typically share a bunk room the size of a closet with one or two other people, and drama can ensue (as it does when you coop up young, hormonal people)... For the most part, however, it seems like a pretty sweet gig for a twenty-something; you have almost no expenses, travel the world, and make a decent salary doing it.

One of the "industry" publications that Scott and I have been reading since we started traveling is Dockwalk.  While it caters to the yacthie set more than the cruiser, it's a pretty interesting read and we usually have a copy or two lying around our boat at any given time.  As you can imagine, Ft. Lauderdale (being one of the yachting industry capitals) is full of yachties and because we are a week away from the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, Dockwalk decided to throw a little mixer for the industry folk.  Our friend Travis, a mega-yacht captain, invited us along and because grandma is here, Scott and I enjoyed a night out sans baby.  It was fun.  The place was packed and looked like an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog exploded.  No shortage of eye candy, but I think Emily and I had the best of the bunch and we owned that dance floor (wink).

Our Ft. Lauderdale friends, Captain Travis and his wife Emily.

If you're looking to travel the world by boat but can't seem to figure out how to do it on your own boat, perhaps you should try to work on someone else's?