Leaving Nassau, again.

We are getting ready to leave Nassau, again.

We had hoped that the new bearing would arrive in time for the V-drive to be installed before the weekend and we would be back to the outer islands.  Obviously it did not happen.  Late Monday afternoon they showed up with the V-drive and installed it.  It is a meticulous procedure to install; everything has to line up perfectly.  They line it up, check it with a feeler gauge, make an adjustment, check it again, make another adjustment and on and on.  Once everything checks out they start tightening the bolts and again, check everything with a feeler gauge to make sure everything is aligned.  The final checks are to turn the prop shaft and make sure there is no variation.  Any misalignment will cause vibration and wear.  The final check is to start the engine and see what happens when it is in gear.  So far everything checks out.  It is a several hour process and some of these fine adjustments are made with a three pound hammer.  Now I have to remind myself to check the tightness of the bolts after running it several hours.  Sometimes they will vibrate loose.

We had not planned on any of these stops in Nassau, or to stay as long as we have so we are way behind in seeing the islands.  We plan to leave here and head back to the Staniel Cay area to continue south.  How far we get is anyone’s guess.  The weather forecast for the next few days is for light and variable winds then clocking to the south, exactly where we are planning to go.  We may give the new equipment a workout since it doesn’t look like we will be sailing.

We are still in Nassau

We are still in Nassau.  Not much has gone right.  The only good side is that have been sitting out some strong winds from the east.  The down side of that is that we are facing west and the winds and the waves it builds up are hitting us on our stern making a lot of noise and bouncing us around.  At least we are sitting at a dock and can get off the boat but then there is nowhere we want to go when we get off.

This all started when the damper plate broke and we had to sail back.  Once the transmission was removed and we found the broken damper plate they ordered a new one.   It arrived on Friday and it was installed.  We thought we were going to be able to leave.  When the engine was started and put in gear there was a lot of vibration and noise.  This was not supposed to happen.  Since it was the end of the day we had to wait until Monday for answers.

We had a couple of rain showers over the weekend and it has blown a steady 15-20+ knots out of the east every day.  We pretty much hung around the boat until Jason was back on Monday to work on the problem.  We tried a couple of things like using the little video camera to get a good look at the propeller; he disconnected the prop shaft from the V-drive to see if there was any change.  All indicators were that something was wrong with the V-drive.  He pulled it and took it to the shop to have Albert tear into it.  The V-drive is a special set of gears that allows the engine to be set further back in the boat with its shaft connection pointing towards the front of the boat.  Basically it is installed backwards.  There is a shaft that goes into the drive and just below it is the prop shaft with the two shafts forming a V.  This allows the engine to be installed much further back in the boat but also adds to things that can go wrong.  On Thursday Albert stopped by to check the shafts and how it was installed since he couldn’t find anything wrong with the V-drive.  There is a special self-centering bearing in the drive and he feels that may be the problem.  One has been ordered.  Of course, everything has to be sent over from the states but we do not have to pay duty on it.

It is Friday and we were hoping the drive would be ready and be installed.  So far no luck.  We had hoped to get out before the weekend since that would only add to the number of days we are paying for the slip in the marina.

When we arrived in the Bahamas, on 12/16/2015, we were issued a 90 day cruising pass.  Our 90 days will be up next week so we took the opportunity to walk down to Immigration and apply for an extension.  You are not allowed to file until at least three days before or after your expiration date.  We are a couple of days early but they extender our stay instead of telling us to come back next week.  We get to stay; now we need to get out of Nassau and start having fun in the islands.

There is one other piece of good news.  I have been having a lot of trouble with the 3.3 horse outboard.  When we want to use it it usually does not want to start.  It also has taken to draining its fuel tank if the shut off is not closed.  There was a boat here ready to go back to Florida that had an identical motor they bought when they arrived in January and decided they would not have a use for it when they got home.  They offered it for sale and we bought it.  A new motor with about five hours on it instead of our 13-14 year old.  It was too good of a deal to pass up.

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.

Transmission is in.

The transmission is in and we are getting ready to head out.

We have been here ten days and it is time to move on.  I can’t say it was a bad stay, just not what we had planned for this trip.  We did get a lot of projects done, saw a lot of the city and spent more money than we had planned.  We didn’t do much of the typical tourist stuff although we did make a trip downtown, checked out the straw market, toured the rum distillery and crossed over to Paradise Island to see the changes.  Twenty-five years ago Cori and I were here for a vacation and stayed at a little place on Paradise Island.  It is no longer there since the Atlantis complex took over.  We did check out some of what Atlantis has to offer: the marina, shopping, aquarium and casino (did not play).  We were looking for a place to watch the Daytona 500 but the only venue we found was at Margaritaville.  We opted for a bar closer to the marina and watched from there.

Seeing the city consisted of walking downtown, checking out the cruise ships, remembering why we do not like places like the straw market and riding the number 19 bus around several times.  The number 19 bus stops in front of the marina and makes a long wide circle ending up downtown then back to the marina.  We rode it one day just to see where it went, another day to go to the hardware store and two trips to the mall.  It is educational  and entertainment all for $1.25 a ride.  These are small buses like you find in a shuttle service, not the big monsters you see in cities in the US.  First thing we learned is that you pay the driver when you get off.  When you want to get off you just yell “bus stop” and he pulls over.  You do not need to be at a bus stop to catch a ride or get off; just wave and they will pull over.  On one ride the driver stopped the bus, got out and walked behind a small building.  When done with his business he got back on and away we went.  Last time we were here we rented a scooter and saw the sights, no way would I do that now, it’s bad enough being a pedestrian or riding the bus.  Another interesting thing is that when people get on the bus they greet you: good morning, good afternoon, good day, etc.  Another driver needed fuel so he pulled into a station and used his fare money to pay.  There were several corners where instead of coming to a stop and making a left turn they just cut through the gas station.  Remember, they drive on the left side here.

Projects, we kicked out a lot of them.  Cori did a lot of sewing working on her bags, repairing our sail cover and repairing a torn sail for our neighbors one day.  We got a free meal at a very good restaurant for that one.  She made several trips to the grocery store stocking up again.  I had made a list of things to try to get done.  I needed to find out and fix what had gone wrong with my email service, I could not send emails, just receive.  Once that was working I had some emails that I needed to follow up on.  When we plugged into the dockside power and turned on the water heater it would leak, I changed the thermostat setting and replaced the emergency valve.  We needed to contact Verizon to find out why we were still getting billed even though the phones had been suspended.  We got a refund once it was straightened out. Our windlass had quit working so I took it apart and brought the motor down to the mechanics shop to have it checked out.  The windlass works now but don’t know why it quit.  I needed to service the watermaker since we would not be using it for a while and one of the trips to the mall was to find batteries for the water tester.  Being plugged into shorepower gave me a chance to equalize and service the batteries.  Hopefully they will hold their charge better now.  Those are the big ones; there are always small things that need taking care of when you have something torn apart.

Thursday the transmission arrived; we had been given a heads up that it was shipped sooner than expected but had not heard that it had arrived.  The mechanic showed up and proceeded to install it.  Once it was in we slipped the lines and went out for a test ride.  Everything is working properly and we were back at the dock by 12:00.  Docking is so much simpler when you have neutral and reverse.  The only thing left is to make a run to the phone company to put more money on our accounts, pay the repair shop, do a little laundry and check out in the morning.

We had to bypass a number of stops and didn’t make it as far down the Exuma chain as we had hoped so we are heading back that way.  Maybe we will catch up with our friends, if not we will just make new ones.

OK, funny story on Dale.  With whatever I did to my hip I have been taking a couple of Ibuprofen in the morning.  I emptied the container and mentioned it to Cori that we need to dig out some more.  In the meantime I noticed a container of Acetaminophen and was taking those.  For several days I was complaining of being tired, so tired that one day a nap at 10:00 am sounded good.  About that time Cori got out the Ibuprofen and showed me the Acetaminophen container saying “here take these if you can’t get to sleep.”  I had been napping so much that I couldn’t sleep at night.  She showed me the container; I had read “Acetaminophen” and had not noticed that they were “Acetaminophen PM”.  I had been taking a sleep aid first thing in the morning, no wonder I was tired.

Nassau

We are in Nassau, we didn’t plan to be here this year but circumstances dictated the visit.  We are having transmission problems.

On Friday we were anchored at Big Majors with a lot of other boats working on a plan of action.  All symptoms lead to a faulty transmission.  It would run in forward if the engine was running and would not shift into neutral and if shifted to reverse it would kill the engine.  There was nothing for us to do about this problem so we made a run to Staniel Cay in the dinghy.  We were going to the fuel dock when the transmission acted up and I still wanted to top off the fuel tank.  We carry two five gallon jerry jugs with us so we poured that into the tank and took them to town to be refilled.  Now I knew we had enough fuel in case we had to motor all the way.  We also needed to go to the phone company to buy more data for Cori’s phone.  We also checked out the grocery store, closed over lunch and dropped off a bag of garbage.  Back to the boat we got things ready for the trip.  In the afternoon we got a call from Selah that they were on their way with our laundry.  We did a little exploring with the dinghy and in the evening joined Selah on Willamia for drinks and snacks.  At sunset Les, Allison and Cori blew their conchs, the first conch trio we have heard.

Saturday morning we were ready to head out for Nassau.  To add to our headaches when I tried to use the windlass to pull up a little anchor chain to adjust the snubber on Thursday it stopped working.  Now we were sitting without a windlass and no neutral gear.  To pull the anchor we drive the boat up to the anchor as the windlass pulls in the chain.  Without being able to shift into neutral we would overrun the anchor and pull more chain out.  Pulling the anchor by hand was the only option and it required that we motor up to the anchor and kill the engine as I pulled in the chain.  Bo and Allison came over with their dinghy to see if they could help and it was good they did.  What we attempted to do was to pull the chain until it went tight and attach the snubber to keep it from pulling out more chain.  It didn’t work as well as I had hoped and all of the chain I pulled in was pulled back out before we got the snubber hooked.   On the second try we got it right and the motion of the boat broke the anchor free.  From there we started the motor again and I pulled the anchor the rest of the way in as we started out of the anchorage.  Our plan was to go back up to Shroud Cay and pick up a park service mooring for the night and continue to Nassau on Sunday.  The wind was on the nose so we ended up motoring for the day.  We were not sure how picking up the mooring would go.  Normally we maneuver up to the ball slowly and when within reach pick up the pennant line and tie one or two of our docklines to it.  Usually it takes us a couple of tries.  This time went better than when everything is working in our favor.  We pulled up to the ball and killed the engine just before reaching it.  The boats momentum carried us up to it and when it was alongside Cori was able to hook it with the boathook.  We then got a line through it and got it cleated off.  While we were doing this a neighboring boat was coming over in their dinghy to give us a hand after being alerted that we had engine problems.  He gave us a hand getting the second line on it and we were good for the night.  The winds were still blowing in the 20’s as they had all day so the seas were built up.  We were secure for the night but the waves and wind caused us to roll violently, almost enough to throw me out of bed a couple of times.  Anything sitting out got moved or knocked down during the night.

By morning on Sunday the wind had shifted to the northeast which would be a little better for sailing but it was still blowing from 15-20 knots.  At sunrise we dropped the mooring, no anchor to pull today, and headed out for Nassau.  Of course not everything was going to go well; I got my heading wrong and aimed us for a shallow area.  As I caught the depth sounder showing less and less depth we went aground.  Not a good felling when you can’t back off.  I made a sharp turn and hit the throttle pushing through the sand until we got back to deeper water.  We were lucky that it was sand and not rocks and the tide was coming up so we would have gotten off eventually.  After changing our course we tried to sail.  The wind was still too close to the nose to sail efficiently, 2.5 knots is not efficient, we started the motor again and motor-sailed.  We had one course change planned for when we got to the Yellow Bank waypoint and that put us at a better angle to the wind, still blowing in the 20’a.  The Yellow Bank is an area of large coral heads near the surface so it was necessary to keep a good look out.  Vic had given us the coordinates of where to make our turn and where we would see the fewest heads and get through them the fastest.  Once through we turned off the motor and had an exciting sail for the rest of the afternoon, 6-8 knots which is about as fast as this old boat will go.  The seas had been building all day so we were dealing with 4-5 foot seas, just under the 6-7 that had been forecast.  We had water coming over the bow all day with some splashing into the cockpit.  Where was salt water everywhere.  The pounding we were taking shifted everything below deck also.  The v-berth was a complete mess and anything loose on the starboard side was on the floor.  We were planning on going to the Nassau Harbor Marina but they wanted us to wait to come in on Monday.  We proceeded to Rose Island, a couple of miles from the harbor and anchored for the night.  The wind continued to blow but we were somewhat protected but the seas were still causing us to roll.

Monday morning was still blowing 15-20 from the east and when we called the marina to enquire about coming in they were not too sure about it.  We thought it over and decided to wait until Tuesday to go in since the winds were supposed to drop.  The marina agreed with us.  We spent the day rolling with the waves as the wind clocked around giving us even less protection with some real ugly rocks behind us.  We had another night rolling and getting up several times to check to be sure we are not dragging our anchor.  We had a couple of rain showers go through helping to clean the salt off everything.

Tuesday morning at 7:30 we got a call from the marina telling us they were ready for us.  We pulled anchor again, it went better this time, and started into Nassau Harbor.  The winds were still around 15 knots but out of the south.  We called and got permission to enter the harbor and made our way to the marina.  The plan was to line up and come straight into the dock and the dockhands stopping us with the lines we would throw them.  Killing the engine to drop our speed in time was important.  Well I would like to say everything went as planned but it didn’t.  We were still going too fast when we got to the dock and one of the dockhands dropped his line before he could get it around a pole.  Our plan on stopping before hitting anything was gone.  All we had in front of us was a concrete dock which was effective in stopping us.  Had the tide been lower we would have run our headsail furling gear and forestay into it, if it had been higher we would have some fiberglass repair.  It actually lined up with our Rockna anchor on the bowsprit.  We actually broke off some of the concrete as the anchor went under it.  It appears that the roll bar on the anchor is bent back a little and the bowsprit is bent down a little.  Not much damage considering the impact.  Once in we called the mechanic Vic told us about to report we had arrived.  He sent a man over and after a couple of tests he agreed that the transmission was the problem.  He removed it and took it to the shop.  Later in the afternoon they called us to report what they found.  The transmission was toast, possibly not in good enough condition to use as a core trade-in for a rebuilt unit.  Working the numbers it was evident that our only option was a new one.  We got directions to the shop and walked there to place the order (make a down payment).  They placed the order and it will be shipped from Ft. Lauderdale in about a week.  Day one in Nassau was done, but we slept well not rocking anymore.

Wednesday was a project day.  On the way here we made a list of projects that need to be done since we will be sitting for so long.  We were able to check off several but it looks like several more have been added to the list.

In the Exuma's

We have not updated for a while because we have been having problems with Internet access.  Our connection this time is slow so no photos this time.

We spent a week at Rock Harbor moving from one side of the harbor to the other depending on what the winds did.  We did have several opportunities to go to town and check things out.   One of the features in town is an ocean hole, which is a large hole filled with water that is fed with salt water from the sound.  Outside of town, but still within walking distance is another hole and close by it was a cave.  Touring the cave was interesting since there were opening above letting light in and there were what looked like trees growing through them.  In reality it was root feelers that connected to the bottom of the cave and helped feed the tree above.  While we were there Lee and Cheryl on Shalaylee came in.  They planned to stay for one night but stayed for several.  All of us went out for dinner at Rosie's which is on the other side of the island.  She offers pick up and drop off service and we all had a great time and great food.  On Tuesday Phil on Sea Ya rented a Cadillac Escalade and eight of us toured the island.  We started by trying to get to Lighthouse Beach on the south end of the island.  There is no real road to get there but there is a rough and narrow path that we drove along.  By the time we got back on the highway the vehicle had some pretty bad scratches from rubbing against the brush on both sides.  The beach was ok; I wouldn’t advise trying to go there again.  From there we turned north and worked our way north eventually turning around at Gregory Town to return the car before closing.  Along the way we checked out the towns and harbors.  We arrived here on the 21^st and on the 30^th we pulled anchor the final time to move on.

We moved out of Rock Sound Harbor and set course for Ships Channel Cut in the Exumas.  The wind was off the quarter but not enough to sail efficiently so we ended up motor-sailing all day.  Once in the Exuma Banks we moved down to an anchorage just off of Ships Channel Cay.  In the morning we pulled anchor and motored sown to Allen’s Cay.  The main attraction of Allen’s Cay is the native iguanas.  They are used to people and come out to the beach to see if they are going to be fed.  They are about a foot long and very prehistoric look but are not aggressive.  While there we started talking to two couples that arrived in their dinghys.  It turns out that they both have the center cockpit version of our Pearson.  We had a mini Pearson Rally among the iguanas.  We pulled anchor again and headed off to move several islands down to Shroud Cay.  This being part of the National Park has some rules that need to be followed, certain areas are off limits to motorized vehicles (dinghies), no going to certain shore areas, no fishing, taking conch or shelling, etc.  On Monday morning we took the dinghy out exploring the north part of the island along with Kim and Les on Willamia.  The river on the north end is open for motorized dinghy’s so we rode into the center of the island and then out a small opening onto the other side.  The center of the island is a mangrove swamp area with a variety of wildlife.  We saw a variety of fish, a ray and several turtles in the clear water.  We stopped for lunch on the other side and climbed the hill to Camp Driftwood where cruisers used to leave mementos but it is no longer allowed by the park management.  On the way back down the river it started to rain, which turned into a downpour with high winds and waves.  We made a fast run back to the boat with 20+ knot winds and 2 foot seas.  For the next hour we hunkered down while the storm moved on.  Once the front moved on the winds switched back to the east and everything calmed down.

On Tuesday we planned to move down to Wardwick Wells to check in at the park headquarters and get more information on the park.  We got a call from Bo and Allison on Selah and agreed to meet up with them at O’Briens Cay to check out the Sea Aquarium.  We got there before them, only going aground once while maneuvering around the islands.  We dropped anchor and launched the dinghy.  When they arrived we went over to pick them up to go snorkeling.  There is a spot called the Sea Aquarium where it is almost like swimming in an aquarium.  A large variety of beautiful fish swarming around us.  I shot some video of it so watch for that being posted to our YouTube channel.  On the way back to the boats we stopped at another marker to check out an airplane that crashed there.  The other attraction was Johnnie Depps house on the neighboring island.  No one is allowed ashore there and I doubt that he was home.  I didn’t mention the naked Canadian, but we did run into one.  As we passed an anchored boat there was a naked man on the swim platform.  We moved on.

In the morning we moved back out to the banks and proceeded down to Big Majors Cay.  Once out in the protection of the islands we turned into 20+ knot winds and 2 foot seas on the nose.  Once we arrived at Big Majors we anchored with all of the other boats out of the wind.  We took the dinghies to shore to see the swimming pigs.  This island has a herd of pigs that when you approach the shore they swim out to be the first to get fed.  Cori brought some lettuce to feed them so we were popular with about five of them.  At one point some small piglets came squealing out onto the beach to find their mother for a quick lunch then back into the brush.  After checking out the pigs we raised anchor again and moved to the other side of the island to anchor off of the Staniel Cay Yacht Club.  We dinghied over to what is called Thunderball Grotto for more snorkeling.  Thunderball grotto is famous for its use in the James Bond movie Thunderball.  There is an underwater cave that feed into a large grotto with some openings in the ceiling letting in some light.  There is again a large variety of colorful fish both outside and outside the grotto.  Again I shot some video so watch for that to be posted when I get it edited.  I have to say snorkeling the grotto is one of the coolest things I have ever done.  After going back to the boat and getting cleaned up we went to the marina to buy some gasoline for the outboards and generator.  Then it was into the yacht club for drinks soon to be joined by Bo and Allison.

We have made the decision to move past everything around us and go further down to Little Farmers Cay for the annual 5F festival.  It sounds fun and we figure we can move back up island to see what we passed later.  We also heard via email and VHF that our friends Vic and Gigi on Salty Turtle would be there.  We ended up motoring against the wind all the way to Little Farmers but it was not blowing as hard as the previous day.  Once we got close we tried working our way into the anchorage only to find we went about it the hard way.  It seems there is a discrepancy between the depths the chart shows and what we were seeing.  Approaching the anchorage we had a stretch with less than a foot under the keel eventually anchoring in 8-10 feet where the chart showed 3 feet.  Had we found a boat to follow in we would have had a better time arriving.  We dropped anchor next to Salty Turtle and when they came back from going ashore then stopped by for a drink and stories.  Later we went over to Loon for drinks with Ben and Craig and Debbie from River Rat.  Then it was time for happy hour at Ty’s, cheap beer and appetizers.   We were joined by Salty Turtle, Salah, and Nightingale Song.  After making plans for breakfast we headed back to the boat for the night.

Friday was the beginning of the Festival and we headed to Ty’s for breakfast, stewfish and kalik beer.  This was different then the stewfish we had at Green Turtle.  This was a whole fish in a bowl of brown sauce.  It was delicious but a bit unsightly.  I have a photo I will upload when I get a faster connection.  After breakfast we went back to the boat to trade out the 3.3 horse outboard for the 9.9.  We then made the trip around the top of the island to the town dock to look around.  This is a small island with about 60 permanent residents so the festival is a big deal.  There were booths being set up for the weekends festivities.  We walked around a bit stopping at JR’s woodcarving shop getting a tour of his garden and descriptions of his plants and trees then checked out his carvings.  He is a talented carver.  After the walk and no booths open we got back in the dinghy and finished riding around the island.  At one point I glanced back and saw a ray jump about four feet out of the water.  We turned around but did not see it again.  We went over to Salty Turtle for the boat race and rode out to the start line in their dinghy and followed the fleet around the course.  These are the C class traditional Bahamian boats and this is the first time we had seen them race.  They start out with the sail down and anchored in a line.  At the starting signal then pull up their anchors and as the anchor comes aboard they raise their sail.  There is only one sail and it is a big one, way overpowering the boat.  This is compensated by having boards extend out the sides that the crew sits on to balance the boat.  At the end of the race everyone met back at Ty’s for food and drink before the next race.  The second race is around and somewhat through the anchorage so we watched it from the upper deck on Salty Turtle.  For dinner we went back to Ty’s for ribs and chicken then tried to carry on a conversation over the music.  Finally giving up we headed back to the boat to be ready to leave in the morning. 

The festival is scheduled to run through the weekend but there is a strong front coming through sometime Saturday night and into Sunday and we need to move to someplace we are protected from the west.  We raised anchor and followed other boats out of the harbor keeping track of the route for future reference, raised the sails and had one of the most pleasant sails back up to Pipe Cay, a trip of about 20 miles.  Once we reached our waypoint we dropped the sails and motored around the islands to a cove that Vic had pointed out would be protected.  We maneuvered around until we found a nice patch of sand and dropped the anchor.  Once we were settled in Cori launched the kayak to go exploring.  Shortly Selah and Nightingale Song joined up maneuvering around for a spot to anchor.  Salah had stopped in Blackpoint to pick up a few items and we had them pick up some bread for us.  During the night the wind picked up and we heard a sound we had never heard before.  We were up immediately to check it out.  It turned out that the combination of tidal current and the wind had us pulling forward on our anchor instead of pulling back.  This had the chain going under the boat instead of off the bow.  As the boat would swing the chain had to move itself from one side of the keel to the other making a lot of noise.  This is the first time we have had the wind and current working to push the boat in a completely opposite direction then how she lays with just the wind.  Needless to say we slept a little lighter after that.  We are used to most of the noised we hear regularly so an unusual one really catches our attention and will wake us up.

Sunday, we had strong winds out of the west then turning northwest blowing all day.  It is real interesting to watch the current point the boat one way and the wind pushing it from another.  Normally the boat points into the wind when at anchor.  The winds were in the upper 20’s all day with gusts just over 30 knots.  Other areas around us reported even higher gusts.  This is the first time we have started the engine and let it run at idle in case the anchor didn’t hold.  At the end of the day everything worked as it is supposed to.

Monday Cori took the opportunity with the lower winds to take the kayak to shore and follow a path over to the other side of the island to look for shells, glass and sea beans.  As the front passed it changed the winds from the north and the temperatures dropped, time to pull out an extra blanket.  Tuesday the winds went back into the 15-20 knot range so we stayed aboard and did a few projects.  We re-bedded a leaking stanchion, resealed a leaking window and did some troubleshooting on a problem with the single sideband radio along with a couple of smaller projects.  I also did some editing of videos and got them ready to upload when we get a good internet connection.  Cori spent her time between helping me and with sewing projects.

Wednesday we finally launched the dinghy to get off the boat.  We started out making a run up to Compass Cay to check out the marina and follow a small river up into the mangroves.  We were then joined by Selah and Nightingale Song for a run up to Rocky Dundas Cay to snorkel into a couple of caves and check out the coral and fish.  From there we crossed back to the north end of Compass Cay to check out Rachel’s Bubble Bath.  This is a shallow pool that is filled at high tide and then as the water flows out waves break over the barrier rocks causing the water to bubble up, thus the name.  Cori took the opportunity to swim around in it.   When we got back to the boat it was time for showers and hot chocolate, unfortunately after sitting this long we no longer have hot water so it was a cold shower in the cockpit with a cold wind blowing.  Thus the need for hot chocolate.

Thursday has the wind out of the north going to northeast and we decided to leave.  We had not seen everything there was to offer here at Pipe Creek but expect to be back again.  We made the decision to move down to Staniel Cay to top off the fuel and then move down to Blackpoint Settlement where we can do laundry and get good internet.  Once out on the banks we turned south and put out the headsail and had a great sail to Staniel.  Once we got close we fired up the engine and proceeded in.  Once we were in range of the fuel dock we were told it would be about an hour before we could get fuel, there were a number of boats ahead of us.  We decided to anchor and wait.  When we dropped the anchor and started to backdown there was a metallic noise from the engine compartment.  We pulled the anchor and moved to a less crowded area and tried to re-anchor.  The transmission would not come out of gear, when put into reverse it made a very bad clunking sound and killed the engine.  The engine restarts but will not come out of forward gear.  We were wishing we had our friend Vic from Salty Turtle with us since he knows people that can fix things and more knowledgeable than we are.  Just as I was ready to dive overboard to check that the prop was not fouled we see Salty Turtle going by.  We hailed them and once they had anchored they came over to take a look.  He immediately knew who to call and it happened they were anchored around the corner.  We pulled anchor and moved over to the Big Major anchorage and re-anchored.  Soon Vic and Scott from Catalyst came over to check it out.  Scott went back to his boat, did a little research and made some calls.  I also did some Googling and found the same results Scott.  When this model transmission fails, it locks itself into forward gear so you can still get home.  Any attempt to go into reverse will kill the engine.   It looks like we will be making a trip to Nassau for some transmission work. 

Eleuthera Island

We are waiting out another storm in Rock Sound Harbor on the southern end of Eleuthera  Island.

We sat out the rain and winds near Spanish Wells and were rewarded with a near perfect day in the Islands.  Saturday was sunny and calm.  Cori got up and wanted to go ashore.  We were anchored on the east side of Meeks Patch, a narrow island that was protecting us from the winds the previous days.  The tide was low so we went in and joined several others walking the beach.  Plans were made to meet up later and spend the day ashore.  Once back at the boat we decided to make one last trip into town for supplies.  It was about a two mile dinghy ride but everything had calmed down so it was a good ride.  Once in town we dropped off our garbage and walked to the store.  I was about to run out of Diet Coke so that was high on my list.  I had previously stopped at a little bakery and wanted to go back and buy a pack of johnniecakes.  They are similar to English muffins.  On the walk back to the dinghy we also stopped and stocked up on more rum, we don’t want to run out.  We had a smooth ride back to the boat then joined everyone from Willimia, Sea Ya and Exit Stage Left on the beach for the rest of the afternoon.  It was a perfect day of sunshine and light winds keeping everyone happy and cool after being stuck on the boats while the rain and wind worked their way through.  Getting into the dinghy to go back to the boat I did something to my lower back, a very sharp pain.  It seems that I have a pinched nerve that is giving me a lot of trouble.

Sunday was forecast for gale force winds and they delivered.  The winds were out of the west and our little island did a great job of protecting us from the waves but did not do much at blocking the wind.  At one point I saw a reading of 38.8 knots (45 mph) and that may not have been the highest.  This continued into the night with the velocity dropping as the winds clocked around to the north.  Monday morning we had winds in the upper teens out of the north, time to get a move on.  We and our traveling partners pulled anchors and started off eventually joined by four others all going the same way.  We wanted to see more of Eleuthera and to get there we had to go down to a location called Current Cut and maneuver through a small break between islands.  It is called Current Cut because of the strong current.  We timed our passage for high tide when the current would be at its least.  We all formed up into a single file line and motored through.  Once clear we again hoisted the sails and had a near perfect day of sailing until we arrived at a spot called The Glass Window.

  This is where the ocean has carved an opening through a narrow part of the island and while standing on the bridge you can see the contrast between the dark blue of the ocean and the light colors of the sound.  Once we were anchored we took the dinghy to shore and walked up the road to the bridge first stopping at a Bahamian Heritage Site.  Not knowing what to expect we went to check it out.  It turned out we were at a site referred to as The Queens Bath.  It is on the ocean side and is an area where the shore has been eroded back and there is a series of hollowed out pools leading up to a cave with calm water filling the pools at low tide.  It is pretty impressive.  From there we went back to the road to walk to the bridge.  Just before the bridge we heard an odd sound and sight.  There was a blowhole next to the road.  This is a hole about six inches wide that is connected to a cave below.  As the waves force water into the cave air and water are shot out of the hole like a small geyser.  It was amazing to watch.  I tried to shoot some video of it; we will see how it turns out.

  We finally got to the bridge.  The view was just as described and the contrast of the colors is spectacular along with the waves crashing into the opening.

  Back on the boat Cori set to work on fixing dinner since she had invited the others over for dinner.  We all had a great day with the exception of Phil on Sea Ya.  While leaving Meeks Patch he reached up to wave at another boat going by and got his hand caught in the wind generator getting a serious cut on his hand.  The other boat, Cookie, has a nurse on board and she offered to check it out when we all got anchored.  Once at anchor Les and Kim on Willamia took them over to have it looked at.  Traveling with Cookie is the boat Good Morning Vietnam and it happens that she is a surgeon.  After 22 stitches and a helping of pain medication and antibiotics Phil was all patched up.  He is healing nicely but is having trouble trying to not use that hand.

We had thought of staying for another day before moving down-island but the weather forecasts were not looking good.  Another front was coming through in a few days so we had to move on if we were to be in a safe harbor for the storm.  Tuesday morning we pulled anchor and had another near perfect day of sailing.  Our destination this day was Governors Harbor.  This was the original capital of the Bahamas and the guide books had a lot of good to say about it.  Unfortunately they also have a lot of bad to say about the anchorage.  The harbor is exposed to all but east winds and has a hard bottom with poor holding.  We scouted out several options and finally decided on a spot just around Cupids Cay where there were some patches of sand that held the anchor solidly.

Wednesday morning we all took our dinghies to town.  High on the list was the bakery with fresh pastries for breakfast then checking out several other shops, especially the fishing supply shop.  From there it was a trip to the beach on the ocean side.  This is the former location of a Club Med and it is obvious to see why they located here.  It is one of the prettiest beaches I have seen with very fine grain sand with a light pink color.

  We walked the beach with intentions of going to Tippies restaurant.  We just didn’t realize how long of a walk that would be.  Once there it proved to be worth the walk, the fish tacos were excellent.  After lunch Cori found us rides back to town saving us from another long walk.  Once back in town some provisions were purchased and everyone went back to their boats to relax.

After a quiet night at anchor we were up and pulled the anchor by 7:30 am.  Our next stop was going to be Rock Sound Harbor to hunker down for the blow.   The winds were too light for sailing so we motored down there, about 25 miles.  Rock Sound Harbor is a large anchorage that is protected from all sides, a good spot to hole up.  We chose to anchor in the northwest part of the harbor leaving us with about a mile of open water to the east but close to the western shore.  The winds in the afternoon and evening were out of the northeast and it was a bit bumpy but the real winds were forecast to clock around to the west when the storm arrived.  By anchoring here we eliminated having to pull the anchor to relocate when the wind shifted.  In the evening we all got together on Exit Stage Left for pot luck dinner to celebrate Theresa on Sea Ya’s birthday.

Friday is windy and rainy again.  The wind has shifted around and has gone from east to southeast then south and now southwest, just as forecast.  We have about a dozen boats here waiting for the big show to arrive, west winds in the 30-40 knot range with higher gusts in the squalls.  Cori is staying busy with reorganizing the V-berth so that I can access the water-maker.  The generator is charging the batteries since the solar panels are not putting out in this weather and I have the water-maker running filling our tank.  In the evening the wind shifted to the west but the velocity dropped.  Later in the evening it started p as foretasted, overnight it blew in the 20’s but didn’t get as high as they had thought.  It seemed that north and south of up the wind was higher so we evidently got lucky.

Today, Saturday, it is partly cloudy but the winds are still blowing in the 20’s but we are protected from higher waves by the west shore.  So far everyone’s anchors have held so we just need to be patient and let it blow itself out.  Cori had gotten the sewing machine out and is making some bags from old sails and I have been lounging with a book and babying my hip hoping it gets better.