Back in Nassau

We are back in Nassau.  How did that happen you are wondering.

We left Nassau to continue our tour of the Exumas, with only one small problem right away.  We pulled out of our slip and moved over to the fuel dock to take on fuel.  Once the fuel was topped off I made a trip up to the office to pay our bill.  Back to the boat we cast off and started away only to have the dock hand and the manager waving for us to come back.  After retying up they explained that the clerk gave us the wrong bill.  It turns out of course that we owe more money.  No one ever seems to call us back because we paid too much.  Off we went again.  We got out of the harbor and raised the sails.  We tried sailing for a while but there was not enough wind to keep our speed up so we started the motor and motor sailed for the day.  We arrived at Highborn Cay about a half hour before sunset, anchored and settled in.  It was chilly and we had pants and sweatshirts on, not how I pictured life in paradise.  The anchorage had a lot of boats in it but it is big enough to handle many more.  The only problem was that there was a swell causing us to roll.  It was a long night since we have trouble sleeping when it rolls this much, you tense up your muscles to try not to roll around in bed and possibly fall out.  In the morning it was no better so we decided we would check out the area another time and pulled anchor.

We had a fabulous day.  The winds were right and we sailed to Big Majors near Staniel Cay at 6-7+ knots.  On arriving at Big Majors we spotted Salty Turtle and anchored off her stern.  About an hour later Vic noticed we were there and hailed us.  Monday we spent on the boat relaxing, at least I did.  Cori was busy rearranging the v-berth after having everything pulled out for her sewing projects while in Nassau.  In the afternoon we launched the dinghy and put the 3.3 motor on it.  As usual after it had sat unused for so long it would not start.  We were going over to Salty Turtle for social hour and after watching me trying to start the engine Vic came over to get us.  We spent an enjoyable evening with them even sighting the elusive “green flash” at sunset.

It is a new month, time to start new adventures.  We pulled anchor with intentions of going to Blackpoint Settlement, a short trip away.  We motored out of the anchorage and rounded Harvey Cay and decided to sail again.  We raised the sails and shut down the engine.  The winds dropped almost as soon as we raised the sails so we fired up the engine again.  The only difference this time was that when we put it in gear nothing happened, nothing, nada, zip, zilch.  No forward, no reverse, just neutral (I know, that is not a proper sentence but I cannot repeat what was said).  We turned the boat around and decided we needed to get back to Nassau.  While we were within range of a cell tower I called Albert to tell him we were having problems and would be sailing back, no idea how long it would take.

How long it would take was the issue.  The winds were light and variable so we sailed slowly for the day.  About 4:00pm the winds freshened and we were able to scream along at 4 knots.  Usually 4 knots is our motoring threshold, if we can’t do 4 knots we motor.  Now 4 was our top speed.  We planned to continue nonstop through the night.  In the evening the winds dropped again and we were able to keep moving 1.5-2.5 knots.  3 knots is equal to about 3.5 mph, an average person’s walking speed.  We continued this way throughout the night.  At one point I could hear sounds around us as something came up to breathe but never saw anything.  Another boat in the marina reports that they saw a pod of whales on their way from Eluthera.  My main concern was arriving at our waypoint at the yellow bank at night.  There is no way we could navigate around the coral heads in the dark.  Fortunately we arrived about an hour before daylight and only going 1 knot we had plenty of time to wait for sunrise.  Unfortunately the wind died.  We had a great view of the sunrise but were going nowhere.  Eventually the breeze, I can’t call it a wind, started to come up and we had a few ripples on the water.  Up to this point it was flat as a mirror.

We started our way through.  I was beat from being up all night so I went below to catch some sleep.  Eventually I heard noise from on deck and went up to see what was wrong.  Cori was fighting with the sails because the breeze was shifting and dying.  We had gone about a mile and a half.  When I asked her how long I had been asleep she replied “three hours.”  A mile and a half in three hours, a new record.  We worked the sails and the shifts to get through the coral heads, at one time moving backwards watching the same coral go past us in the opposite direction.  The best thing I can say about this is that the water was clear and flat so we had a great view of the coral on the bottom.  Eventually we got through, about 3 miles in 4+ hours.  There was a light breeze, about 3 knots and with the spinnaker up we started to sail.  Unfortunately not the right direction, but we were moving.  I was hoping for a repeat of the previous afternoon when the wind switched from the east at about 6 knots so we could make some time.  We waited, and waited, the entire time going north to northeast instead of northwest.

About 4:30 it happened.  There was a subtle change in the wind as it clocked around to come out of the northeast and all the way up to 6-8 knots, Just what we had hoped for.  We tacked with this new wind and set our new course, not yet to Nassau Harbor.  As the wind settled in it shifted slightly and we were now making a direct line to the harbor entrance at 3.5 knots.  It felt like we were screaming along.  Once we got within cell range we called the marina to tell them were on our way back, no idea of arrival time.  They told us to anchor in the anchorage near them and they would send out a boat in the morning.  We continued into the harbor, rolled up our headsail and continued to the anchorage.  The harbor is protected from most winds so we were moving very slow again under just the main and the mizzen sail.  At one point we had to unroll the headsail to get some speed because we were moving so slow we could not steer.  We picked a spot to drop the anchor and as we got there I dropped the anchor, fed out the chain and snubbed it off.  The motion of the boat set the anchor and caused us to spin around when the rode was tight.  Our first ever attempt to anchor under sail.  We congratulated ourselves on making it and had dinner.  We had made it just before sunset.

We had traveled 82 nautical miles in 33 hours, an average speed of 2.5 knots or just about 3 mph.  At one point Cori pointed out to me that we were going walking speed, I pointed out that it was more like the speed of a little old lady with a walker.  A jogger could have gotten here faster.  Oh well, that’s sailing.  At least we had sails to get us here; it is all part of the adventure.  As Cori says: “the difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude.”  We had an adventure and more stories to tell.  We have been waiting out weeks of winds in the 20’s hoping for some days of light and variable, now they are here and we had to sail through them instead of going out exploring.

First thing in the morning the marina arranged for a tow and we are tied up in the same slip.  Unfortunately the windlass decided to quit after bringing in about a foot of chain.  I had to pull all 75 feet and a 45 pound anchor in by hand.  I am feeling it and it doesn’t feel good.  I called Albert and he sent Jason, the mechanic, back right away.  On removing the transmission he found that the damper plate had sheared off and was in pieces.  The damper plate is a mechanism that takes the shock of starting the engine from stressing the transmission.  My thoughts are that starting the engine with it permanently in gear over-stressed the plate and caused it to fail. It is a waiting game again.