We Closed the Circle

We have closed the circle and are back in North Carolina. 

We left Eleuthera pulling anchor a little after midnight and crossed the Providence Channel arriving at Little Harbor Inlet and continuing on to Elbow Cay by mid-afternoon, a trip of 67 miles.  We had planned to anchor outside Hopetown for the night but we were offered the use of a mooring and we took advantage of the offer.  We went into town and got two loads of laundry done celebrating the trip with a few cold Kalik beers while waiting for the laundry.  The next morning we dropped the mooring and proceeded to Boat Harbor Marina to take on fuel.  From there we continued to Scotland Cay to visit friends.  We spent two days visiting with Rita and Will and enjoying being at their dock.  From there we continued on to Green Turtle Cay to spend some time with our friend Donny.

In the past we have made the crossing from Florida to Green Turtle to spend time at Donn's Docks before continuing further south. This year we promised him we would stop on the way back at the end of our season. While there we spent time revisiting the island and visiting with old and new friends.  We were monitoring the weather looking for an opportunity to make the trip back to the States.  After a week we had a short window forecasted and we said good-bye and started out.  We made the trip across the Little Bahamas Bank and made the crossing to Fernandina Beach in a three day, 352 nautical mile trip.  Arriving at Fernandina Beach we picked up a mooring, checked in with Customs and Immigration and rested up from the trip.  The next morning we checked into the marina and when we said we were gong to walk to Walmart to pick up some things Charlie offered us the use of his pickup.  With that out of the way spent some time in the Captains Lounge sucking up their wifi. After two days we had a good forecast to make the rest of the trip to North Carolina.  First we needed to top off our fuel.  The fuel dock is still out of commission since the last hurricane so we emptied the jerry jugs we carry and with another loan of Charlie's pickup for trips to the gas station with the jugs we had the tank topped off and rode the outgoing tide.

We spent another three days traveling 349 nautical miles in light winds arriving Beaufort Inlet after midnight and anchored near the Coast Guard Station.  We normally avoid entering a harbor at night but this inlet is well marked and we have several previous tracks to follow.  In the morning we pulled anchor and moves to Taylors Creek in downtown Beaufort and settled in for a couple of days.  We made several trips into town to help with the local economy at several restaurants, bars and pubs.  After the weekend we decided to move up to the Neuse River and anchor in Clubfoot Creek next to our old marina.

Now that we are back we are making the arrangements to be hauled out for summer storage.  We thought we were on a list at one of the yards but when we called they had no record of it.  Now we are working on plan B with calls in to several other yards.

Our winter cruise is now over with us covering 2317 nautical miles or 2666 statute miles. That is just short of a trip from New York City to Los Angles but traveling at about six miles an hour.  At least we didn't have to climb any mountains.

What is next?  Once we get the boat hauled out we will be loading up a rental truck with some of the stuff we have in storage here and bringing it with us to South Dakota.  We have a number of projects at the cabin we hope to get completed and plan to enjoy relaxing there before returning to the boat in the fall.  If you are in the Black Hills area this summer we would enjoy your company.

Each tick mark is our location at 6:00 am and 6:00 pm each day.

Starting Back

We have started back through the Bahamas working our way back to the States.  When we arrived we asked for a ninety day cruising permit and our time is counting down, we are inside of the final thirty days.

What have we been doing?

First and foremost  we wanted to spend as much time as we could in the Jumentos/Raggeds.  This is part of the southern area of the islands and is the most remote.  We have moved around to several of the islands while here but have once again spent most of it at Hog Cay.  Hog Cay is the central gathering place in the Raggeds and at times had up to forty boats which to us is too many, thus the side trips to other islands to enjoy the solitude.  We also have had more then normal weather events that have caused us and everyone else to move to protected anchorages.  One such event lasted a week with winds in the 20-40 knot range from several directions, most from the west and northwest where there are the least number of anchorages to find protection.  That doesn't mean we are confined to the boat, we were still are able to go ashore for gatherings, beach combing and kayaking.  There are trails that have been cleared on many of these islands so there is more opportunities to get off the boat and and get a little exercise and help with trail maintenance.

The most enjoyable is spending time on shore at the tiki hut visiting with friends, weaving baskets and watching the sunset looking for the elusive "green flash".  Usually there is a big party around Valentines Day put on by the locals from Ragged Island but this year it has been postponed until March and we will not be able to stay for it.

After about two months we had to say goodbye to our friends and start working our way north.  We started out on Friday the sixteenth pulling the anchor at 7:00 am motored for a bit to give the batteries a charge then hoisted sails and had an almost perfect day of sailing with fifteen knots of wind on the beam, the most efficient point of sail doing six to eight knots of speed..  We continued until sunset when the winds dropped to 10-13 knots and sailing four to six knots until 3:00 in the morning when we dropped anchor by Blackpoint Settlement.  We had covered 122 nautical miles or 140 statute miles.  Our alarms went off three hours later and about 7:00 am we again pulled anchor and motored out Dotham Cut and turned north for Eleuthera crossing Exuma Sound.  This time we had lighter winds from behind us and motored through the morning.  In the early afternoon the winds had shifted and increased allowing us to hoist the sails and shut off the motor.  We arrived at Rock Sound Eleuthera about 5:30 traveling 60 nautical miles or about 70 statute miles.  We had traveled 182 miles in two days sailing most of it.  This would normally have taken about four or five days to travel under normal circumstances.  One of the reasons we were in a hurry was that there was a forecast for another front to move down with high winds from the west and northwest and we wanted to be in the protection provided in Rock Sound.  The next morning before the winds kicked up we made a run to the grocery and liquor store.  We were low on a couple of items and I needed a loaf of bread for my lunches and was just about out of rum.  Back in the dinghy we had a wet ride back to the boat because the winds were kicking up and we got splashed a lot on the trip.  We then spent the next couple of days on the boat with the exception of one trip to the beach to visit with some of the other cruisers.

Thursday, the 22nd, we pulled anchor about 6:00 am and headed further north.  We needed an early start because there is a small cut between the island that has a strong current running except at tide change.  It is important to time your arrival at what is called "slack tide" in order to avoid the current.  Not to be surprised but the cut is called Current Cut.  The forecast called for light winds but they got it wrong and after motoring into the wind for several hours we made the turn to the cut and were able to sail once again.  The winds were in the 15-20 knot range most of the day with one gust hitting 25 knots.  we were fortunate to arrive at the cut at the right time and proceeded through.  If we had missed the tide change we had an anchorage picked out to wait to try again in the morning.  We proceeded to Meekes Patch near Spanish Wells and dropped anchor to await the upcoming weather front.  By the next morning we had thirty boats around us all waiting out the expected winds.

Our next destination is the northern islands called the Abaco's.  This involves a fifty mile jump in open ocean waters so we are waiting for the weather to move through and the arrival of east winds to sail across.  Once there we will make a couple of stops before arriving at Green Turtle Cay to see our friend Donny and spend a couple of days at his marina.  We will be monitoring the weather as always but will be looking for a window that will allow us to make the jump back to the States and work our way up to North Carolina.

Spending Our Time in the Bahamas

 Our last post had us in Georgetown on Great Exuma Island in the central Bahamas.

After several days of strong winds we left heading to the Southwestern area called the Jumentos/Raggeds.  We had moved the boat to an anchorage near town and made several runs in the dinghy to fill water jugs to top off our water tanks.  By midday the winds were dropping and we headed out.  We did a combination of sailing and motoring along the way.  The route takes us through some shallow areas where we were our depth gauge was showing only 2-3 feet below the keel much of it in the dark since we were traveling overnight.  There were storm clouds all around us with a lot of lightning but they all passed by without hitting us.  It was interesting watching them on our radar.  There are a number of small islands to stop at but this year we passed them by in order to get further into the Raggeds.  We finally stopped the next afternoon at Double Breasted Cay which would offer some protection from the forecasted winds.  Cori took the opportunity to kayak to shore to check out the beaches on the ocean side. After a couple of days we pulled anchor and continued on to Hog Cay, one of our favorite spots.  This is about as remote as you can find.  There is a small community on the next island with about sixty residents and is closer to Cuba then any other community. This will be our fourth time coming here and we want to spend as much time in the area as we can.

We started by hiking one of the trails to the ocean side to look for sea beans and to collect palm fronds to start weaving baskets again.  The winds have been strong but we are protected by the island so it was comfortable.  There was a forecast for a front coming through that would have winds from the west.  We are not protected form the west.  We moved with several other boats to an area between Ragged Island and Little Ragged Island.  Here we were protected on all sides.  We took the opportunity to spend several days walking the beaches on Little Ragged for more sea beans.  I have mentioned sea beans in several other post and what they are is seeds, ranging from about the size of a quarter to a half dollar that float down the rivers in South America into the ocean and the winds and currents wash them up on the beaches in the Bahamas and further west to Central America.  There are several types and this year we are limiting ourselves to the type called "hamburgers" which look like a small hamburger.  They are rarer and harder to find.  The more common are "sea hearts" which are larger and shaped somewhat like a heart.  It quickly becomes an obsession.

After several days the forecast was for the winds to lessen and we moved back to Hog Cay.  More boats were arriving and we started getting together at the tiki hut in the afternoon for sundowners and visiting.  

Christmas Eve we spent at Hog Cay and Christmas Day we were included  with several other cruisers to join the residents of Duncan Town for Christmas dinner.  The cruisers brought deserts and the community provided everything else.  There were as many cruisers as there were locals including the crew from the Defense Force boat  After dinner there were fun games for the adults and children.

The forecast once again talked of winds from the west and we dispersed to a variety of protected harbors. This time we moved up to an area between Buena Vista Cay and Low Water Cay.  We had never anchored there before but it was reported to be a secure anchorage in a west wind.  We ended up having the anchorage to ourselves.  When the front arrived the winds clocked around from SE until it was from the NE.  When it was coming from the south we found we were exposed to waves causing a rolling motion but calmed when it shifted to west.  We stayed for three days dinghying to the close by beaches to once again look for "treasures".  

New Years Eve we pulled anchor and moved back to Hog Cay.  When we arrived we found we were the only boat in the anchorage but the other boats came back from where they had been hiding over the next couple of days.  Once again we all settled into the various activities of hiking the trails, walking the beaches, socializing at the hut and meeting in the late afternoon for sundowners and watching for the elusive "Green Flash" at sunset.  On the 3rd we joined a group of cruisers have lunch in Duncan Town.  While there we had a jerry jug filled with gasoline to keep the outboards and generator running and picked up a couple of items at the grocery store.  All and all it was a very good day.  

The days were beginning to blend together so for some variety we decided to pull anchor and move up to Double Breasted Cay for a couple of days.  This gave us a couple of different beaches to search for "treasures".  We spent four days there while the other boats came and went and on our last night we were the only boat in the anchorage.  While there we were able to see another rocket go overhead after a launch from Cape Canaveral.  We once again pulled anchor and moved back to Hog Cay.

The forecast is calling for high winds but not from the west so we will stay and ride it out here.  We had plans to make a run to Duncan Town for gasoline before the winds kicked up.  There is a local fisherman that has gas shipped in and we contacted him to be sure it was available.  He offered to deliver some and today he showed up with five gallons and took our empty jug to refill and returned it along with two cold Kalik beers.  We are still fighting a problem with our batteries and keep having to run the generator to keep them topped off.

It may seem like we are doing nothing but sitting at anchor and that is true.  The majority of time spent cruising is just sitting in a location and enjoying yourself.  This is our favorite area and we arrived early this year to just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience rather then keep on the move.

In the Bahamas

We are in the Bahamas and enjoying being back.

We left Fort Pierce at first light and motored south against mild headwinds working our way down to West Palm Beach.  The winds had started to build so we made the left turn to cross the gulf stream overnight under sail.  Once across we again turned south and motor/sailed to the Great Bahamas Bank.  We were again able to sail as we crossed the Bank.  During night #2 we moved into The Tongue of the Ocean, a deep area between the different island groups.  We continued on until we reached a channel that is shown on our charts and crossed the banks to Big Majors Spot and anchored just after sunset.  Big Majors Spot is famous for the pigs that will swim out to your dinghy as you attempt to come ashore to feed them.  Any Google search will bring up many photos and videos.  We anchored for the night and in the morning we moved to the fuel dock at Staniel Cay to top off the fuel tank.  Leaving the fuel dock we worked our way around Harvey's Cay sailed down to Little Farmers Cay to stage for the trip through the cut between islands the next morning.  In the morning we caught an outgoing current going out the cut into Exuma Sound.  Turning south we then sailed down to Great Exuma Island and motored into Elizabeth Harbor and set anchor near several of our cruising friends.  We had arrived at Georgetown.  397 nautical miles, or 456 land miles in five days.   The harbor is large and last time when we were here there were over three hundred boats. It's still early in the season and there are only thirty boats with more arriving every day.  We dinghied into town the next morning to check in with Customs and Immigration.  Once cleared in we visited the phone company store to get a sim card for our Bahamian hotspot.  We suspend our US phone service and rely on the hotspot for data and phone service while we are in the islands.  The next stop was at a restaurant to celebrate arrival with a Kalik, a local Bahamian beer.

The winds are blowing in the 15-20 knot range so we will stay here for a few days.  We have checked out several of the hiking trails, relaxed on the beach, collected shells on the ocean side and visited with friends.  When the winds let up we will continue on.

Our Spot position locator has died and I am experimenting with other means to show our travels.

Winter Cruise Is Underway

We have started our winter cruise.

The survey is done with no serious issues, the part arrived and has been installed and we have started off.

We spent a couple of days in Oriental waiting on a water pump that gave out.  The town has two docks that cruisers can stay at for 48 hours free of charge.  We were allowed to stay a couple of extra days since without the pump we could not run the engine.  Once the pump was installed we left the dock and moved down to Morehead City and anchored to wait for a weather window to move on.  Several days later on Saturday we had a good forecast and we headed out the entrance setting a course for Beaufort SC. The opening was for only two days and after sailing and motoring we arrived midday on Monday and moved up a creek to wait out the weather.  The forecast was correct and we sat out several days of the wind blowing hard but we were well protected.  Thanksgiving morning we headed off again with our next stop St Augustine.  We arrived midday on Friday and set anchor by the fort.  Saturday we dinghied into town and got together with several other cruisers for drinks and stories.  After dinner at our favorite barbeque place we went back to the boat for the night.  We planned to move on Sunday but it was a rainy chilly day so we stayed at anchor.

Monday morning we caught the first bridge opening and moved down the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) making a long run of eighty miles and anchored for the night at New Smyrna Beach.  We were only fifty miles from Cape Canaveral and were able to watch a rocket launch that evening, once it cleared the buildings that were in our way.  The next morning we started off early again and made a sixty mile run to Melbourne FL and anchored for the night.  The next morning we were underway early again to make our way to Vero Beach.  Vero Beach is very cruiser friendly and is often referred to as "Velcro Beach" since it is hard to leave once you show up.  Cori has gotten several loads of laundry done, I have worked on getting the boat ready for the next leg and we have made several trips on the free bus to stock up on groceries for the winter.

We have just about everything ready and will be moving on further down the Florida coast before making the turn to the Bahamas.

End of the Summer Cruise

Our summer cruise has come to an end.  That is not all bad because it means that the winter cruise is getting underway.

At last blog post we were just inside the Dismal Swamp Canal with friends.  From there the three of us, Hi Flite, New Song and Packet Dreams, moved down the canal to the visitors Center which is a combination of highway/canal visitor center and highway rest stop.  The next morning we left continuing down to the South Creek Locks.  After locking down we continued to Elizabeth City.  Elizabeth City is very cruiser friendly with several free docks available.  The three boats decided to stay at the Mid Atlantic Christian University docks.  These people are very friendly, they gave us a ride to and from the laundromat, offer use of the showers in the gym, use of the cafeteria for our meals and a firepit for an evening fire, all of which we greatly appreciated.  In the morning, after a breakfast in the cafeteria, we moved down the river, crossed the Albemarle Sound and anchored for the night at the Alligator/Pungo Canal.  In the morning when the fog cleared we continued down the canal crossing the Pamlico River and anchored for the night in Goose Creek.  The next morning we continued on to the Neuse River and moved up Broad Creek to tie up at the dock at our friends, Jerry and Donna on Bluejacket.  

After picking up a rental car we started our projects.  We made several trips to the storage unit swapping out summer stuff for winter stuff trying to get ready for the trip south.  There were multiple trips to provision and pick up some boat parts we had ordered and delivered to friends.  Cori got out her sewing machine and materials and worked on a couple of projects.  After nine days at the dock we moved down to Oriental.  We need to have the boat hauled out of the water to have an inspection, called a marine survey, performed to satisfy our insurance company.  We made arrangement at one of the boatyards to be hauled out and have a couple of maintenance issues taken care of along with the survey.

At this writing the survey is complete with no major issues, the final report will arrive in a couple of days, and we are waiting on a part that should be here in the morning at which time we will be moved back into the water.  There is a weather front forecast so we will stay in the area over the weekend and then head out on our next adventure.

The final numbers on our summer cruise 1576 nautical miles or 1813 statute miles.  About the distance from New York City to Chicago and back.

Our plans, always subject to change, are to make several jumps down the eastern seaboard arriving in Florida.  Once there we will wait for a weather window allowing us to cross over to the Bahamas.  Most years we stay in the islands for six months but this year we are planning to only stay for three figuring mid December to mid-March.

Maine Recap

We have left Maine and are working our way down the East Coast.  I wasn't able to post updates because almost everywhere we went we had very poor to nonexistent cell phone coverage.  We are currently just south of Norfolk VA.

Where did we go and what did we do?  Here is a recap:

Leaving Portsmouth we started moving up the Maine coast first stopping at Richmond Island, a little short of Portland, and anchored for the night.  In the morning we started on our way but quickly discovered a problem and moved over to an empty mooring to tie up and figure out the problem.  We spent the day working on a cooling water problem and the next day continued on our way to Boothbay Harbor.  We had been here before and decided to revisit.  We rented a mooring that allowed us a short dinghy ride to the dock and walking distance to downtown.  On the third day we dropped the mooring, moved to the other side of the harbor to take on fuel and continued on our way.  Once out of the protection of the bay we found ourselves beating into a headwind and waves.  Since we are not on any kind of schedule we diverted into the next bay and picked up a mooring for the night in Christmas Cove off of the Damariscotta River.  In the morning the wind and seas had calmed down and we continued on to Long Cove just off from Tenants Harbor.  Unfortunately we had to motor instead of sail.  In the morning we launched the dinghy and went to shore on Clark Island to hike the trails there, part of the Clark Island Preserve.  After lunch back on the boat we dinghied over to High Island and hiked the trail there.  We use a combination of apps that show us the trails in the areas we are at.  The next morning we moved up Penobscot Bay to Vinalhaven Island, motoring through the fog, our first foggy day.  We had decided that with the limited time we had left this would be as far up the coast as we would go.

We chose to go up into Southern Harbor since we had not been there before and it was in walking distance to the town of North Haven.  We rented a mooring for the night and while in the boatyard to pay they helped solve one of my outboard problems by giving me several pieces of fuel line and parts off of a scrap outboard.  They also provided information on other anchorages in the area that we had not been to.  The next day we dropped the mooring and headed down to Hurricane Island which was new to us.  The island has a research center which provides moorings and a dock and a number of hiking trails.  The island was the location of a major granite quarry and the trails take you around, through and above the quarry.  We spent three days hiking the trails on this island and dinghying to a nearby island to hike the trail there.  On the dinghy ride we noticed a couple of heads popping out of the water and stopped to watch a dozen seals watching us.

By now the weather alerts were warning of the former hurricane, now tropical storm heading towards Maine.  We moved up to Perry Creek, one of our favorite anchorages and picked up a mooring there.  We spent several days hiking the trails and relaxing on the boat.  The storm tracked further east hitting up by Arcadia National Park and we only experienced some winds up to 20 knots and rain.  We also had our second day of fog.  We also made the short dinghy ride around the point to North Haven to pick up cellular service and attach to WIFI while having lunch.  Business taken care of we headed back to the boat for a couple more days.

By now it was time to start heading back, the temperatures were dropping, days in the 50's and nights in the 40's and we don't have heat onboard.  Consulting with our weather advisor and checking several weather sites we found a window that would allow us to make the jump to the Cape Cod Canal and move into Buzzards Bay, a 25 hour trip.

We moved down the bay and spent the night at Allen Island and prepared to leave the next morning.  The day started out with light winds but the forecast was for the winds to build from the southwest and west allowing us to sail instead of motoring.  The forecast was off on the timing and the winds didn't arrive until around midnight blowing up  to 20+ knots.  We arrived at the Cape Cod Canal at 9:30 the next day just in time to ride the current trough the canal.  Once through the canal and at the entrance to Buzzards Bay we usually pick up a mooring to prepare for the next leg.  This time with advice from friends we stopped in Onset and rented a mooring for two days.  Cori took the opportunity to get some laundry done and pick up some groceries and I worked on another mechanical problem.  We also took the bus for some shopping and had lunch and dinner ashore instead of on the boat.  Our next jump would be to Norfolk VA which would take four days.

We were advised that due to weather moving up the coast we needed to be in Norfolk by Wednesday afternoon.  We finalized preparations Sunday morning and headed down Buzzards Bay and out into the Atlantic.  We had good winds and were able to sail, going past Block Island in the late evening.  From there we set a straight line to the mouth of the Chesapeake.  We had winds overnight in the 20's so we only had a reefed headsail and the mizzen doing 6-7 knots.  Unfortunately the seas were big and we were getting bounced around a lot.  By morning the winds and seas dropped down but we were able to continue sailing. One of the things that broke the boredom was the arrival of a small bird followed by a second.  They spent the afternoon checking out the cockpit and flying below to check out the rest of the boat.  Eventually they settled into the v-berth to spend the night.  About mid-morning they both decided to try making their way back to shore, I hope they made it. By mid-day the winds had shifter and were too light to keep the sails full so we started motoring.  Nothing else exciting happed the rest of the day which is a good thing.  Sunrise Wednesday morning we were approaching the mouth of the bay and we decided to continue on to the anchorage at hospital point in downtown Norfolk.  While passing through the naval base and looking at the variety of ships we had a submarine go past us on their way out to sea. We dropped anchor in Norfolk just after noon after sailing/motoring 440 nautical miles, or just over 500 miles in about 73 hours.  What so we do on these long passages?  We take turn being on watch, there is always someone in the cockpit keeping a lookout usually listening to music, podcasts or an audible book.  The other is either relaxing or sleeping, eating when convenient.  That afternoon I set about solving an oil leak problem, more about that later.  Once that problem was solved we pulled anchor and moved up the river and took the turn to follow the Dismal Swamp Canal.  Once through the lock we pulled over to the free dock and tied up.  Once settled in we walked up to the shopping area for lunch and picking up some groceries.  That's where we are now, taking a break and recharging the batteries, literally, there are power outlets on this dock.

I have mentioned several maintenance issues along the way.  A boat is a combination of a house and a car with a lot of the same issues.  This time I had issues, again, with our 3.3 horsepower outboard.  I have two carburetors for it and often switch back and forth depending on how cooperative they are.  This time I tried swapping parts between them to get one that ran right. Among the problems was that the fuel line had gotten hard and could not be used again.  This was one I got from a scooter repair shop in Florida.  The boatyard we stopped at in Vinalhaven gave me a possible replacement and also pulled several of different sizes and lengths from scrap motors.  I also got another replacement carburetor off of one of them.  It turned out that the new hose fit and when I tried the new to me carburetor it ran better than ever. Problem solved for now.  Another issue was the cooling water.  The engine is cooled by seawater pumped through a heat exchanger and pumped out with the exhaust.  One morning as we got underway we noticed there was no water coming out.  We were able to get to a mooring and tie up before it overheated.  I spent the day taking almost all of the cooling system apart trying to solve it.  I finally got it working by rerouting some hoses using a variety of adapters to accommodate different hose sizes and added a pump into the mix to push water to the engine to help the main intake pump.  This got us on our way and was solved, temporarily, with adapters and new hoses from the hardware store in Boothbay Harbor.  The next issue I had was the fresh water pump acting up.  We take what are known as "navy" showers where you get wet, shut off the water, soap up and then rinse off.  During my shower when I tuned the water back on to rinse off there was no water.  I have a washdown pump at the bow that I use to wash the mud off the anchor and chain.  It also had valves that will allow me to switch it to fresh water.  While still soapy I had to access the valves in the v-berth to switch to fresh water and then go up on the bow to rinse off.  After several attempts at troubleshooting I got the pump working and tried again to finish my shower and once again I was left covered with soap and no water.. One more time up to the bow to rinse off with very cold water.  It was a good thing we didn't have neighbors.  The next morning I went to work on finding the problem.  There was an electrical connection to the pump that was loose and decided that was the best time to fail.  New connections were made and better crimpers and connectors have been ordered.  The biggest issue was an oil leak.  When arriving at Onset I found that oil had been spraying in the area around the new transmission.  First I confirmed that it was not transmission fluid.  I finally found a spot on the hose connecting the oil filter to the engine.  The filter is separate from the engine with two hydraulic hoses to make it convenient for filter changes.  I tried sealing it with rescue tape and wrapping it with oil absorbent pads.  When we arrived in Norfolk I found that we were low on oil and the pads were soaked.  After calling several shops to find replacement hoses I went to work on removing the old.  I found I didn't have the proper tools but got by with a crescent wrench, vice grips and a screwdriver.  I was able to get them off struggling with the connection to the engine which has a very small access area.  The next morning we dinghied to shore and walked the almost three miles to the shop.  They were able to make them while we waited and took an Uber back to the boat.  I had done enough walking.  For some reason they went on easier then they came off.  So far there are no leaks so I must have done it right.  Next was cleaning the area with degreaser and cleaning the bilge.  Problem solving is an important part of cruising.  It' not all rum punches and sunsets.

We had a great time visiting some of our favorite spots and discovering new ones and will miss being there but the Bahamas are calling.

These photos can be enlarged if you click on them.