To Infinity and Beyond
The further and further we go the more real it feels. Every day is met with a little angst as we sail further and further away from home. As we sail towards Norfolk I am reminded of our voyages on Sassy II, some 13 years ago. Although we're going the other way this time, my memories are as fresh and vivid as the scenery that continues to jog my memory.
When we last passed through these waters Henry was only 6 months old and Buddy and Charlie had yet to turn grey. Between missing the dogs and my wife Deb, the nostalgia from this portion of the trip makes me both happy and sad.
Henry doesn't share my perspective as he was too young to remember the trip, although it surely shaped the person he has become. He might not remember much from those days but his reaction to wild dolphins swimming up to the boat was still the same. Sheer joy at the sight of his aquatic friends, like they'd been waiting for him all this time.
We made it to
Norfolk late Wednesday night, soon after sunset. When we arrived at
the marina it was dark and poorly lit, so instead of running aground further
into the facility we tied up between some posts at the end of a dilapidated
dock. It wasn't as easy as it sounds, the wind and current pushed us
around making it difficult to secure all the lines, port and starboard, Henry had grabbed a fender off the back deck to put between the boat and the post while I fought to get the boat into the middle of the slip. After getting the stern secured I went forward to help Henry. Thinking the fender was tied to the boat I pushed it out of the way to get to the fair lead. Henry tried to grab the pendant as the fender began to fall but he was to late.... MOB, go get him Henry I yelled, he looked back at me and replied with a stern, " No, it's cold!" I turned back to the water, reaching out in vain, as I yelled into the night sky "Wilson! Wilson! Wilson!" At least he had his t-shirt on I thought, as he drifted into the darkness. Once we had tied up and secured the boat, I fell into the cockpit relieved that
we were done for the day.
These short days
have greatly increased the likelihood of after dark arrivals, increasing
my stress level equally. The more we navigate at night the more
comfortable we are becoming, but that hasn't reduced my anxiety over late night
arrivals.
We only stayed in
Norfolk one night, as we got on the move early the next morning to make it to a
free dock just west of the Big Bridge bridge. As always Norfolk was a
sight to behold. The immense size of the vessels moored there is above and
beyond, six aircraft carriers, three Virginia Class nuclear
submarines, 13 Arleigh-Burke destroyers, and one World War II battleship, which
was by far the coolest of them all. We blew through Norfolk in an hour or
so before entering the Virginia Cut, the ICW gateway to the Atlantic. On
our previous voyage we transited the Dismal Swamp Canal, but Island Eclipse is
too big for that route, so the direct route it would be. We ended
our day in Big Bridge, a small town with a grocery store, Wendy’s, and a Dairy
Queen all close by. We had dinner at Wendy's, grocery shopped, then
stopped for a Dairy Queen Blizzard on the walk back to the boat. We
watched an episode of The Expanse before calling it a day.
The next morning, we
got off the dock around nine, but we didn't go far at first, stopping at the
marina across the canal for fuel, water and pump-out. We were back on the
water by ten, leaving us seven hours to make as much progress as we
could. We joined a pack of boats waiting for a bridge to open. It was
nice to have other boats to follow through the shallow waters on the Virginia
Cut, so we kept pace with all but one of the other vessels. Two of the
sailboats fell behind halfway through the afternoon, but we still had a couple
boats ahead of us slowly pulling away. Island Eclipse is a beast so the
other two boats ahead of us must have had the pedal all the way to the floor to
be pulling away, not that it mattered. We all ended up in the same anchorage at
the end of the day. It was the quietest place we'd stopped in so far with
nothing but low-lying wetlands as far as the eye could see, the partial moon
lit up the night sky, as vivid as I'd ever seen it. Henry stayed up later
than me, I was pretty tired after being behind the wheel all day, so I faded
early.
When I got up and
at 'em around eight the next morning, the other boats had already moved on, I
soon followed suit, pulling up the hook and getting underway while my decaf tea
steeped. I'm not sure what time Henry went to bed so I let him sleep as
long as I could. I made breakfast when he finally made it to the
wheel un-bushy-tailed and groggy. The next few days were much of the same
as we made our way toward Wrightsville Beach. We made good time, but I was
starting to become concerned about our sudden drop in fuel economy. We'd have to fill up again in Wrightsville, which would leave us 15 or so
hours short compared to our previous tanks. I'd have to do some
investigating when we got to our next destination as we'd be there for a few
days anyway.
When we eventually made it to the grocery store, we grabbed a cart and started shopping the deals, with the cost of things the way they are we're continually modifying our diet to make our dollars last. No more processed food, bags of chips, cookies and such, we shopped the perimeter of the store, meats, vegetables, fruit, bread and dairy, we did venture into the aisles, but only for canned foods and seasoning packets. I also finally found Budweiser Zero, alcohol free beer, I'd searched for it in Washington with no luck so I was relieved to finally find some. As we walked through the store we talked about it not feeling like Christmas without the snow, runny noses, or the endless Christmas music of 98.1 CHFI. Other than some Christmas chocolates on a bottom shelf, the Christmas season hadn't started here yet. We checked out and ate a couple slices of pizza while we waited patiently for our Uber. Once we got back to the boat we put away the groceries and watched some TV before calling it a night.
With Thanksgiving falling on a Thursday, and inclement weather in the forecast, we'd probably be in Wrightsville Beach for a couple of days. This would give us an opportunity to catch up on some maintenance work. On our way through the Virginia Cut we met a couple sailing out of ABYC, who had left in July only to have their transmission bite the dust on the way through the Cut. They had the same transmission as us, which inspired me to change the fluid on ours. I also decided to change the oil in the injector pump, adjust the valves and retorque the head.
Our fuel economy had slowly declined since leaving Annapolis so the preventative maintenance was my first go at solving this new riddle. I also decided to dive on the boat and clean any hitchhikers off the bottom, to which I found nothing except cold water and a brisk current. Fortunately I made sure to have a tank of hot water available for my after-dive shower.
That night we relaxed in the cockpit watching a movie...up until the festivities began. As it happened we had arrived in Wrightsville just in time for the boat parade and fireworks display, kicking off the Christmas season. A parade of decorated vessels were lined up along the ICW as far as the eye could see. They began sailing through the harbor past us and judges scored each vessel's decorations for originality and effort. Following the parade was a half hour fireworks show, simultaneously displayed at three different beaches up and down the coast of Wrightsville. It was more pomp and pageantry than we expected when we talked Christmas spirit the day before, that's for sure.
It was calling for a brisk wind the next day, but we needed to make it to Southport in order to catch the next weather window to sail from Southport to Charleston, our first real opportunity to sail. We pulled the hook and got underway around 8am in order to fuel up and make some miles. We spent the day continuing down the ICW to Southport, tying up behind a little restaurant for the night. I got to talking to the boat next to us when we got in, they'd been stuck there for a few days on account of a leaky shaft bellows pouring water into their engine room, a problem they'd have to haul to correct.
Fortunately for us, other than Barney crapping out again, we were ready to roll, so the following afternoon we set sail for Charleston. We weren't on the water for long before we decided to alter course for St. Augustine instead Charleston. The weather was coaxing us farther and farther south, so instead of fighting it we just went with it. We had considered St. Augustine in our planning but we weren't sure if we were up to a 450 mile sail, some 75 miles off shore, yet. I guess we were going to find out.
By around 9pm the wind had started to die, so we fired up Fred and continued motor sailing through the night. I went to bed around 9pm leaving Henry at the wheel with his computer and new video games to keep him engaged. I set my alarm for midnight to take over, but Henry would have nothing of it, he insisted I go back to bed, so I did. I next woke up on inspiration around 7:30 the next morning, I got up, had a hot shower, made my tea and some breakfast before relieving Henry at the wheel, it was all very civilized. The nights log book was complete with position reports, AIS contacts and weather and sea conditions, Henry had done a fine job on his first night watch. Above and beyond. Henry went to sleep soon after having some breakfast, I didn't see him again until 6pm that night.
The anxiety and trepidation I'd been feeling before we left Southport had mostly subsided throughout the day, The weather remained the same, a light North-East breeze and gentle seas continued throughout the day into the evening. It reminded me that although the waters were unfamiliar, to a sailboat it's all the same, and to a Captain the skills that got us this far would surely get us the rest of the way.
It was probably the furthest from land we'd get in our trip down as Bimini, Bahamas is only 65 miles east of the American coast. I had planned on working on my Blog throughout the day, but my computer had died a few days before, and Henry's only had Microsoft Word when it was connected to the cloud. So instead I just enjoyed the weather and the solitude.
When Henry got up that evening I made us some dinner while he tended to the wheel. He was less excited about doing the overnight today, as he'd spent a little too much time on his new game the night before and needed a break. Instead, he continued with his workout regime of push-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups and other various exercises he'd began at the beginning of the trip.
I went to bed around 11pm, leaving him at the wheel. I slept right through until morning, waking up to my alarm around 7:30am, Henry was wide awake but looking forward to some breakfast and some sleep. Not soon after I got up Henry was sound asleep in our bed, as his bedroom could get a little bouncy if the seas picked up, which thankfully they didn't.
I'd be solo sailing for the next couple of mornings while he recalibrated his internal clock, so I got an early start the next morning, making our way from Daytona to Titusville, it was a windy trip that took us out towards the NASA launch pads and the vehicle assembly building. Henry took keen interest in this part of the trip as rockets are his cup of tea. They were staging a rocket set for launch in the coming days, and we hoped to be around to see it.
Throughout our days motoring, I often look in on Fred to make sure there are no unsuspected issues arising during our travels, and although most days it reveals very little, today was the exception. A weld on our exhaust riser had let go and the engine was leaking exhaust gasses into the engine room. Not a dire emergency requiring us to stop immediately, but one that would require repair before continuing tomorrow, I googled mobile welders and started calling around. Within the hour I'd made arrangements with a mobile company to meet me in Titusville later that evening. I had to let the exhaust cool before removing it to take ashore for repair, so I took the time to make us some dinner and do an oil change before getting down to business. One thing about installing your own engine, you know how to take it apart when needed. It took about 45 minutes to disassemble the riser, so when the guys showed up I was already ashore. It took them the better part of an hour to clean up and repair the weld, but by the end of the day we were back in business and ready for our final push to Vero Beach and a much needed break.
On our way down to Vero we'd planned on stopping at the Kennedy Space Center to take in a Space X launch on the 9th of December. They were scheduled to launch the Heavy, with a new remotely operated mini shuttle on board. But between our schedule and the weather we weren't able to make it happen. We did, however, manage to see part of a launch and re-entry from my cousin's place in Vero Beach. Hopefully we'll catch one on the way back to Canada in the spring. Seeing a launch from the water as we sailed by would be a real show, I'm sure.
The next day we continued south, putting in another eight hours motoring through the ICW toward Vero Beach. At 76 miles from Titusville, it was a little out of range for us to make in a day, so we dropped the hook in Melbourne some 25 miles or so short of Vero. It was a quiet night, we had an early dinner and watched some TV before heading to bed, eager for Vero and a break.
After nearly three months on the go, with the exception of some stop-overs, we were finally in Vero Beach. 100 or so miles north or our jump off point Fort Lauderdale, Vero is an excellent place to stop and catch your breath and provision before heading across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas.
My cousin Jeff and his wife Lori live in Vero Beach and offered us a place to stay while we take a break. We arrived late afternoon on December 3rd, so we made arrangements to connect with Jeff the next day. We still had some time before dark, so we threw our bikes in the dingy and headed down to the beach. Henry was full of excitement at the site of 5' waves cresting on the beach, so we dove right in. We spent the evening body surfing before biking back to the boat and ordering a pizza.
The next day we packed up all our dirty clothes and some provisions before leaving home for the better part of a week. We took a mooring ball in Vero so I could sleep easy knowing the boat was safe and secure during our absence.
It had been thirteen or so years since I last saw Jeff and Lori, but like so many of our good friends, the passage of time doesn't really matter. The biggest change for them was Henry, he was only 6 months old when we saw them last, so to say he'd grown was an understatement! LOL.
When we got to their house we got hot showers, a hot meal and fresh made beds to sleep in. And although I love the boat dearly, it was a welcome change. I didn't need to check the battery monitor or stress about power the next morning, a first since leaving Toronto.
We took the time to do laundry and relax before a new crew member joined us for the coming weeks. My nephew Caleb was flying down to meet us later in the week, to join us for our passage to the Bahamas. Caleb is new to sailing and the proud owner of a Catalina 25 he bought last summer. This would be an eye-opening adventure, the likes of which he'll never forget.
Once Caleb arrived we made plans for the next phase of our adventure. Lori was kind enough to drive me around to all the stores I needed to visit in order to provision the boat for a five month stay in the Bahamas. I'd been told that food would be very expensive once we got there, so provisioning in the US made the most sense. Instead of dragging the kids around with us, we dropped them off at an adventure park. Thanks to Lori, we scored them all day passes to the park for half price, and left them to indulge in as much go-carting, rock climbing and gaming they could take in. By the time Lori and I were finished shopping the kids had had enough and were ready to go. After a full day of shopping and gaming it was no surprise that everyone retired to their beds early.
When we arrived back at the anchorage we launched Jeff's Whaler and transported all of our supplies out to the boat, and after some careful space management and a couple of hours, all of our supplies were loaded and stowed aboard. We said good-bye to Jeff once we'd loaded his boat back on the trailer, and thanked him for all his help and hospitality.
We spent that night prepping the boat for our departure the next morning, before settling down to dinner and a movie. Caleb found a place to stow his luggage and moved into what would be his bunk for the duration of the trip, or at least on the days he didn't want to sleep in the cockpit.
On our way out the next morning we stopped by the fuel dock to top up the diesel, water and gas before heading down the ICW. A number of other boaters advised us of the incoming weather front and the inclement weather coming with it. Seeing as we were staying in the ICW for the next few days the forecast didn't really alter our plans. We eventually left Vero Beach around 11 am on our way to Jensen Beach, some 35 miles south of Vero.
Our late start had us arriving in Jensen Beach shortly after dark, and although I'd anchored there some 13 years before, I still managed to run us aground on the way into the anchorage. Yep, after making it all the way from Toronto we finally ran aground. Fortunately I was a little iffy going in, so we weren't going fast enough to beach the boat, but we did hit bottom. The wind had picked up a fair bit by then, so I backed us off as quickly as I could so we didn't get pushed further up the sand bar. Once we freed the boat we moved back out into the deep water of the channel and reviewed our charts. It took a moment for me to remember the nuances of this particular anchorage, but once I'd reviewed the charts it came to me. There was a shoal that ran north from the starboard ICW marker to the bridge, so we needed to enter the anchorage south of the marker and run the shore line into deep water. Once we had it all sorted out we entered the anchorage, only to find it wasn't an anchorage anymore and that all the boats were on moorings. It had become far too windy to pick up a mooring ball, so we left the confines of the mooring field and dropped the hook just south of the last boat in eight feet of water and 25+ knots of wind. Henry was at the helm, while Caleb and I set the hook and attached the bridal. As you can well imagine the seas had gotten quite lumpy, despite being in the shelter of the causeway, so we let out a fair amount of chain and kept an anchor watch throughout the night, just in case the we dragged.
The next morning the winds had yet to subside, and we were bouncing around a fair bit Fortunately I had two healthy young men to assist me in retrieving the anchor and exiting the anchorage safely.
Once underway, we put the kettle on the stove and Caleb made some breakfast for everyone. There are a lot of bascule bridges between Jensen Beach and Fort Lauderdale, so much so that we only covered about half the distance we'd hoped to as the bridges only opened at specific times , and not on request. Some bridges had us waiting 45 minute or more while fighting the heavy winds and currents in order to remain in position for the opening.
From Jensen Beach we made it to West Palm Beach before calling it a day, dropping the hook at the south end of the bay, close to the next bascule bridge we'd need to transit. The seas where still lumpy, as the wind had continued to build throughout the day, gusting up to 30+ knots well into the evening and beyond. Again we let out as much chain as we could in order to insure the anchor set, and we'd be safe for the night. The conditions again required an anchor watch throughout the night, so Henry and Caleb spent the night in the cockpit just incase. Lucky for us the anchor bit in well and held fast throughout the night.
The next day we arrived at Lake Silvia in Fort Lauderdale, don't let the name fool you, Lake Silvia isn't some picturesque oasis hidden in the heart of the city, it's more a big salt water pond surrounded by multi million dollar mansions, with little to see or do, so getting pinned there for almost two weeks was less than ideal, especially in these conditions. It wasn't a place to swim and there was little access to shore so we ended up spending a lot of time aboard during our time on Lake Silvia.
The anchorage was fairly light on boats when we arrived, but the spacing made it difficult to find an open spot to play out a lot of chain. There were a number of local live-aboard sailors in the anchorage, complicating things even more. Not knowing whether they were on a hook or a concrete block made positioning the boat more precarious. If they're on an anchor they'd have lots of line out, if they're on a block, not so much, which limited how much swing we could afford ourselves just in case. We let out about 60' on our first try but the anchor didn't set so we had to try again and again. After the third or fourth try, the anchor bit, and we could finally shut down the engine and call it a day.
The heavy winds persisted day after day, trapping more and more boats up and down Florida's east coast, from the Florida Keys to West Palm Beach. The closer to Christmas we got the busier the anchorage became, two or three boats would arrive daily, those with nerves of steel squeezed their boats in where room kind of allowed. By the Saturday, December 16th, the wind had built to a crescendo, howling and whistling through the countless masts. We had been running an anchor watch for almost a week now, with so many boats in the anchorage and building winds it would have been irresponsible to do otherwise.
I'd been sleeping fully dressed since we left Vero Beach, ready to get on deck at a moments notice. Before going to bed that night I reviewed emergency procedures with Henry and Caleb to make sure they were adequately prepared should anyone drag. I never imagined that "anyone" could be us. That night we where in the windward end of the anchorage with no boats above us, there was some protection from the wind in the way of houses and a 90' yacht, but like Toronto Harbour, the buildings tend to funnel the wind, making it that much more turbulent.
It was just after 1am when Fred roared to life. I ran up the stairs to an anxious crew and torrential rain. We were dragging right through the middle of the anchorage at 4 knots in near-zero visibility. Fortunately Henry has nerves of steel, keeping his composure as he regained control of the boat, arresting our slide two boat lengths from a GS50 Ketch we were about to collide with. I ran up on deck in pants and a T-shirt to retrieve the anchor but I was saturated and shivering moments after scrambling up the deck to the windlass. I had to retreat back to the cockpit for my coat, I took off my drenched shirt and put on my jacket before heading back to the front of the boat. Henry couldn't ease off the throttle for long without losing the bow to the wind, so retrieving the anchor proved difficult as it was now under the boat. After a lot of patience and perseverance we were free. Like a pro, Henry navigated his way through the anchorage, threading his way around the other boats and the anchor rodes to the perimeter of the lake with almost no visibility. We circled the anchorage at 6 knots for almost an hour before the wind subsided enough for us to at least try and re-set the anchor. After a number of attempts we managed to set a good hook, at least good enough to make it through the night.
The following morning the wind clocked around and we slowly drifted out of the marked confines of the anchorage, to the dismay of the 90' yacht owner who'd just arrived. With a chip on his shoulder he sarcastically said "you're a little close don't you think". My reply was "Yes, I wouldn't want your vessel scratching my boat". His brow furrowed as he took out a video camera and started recording. Fortunately for us, the ketch we'd almost hit in the night pulled out leaving a nice big space for us, so we moved the boat before our interaction with the Yacht Stooge escalated.
There was lots of room for us to play out some extra chain this time, not that we'd need it. The winds had slowed soon after our midnight adventure, allowing the kids to get back to a normal sleep schedule. Throughout the course of the day other boaters in the anchorage made a point to stop by and see how we were doing after our near catastrophe. All were relieved and surprised to find out we emerged unscathed.
We continued to monitor the weather reports from multiple sources in an effort to nail down a departure date, but every morning that followed was mostly the same, North, north, north, making travel across the Gulf Stream 'spicy', to say the least. The Gulf Stream travels north at 1.5-3.0 knots between the Bahamas and Florida. Any north component in the wind forecast leads to steep, short, confused seas that batter even the most seasoned sailor.
With no crossing window in sight for the next week to ten days I had a decision to make. Traveling on a UK passport is a little more complicated than a Canadian one. My I95 Visa Waiver only allows me 90 days in the US at time, and mine was near expiry. I could roll the dice and hope for a weather window before it expired, or head back to the Big Smoke in order to re-set my 90 days. The added pressure of the calendar often leads a sailor to make less than ideal choices, so with that in mind I booked a flight home on the Monday, returning Tuesday, leaving the boys in control of the boat for the next couple of days. We'd been anchored in our new spot for three days before I departed, so I was confident the boat wouldn't drag, and the forecast for Lake Silvia was favourable. The boys had all the provisions and experience they needed to manage 48 hours without me, so with that in mind I left for Canada Monday morning.
I only had a carry on bag, so traversing the airports the week before Christmas was not nearly as daunting as I expected. I was in and out on either side of the border with relative ease. It was all quite surreal, not having flown for 13 years this was definitely an unexpected adventure, I 'd never been a holiday traveler before, but unlike the movies, the terminals were not decorated in Christmas cheer, nor were there Christmas Carols playing, so all in all it was mostly just another day at the airport.
I was eagerly looking forward to my reunion with Deb and then she broke the bad news, she had COVID. Not a word of a lie, I'd flown back to Toronto to find my poor wife in isolation. Being a man of strong resolve I managed 15 minutes at home before landing a big "I miss you kiss" square on the lips. I held my breath, of course, but it was well worth the risk!
"Home" means many different things to different people. Home this time in town was the same spot it had always been, but it was not the same home. "Sweet Shoal" is also a Gulfstar 44, two years newer than ours, she's a little different, but mostly the same. It all left me feeling so conflicted, I'd just flown in three hours, what took me three months to sail, only to arrive to exactly the same boat I just left, leaving me thinking.... maybe two boats might be a good idea.
We ordered some Swiss Chalet for dinner and got caught up on each other's lives before heading to bed. I left the boys to call me that night if they needed, calling them might have been perceived as mistrust, which was not the message I was looking to send.
My flight back to Fort Lauderdale the next day had me back at the airport for 10am, so I bid goodbye to my lovely wife after our morning tea and began my voyage south. I arrived back in Florida shortly before 5pm, and although the boys knew I'd be coming home, neither of them answered there gosh-darn phones when I got to the dock. I called and called and called, but no one ever answered. I had to walk two or three miles back to the anchorage and flag down another boater for a ride back to the boat. As you can well imagine the fireworks were soon ablaze when I boarded the boat addressing the delinquents in a dull roar. WTF guys, as I found them lazing around the boat completely oblivious to the ball they'd dropped. After my blood pressure returned to normal and the smoke stopped billowing out of my ears things calmed down. They were both very apologetic and I chose to ignore the "but Dad" portion of their argument.
Now that I was back and had nowhere else to be, I took the time to investigate the no-start issue I was having with the generator. I hung my phone above the generator start circuit with Ed on a video call to help me trace and repair the problem. After a short time we narrowed it down to the second start solenoid in the circuit, for which I thought I had a replacement, but it wasn't meant to be. The spare I had in my engine parts bin was only a double pole solenoid and I needed a single pole one. Fortunately for me I was able to source a direct replacement from an Onan Dealer just a dinghy ride away, just in time as well, come Friday they'd be closed for the week for Christmas holidays leaving us without a generator for the foreseeable future. I picked up the part the following afternoon and had Barney back to his usual temperamental self before the sun set on another beautiful day.
Now the Friday before Christmas, we eagerly awaited Santa's, oops I mean Deb's arrival. Her jet powered sleigh would be arriving mid-afternoon, so we feverishly cleaned and tidied the boat in preparation of her arrival. She called for a pick up shortly before dusk, so I dispatched Henry to retrieve her from shore, it had been nearly two months since they'd last seen each other so I thought it would be nice for them to get a few minutes alone together before joining us aboard.
We all just hung out that night catching each other up on all the recent events. The next morning Deb and Henry put up the Christmas tree and hung the ornaments I'd bought a 'new to us' tree at the Salvation Army back in Vero. We'd forgotten our own Christmas tree and ornaments back in Toronto so this one would have to do.
I picked up a bottle of rum at the liquor store in the days leading up to holidays, so come Christmas Eve I put on my reindeer hat and dinghied around the lagoon spreading Christmas cheer in the way of rum to all those with a Canadian Flag. It was a fun way to get to know our neighbours and hear their war stories of the voyage south.
I'd bought a turkey for Christmas dinner, but I'd forgotten to take it out to thaw in time for dinner, so we made do with what we had available, We'd soon get a chance to cook our Christmas dinner, but it would have to wait as an eastbound weather window suddenly opened on Boxing Day.
Throughout the course of the evening I continued to monitor the weather across three different apps in hopes of a possible departure. Many of the other boats were also considering this sudden opportunity, but we quickly acted on it. We got underway early afternoon, heading to the fuel dock first, in preparation for the voyage. I d programmed many various routes to take based on the wind and weather predictions, we also had a ditch plan to just head to Marathon in the event crossing was prohibitive, anything to avoid going back to Lake Silvia.
Because we were still having issues with "Barney" the generator, I was relying mostly on Fred and the new Balmar alternator to keep the batteries topped up on the cloudy days. I'm always checking in on the engine while it's in operation because things don't always run like they're supposed to, and this day was no exception. When I looked in on things I could hear a strange hissing coming from the back corner of the engine room. Upon close inspection, the raw water side of the exhaust riser had now split a weld, and was ejecting salt water all over the engine room. It was Annapolis all over again, we were down to only one source of power. Solar.
Well, I got back on the internet looking for another welder to fix the riser yet again, this time though, I found a stainless steel fabricator thirty minutes from our make shift Lake Silvia tender dock, which was just a wall behind a bank parking lot. It was about the only building without a fence were we could drop each other off. We couldn't tie up there but we could get ashore.
When I reached out to the fabrication shop he told me I could bring it in right away, so I once again emptied the aft cabin closet, opened the cubby hole to the engine room, and disassembled the exhaust. Fortunately the riser only weighs about 25 pounds, so I put some line on it and hung it from my shoulder like a bag.... a bag full of bowling balls that is!
By the time I arrived at the quaint little fabrication shop nestled up to the railway tracks, the rope strap I'd made had all but cut into my shoulder. I kept switching it from left to right as I walked, but since my stroke I tend to favour carrying things on my right side. Carrying to much weight on the left side makes me limp terribly. I was incredibly relieved when I finally dumped it on his work bench.
We had a brief conversation about the repairs and modification I wanted done in order to prevent this ongoing saga from continuing. It was Monday, and he said he'd do what he could to get it done by Saturday, which was both good and bad news. It meant we'd be back up and running before Deb arrived, but we'd be without propulsion and secondary charging for almost a week.
Dragging through the anchorage was a lot like our unfortunate submarining on the Delaware, they both shook my resolve, and the thought of dragging again without the engine scared the s**t out of me. Unfortunately 'thems the breaks' I'm afraid, and you've got to either roll with it or give up. So on with things we must go. I walked back to our Lake Sylvia "tender dock" next to the bank and awaited pick up. I made sure to secure our dinghy on hip each night in order to tow Island Eclipse in case the unfortunate happened. Trying to tow a sailboat from the bow with a dinghy is not recommended as it gives you little, if any control. Not that it would really matter, if we got smoked by another 70 knot gust, the dingy would make for a really big fender at best if we collided with another boat or the wall. The 15hp engine on the dingy couldn't replace the 80hp Fred boasts of.
Before taking the riser off I did check the long term forecast, and it seemed that the worst was over, at least for now. Getting Barney back up and running couldn't be put off any longer and although I'm a decent gear head, electrical repair and diagnosis is not my bag.
Fortunately it's right up Ed's alley so I "phoned a friend" to get the help I needed sorting out yet another dilemma. Thanks to Ed's help, we managed to get Barney up and running again, but the Inverter/Charger doesn't seem to like the power he's putting out. It's constantly dropping the connection and searching the "grid" for more power. I keep telling the damn thing we're in the middle of nowhere and Barneys the only connection he's got, but he's not much of a listener so I've been relying on Fred a little more.
On Saturday, December 23rd, I went to the fabrication shop to pick up the riser, while Deb, Henry and Caleb went shopping for supplies at Aldi's. The fabricator was kind enough to give me a ride to the West Marine for some additional charts before Ubering to Aldis to meet up with the family.
When we finally decided Bahamas or bust it was just after 3pm December 26th, we'd filled up on fuel, water, and topped up the ship's stores, so there wasn't anything holding us back. We reached out to some friends and gave them our sail plan, and ETA for our destination before losing cell service. It was a tad lumpy at first, but we pressed on as the incoming tide built against the outgoing seas and wind. They were short rolling waves that made the bow of the boat dance slowly up and down. Deb and Henry didn't quickly acclimatize to the seas and retired to bed relatively early, leaving Caleb and I to cross the stream together. The night couldn't have been more perfect, once we'd crossed through the western boundary of the Gulfstream the seas flattened out, so we continued on a south east heading with Chubb Cay on our minds.
We'd been planning landfall in Freeport based on the speed of the stream and miles to cross, but the conditions allowed us to transit east to west with very little drift. Adding the south component of our heading, did slow our speed over ground by a knot and a half, but it saved us considerable time and fuel on our way to our final destination, Nassau.
I wish I could say that it was a relaxing crossing, but despite the beautiful full moon and conditions well beyond expectations, I was still terrified of what might come and stood white knuckled at the wheel.
With all I had heard about crossing the Gulfstream, I sailed through the night, quietly waiting for the other other shoe to drop, anxiously anticipating the moment when all hell would break loose. But it didn't, I finally managed to relax once we'd passed through Northwest shoal into the "Tongue of the Ocean", sailing in relative safety, on the lee side of Great Bahama Bank and Andros Island.
In all it took us 20 hours to transit from Fort Lauderdale to Chubb Cay, west of Bimini. We didn't check in when we arrived, instead we took a quick swim and prepared our Christmas dinner and celebrated the days victory. Island Eclipse and her crew were safely in the Bahamas!!
The next morning Deb completed the dreaded "Click to Clear" cruising app before heading in to customs. Had we known Chubb Cay was a private island, subject to additional landing fee, we probably would have checked in elsewhere, but we were committed once the paper works was submitted. Only the Captain was allowed ashore until the boat was cleared, so I dropped Deb off at the marina and heading back to the boat to plan our next foray into the unknown.
We hung out on the boat anchored just off the beach for the rest of the day, as the weather had turned a little dismal. We'd head to Nassau the next morning, but for tonight we'd just watch a show and catch up on some sleep.
The morning started off a little rough for some. The wind had picked up overnight and Island Eclipse was bouncing around in the short steep waves making Deb sick the minute she got out of bed. In an effort to quell the sickening motion, I quickly pulled up the hook and moved the boat to the lee side of the island and although it was much flatter, it was too late, Deb's sea sickness had quickly turned into a migraine.
She took to the water for a swim to see if the cool waters would help make her feel better, but it wasn't meant to be. Tough as nails she insisted we head for Nassau, better to make some miles than just sit here feeling rotten. So we hoisted the sails and started for Nassau. It was a following sea, with Nassau dead down wind of our current position.
We started with the main and the jib wing on wing, but the following seas made it difficult to keep both sails full. About two hours out, or 15 miles north of Nassau we dropped the jib and motor sailed the rest of the way under engine and main.
We had to wait outside Nassau Harbour until a massive cruise ship departed the main port. Once they'd cleared the entrance we got the okay from Nassau Harbour Control to transit the harbour. We made our way through the busy port on our way to the eastern most anchorage, where we dropped the hook and called it a day.
Deb, Henry and Caleb were eager to explore and it was fairly early still, so I ran them ashore to venture out into the unknown. I stayed aboard to tend to the boat and do some research into our current surroundings.
We didn't have long with Deb this visit, she had to be back in Toronto by New Year's Day, so we made the most of the time we had. The next day we sailed out to Rose Island for an afternoon of snorkeling. Rose Island is the closest reef to Nassau, at 4 miles, so it made for a great afternoon destination. There was no swimming where we were in Nassau Harbor, due to sharks lingering in the water mooching scraps from boaters and the local fish market. So off we went.
It was a beautiful sunny day and Deb, Henry, and Caleb all had a fantastic time on their first snorkeling adventure. I'm still recovering from the whole anchor dragging ordeal, so I've been reluctant to leave the boat unattended.
The rest of our time with Deb came and went far too quickly. It was soon New Year's Eve and Deb's last night aboard before heading home to the cold and snowy Great White North.
The kids stayed up to watch the fire works at midnight, but Deb and I hit the pillows early on account of her 5am taxi ride to the airport. And with that she was gone, a lot like Santa, she flew in with presents and cheer, only to fly off again into the New Year! It was down to the three of us again, and with no real schedule to abide by we were off to explore.
We sailed east to Allen's Cay on our first adventure. Some 35 miles from Nassau, it is a popular place for tourists with its shallow snorkeling and Allen's Cay Iguanas. We got to Allen's mid afternoon with plenty of time to swim and explore. The north anchorage was a little tight with boats so we took the south Cay to ourselves. I took a banana ashore for the iguanas, but the literature on the little creatures doesn't prepare you for your first visit. Completely comfortable with people, dozens of of iguanas stormed the beach the moment we emerged from the water, so much so that we quickly retreated back to the safety of the waters while we re-evaluated our advance. We slowly moved towards the little critters, quickly realizing that the larger, older iguanas had very poor vision and couldn't see the bananas in the sand when you dropped them a piece. As our comfort level grew we were able to get closer to the animals and feed them by hand, the small ones could only eat the fruit, but the big guys could eat the banana skin. After a few hours of swimming and exploring we retreated back to the boat for dinner and a movie.
The next day we moved down to Highborn Cay to explore more snorkeling sights, and although we searched high and low for places to dive, we'd have have to continue south into the Exumas Land and Sea Park to find the luscious, rich dive sites we'd seen in the sailing guides. Further exploration would have to wait as we'd be sailing back to Nassau to meet our next guest, Teddy, a good friend from hockey, who would be flying in later in the week.
I wanted to get back in time to do laundry and fill the tanks in preparation of his arrival. By the time Teddy arrived we were all but ready to set sail, the only thing outstanding was to take Teddy grocery shopping. I was treating the kids to Subway that afternoon but Teddy took it upon himself to treat us all to the familiar meal. It was a nice treat after weeks aboard the boat without any take out!
We spent the first two nights in the Nassau anchorage as we waited for weather to pass before heading back to Allen's Cay to share our adventures with our guest. While in Nassau we filled our water tanks using our 5 gallon water jugs. We filled at night at the local fish market. About halfway through our roughly 50 gallons the kids started complaining about the work. Totally uninterested in their moaning, I simply did the next run myself. A simple task, one would think, but I mixed up the lit piers and went to the wrong one. Once I realized my mistake I turned in the direction of the market and brought the dinghy up on plane. Not a hundred yards in, I buried the dingy in a sand bar throwing me, once again ass over tea kettle, out of the dinghy into the water. Being shark infested I jumped back into the dinghy almost as fast as I'd been thrown out! Once I'd gathered myself up enough to process the situation, I soon realized that no shark would be sneaking up on me in the 6"of water I found myself in. I got back out of the dinghy and dragged it out to open water were I resumed my course towards the fish market. I managed to get back to the fish market pier unscathed, but it was low tides and a bit of a climb up onto the deck of the pier, but by this point I was fully committed.
I scrambled up onto the deck like a whale beaching itself, scoring no points for artistic impression from the bystanders. I finally made it to the hose and filled the tanks. I'd like to say that the return trip was less eventful, but that would be a lie! In trying to get the 50 lb tanks back in the dinghy from the pier two feet overhead, the tank swung on me like a pendulum, nearly launching me out the dinghy in the process. I had a little better luck with the second one but by the time I got back to the boat I was less than happy. So when the boys asked how it went, the inflamed response they got was less than grateful for the opportunity their complaining afforded me. Safe to say, I didn't have to ask them to fill the water again, nor did I hear any complaining while they did it. Chief, engineer, cook, captain, navigator, meteorologist are more than enough hats to wear, I'm not going to wear the water mule as well.
The following morning I couldn't find my phone, we all looked high and low before concluding that it must have come out of my pocket when I grounded the dinghy and fell overboard.
Not overly optimistic about the prospect of finding my phone, I ventured out none the less. To my delight it wasn't difficult to find, I just looked for the 6" deep sand bank and there it was. Not only did I find it, it still worked. I had no idea I'd bought a water proof phone, but sure was glad I did!
After finding my phone we loaded up the dinghy and got underway, we wanted to make the most of the nice weather. The wind was not favourable so we had to motor the whole way.
Allen's Cay did not disappoint, Teddy was enamored by the beauty of it all. Between the beautiful beaches, crystal clear water and unique wild life, who wouldn't be.
Shortly after our arrival in Allen's we noticed something wrong with the drinking water from our primary 100 gallon tank, to our dismay we found the tank fill open and the cap laying next to it. Seas had boarded the deck during our spirited sail from Nassau to to Allen's, contaminating the tank with salty sea water. This left us with only 50 gallons in our auxiliary tank. Fortunately Teddy offered to cover the cost of a dock at Highborn for the night in order to flush and fill the tank as well as charge the batteries. By this point we'd been off grid since the first week of October, so after almost 4 months on the hook it would be nice to plug in and equalize the batteries.
Unfortunately it wasn't all great news, the father of one of Teddy's best friends had passed away suddenly and he was considering heading back to Canada early to make the funeral. We were happy to take him back to Nassau, but the weather would have nothing of it. Instead, I dinghied him down to the airfield in Norman's Cay where he caught a small single engine plane back to New Providence, leaving me and the kids to continue our exploration.
When the weather subsided the following day I took Henry and Caleb down to Norman's Cay where we explored the wreck of an airplane submerged in the shallow waters off the Cay. Once the bustling, drug smuggling epicenter of the Bahamas, Norman's Cay has a long, interesting history, rich in both fact and fiction.
The airplane wreckage played host to a wide variety of beautiful fish and was by far the most vibrant dive site we'd come across.
My time with Henry and Caleb was also coming to an end, both were flying back to Canada at the end of the week, Caleb has his 50 tonne sheltered waters captains ticket to earn and Henry wanted to go home and spend his birthday with his friends ice skating, leaving me to my own devices for 24 hours before my next guests arrived.
Shannon and her friend Zack arrived the day after the boys left. Laundry was done and the only thing left was once again provisioning. I took them to the local grocery store to stock up on their favourite goodies before sailing further into the Exumas.
Once again we had to hang out in Nassau for a couple of days waiting for favourable weather conditions and on the day we'd planed to leave we found ourselves firmly aground on an extremely low tide. It wasn't anything urgent by any means, the bottom was just sand so all we could do was sit and wait for the tide to rise. Once free I moved Island Eclipse out into deeper water where I dropped the hook once again. The next morning we were underway by 830am and on our way back to Allen's Cay.... again. By this time I was very familiar with the anchorage, and I new all the Iguanas by name, but for Shannon and Zack it was all a very fresh experience. We were hanging out in the Cay until mid afternoon the next day swimming and exploring when we met another couple on a Whitby 42 who'd stopped in on their sail down to Shroud Cay, the northern most point in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. It was nice to buddy sail with someone familiar with the area so we followed them down the Exumas chain into the anchorage at Shroud Cay.
On our way into the anchorage we started up the engine to head up, bring down the sails and ready the boat to set the hook, all was going as planned until smoke started billowing out of the engine room vent. I quickly killed power to the ignition circuit once I realized what was going on. The ignition key had gotten stuck in the start position and in not returning to the run position left the pinion engaged in the running engine. As such, I believe the heat ignited the paper that separates the windings in the starter causing a small fire inside the motor. Once the engine cooled down I was able to evaluate the extent of the damage. Pooched was the best description I could muster up at the time.
With nothing to be done at the time, I called it a day and enjoyed the scenery. The next day we all went on a dinghy ride through the "lazy river", a small creek that wanders east to west through the island. It is an extraordinary place that afforded me my first opportunity to swim with sea turtles and small sharks. The creek terminated at a picturesque beach on the west side of the island, where fish, turtles and grey herrings abound, it was a wonderful place.
When we arrived at the beach, we all went our own separate ways for a while, exploring the hills, water and beaches in our own ways. I climbed to the top of the tallest hill on the island to a look-out spot. From there you could see far out into the vast Atlantic Ocean, past all the white sandy beaches and clear water into the vast abyss of the Atlantic Ocean. I stood there for a while both enjoying the moment and longing to share it with my family.
Our new cruising friends Carl and Nicole came over for dinner that night where we shared our sailing stories of both success and tragedy. We laughed the night away over good food and good company.
With a cold front moving in and heavy winds in the forecast Nicole and Carl continued south, leaving us to tend to our broken boat.
The starter was totally cooked and unrepairable, so I turned my attention to the generator in an attempt to get us charging again. I'd started reading the ops manual for the electrical side of the generator back in Wrightsville Beach when these problems first came up, so I had a basic idea what was wrong. Once I got it up and running I managed to recalibrate the desired voltage and dampen out the erratic hunting it had been doing. Once complete, the inverter/charger was able to play nice with the generator and efficiently charge the batteries back up to 95%.
I also had to fix the dinghy engine, that morning the pull cord had broken on my way over to Carl and Nicole's boat to mooch some internet and some connectors before they left. Not a difficult fix, just one more item for the must do immediately list!
By the end of the day both the genny and the dingy were back up and running ,allowing me to relax a little before the front moved in and started pummeling us. It would be one rough night until the wind clocked around to the east leaving us on the lee side of the island for the duration of the inclement weather.
The plan was to remain in Shroud Cay for the duration of the inclement weather before sailing back to Nassau for repairs. We could have sailed north, back to the protection of Highborn Cay for internet, but we decided to remain where we were and explore the nature we'd traveled so far to see.
For the first time since we'd arrived in Bahamas the humidity finally broke, no longer did the bedding, floor mats and towels feel damp to the touch. It made sleeping much more comfortable. If not for the howling wind and waves slapping violently on the hull, I would have slept wonderfully!
Thirty-six hours into the inclement weather the wind finally shifted east and the seas began to subside. We spent most of Sunday hanging out aboard, the wind was cool and the skies cloudy making a swim less pressing than the previous hot and humid days. Instead, I took the time to catch up my blog and relax while Shannon and Zack dinghied ashore in search of a fresh water spring located somewhere on the island.
The two adventurous souls returned from their exploration shortly before sunset with 10 gallons of water. They'd used my Katyden water filter/pump to transfer clean water from the well to the tanks, filtering out any contaminants before treating the water with chlorine. Although Island Eclipse is equipped with a built in charcoal water filter to purify the tank water on the way to the faucet, we didn't want to contaminate the main tank with microbial life so we added the chlorine to the tanks at the well. We let the tanks breath over night to allow some of the chlorine to evaporate before adding it to the boat's main water supply.
Island Eclipse is also equipped with a Spectra de-salinization plant capable of producing 9 gallons an hour, and although all the filters and membrane are new it still doesn't want to start. It's on my list of things to fix, but it keeps getting bumped further down by other pressing matters. I'll call the manufacturer once I've reestablished communications and see if we can't get it fixed.
It's now Monday January 22nd, Shannon and Zack are with me for another 5 days before heading home. At which time I'll have the boat to myself for almost two weeks before Deb and Henry return. I very much look forward to taking them adventuring when they arrive, but until then I've got no shortage of things to keep me busy. Shortly I'll be heading out to get some more water as we attempt to stay ahead of our consumption. The wind is still brisk from the east, but the sun is out and it's considerably warmer than it was yesterday. Once we get a couple of water runs done we'll slap on some wet suits and go for a swim down the lazy river, if we time it right, the tidal current will pull us through the heart of the island with little to no effort at all, allowing us to observe all the wonderous spectacles we may encounter!! I'll catch you all up when I get back!
It took forever to fill the water jugs using my little camping survivor, so by the time we were done the sun was fairly low in the sky, and clouds were rolling in. Zack and Shannon still wanted to explore up the nearest creek so we loaded the tanks aboard the dinghy and made our way deep into the marsh. The tide was still going up and we occasionally had to get out and push the dinghy through the shallow spots but we eventually made it to the eastern shores of the Cay.
The wet suit I was wearing didn't keep the wind off and I'd been sweating in it all afternoon, so by the time we were heading back to Island Eclipse I was freezing and very eager to get into some warm pajamas.
Grilled cheese and soup was all I could muster up the energy to make for dinner, and although it wasn't much of a spread it certainly hit the spot and warmed me to my soul. I packed our DVD player and a collection of movies for those chilly evenings without WIFI so we fired up "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" after dinner and relaxed into the cockpit to enjoy the movie.
**I'm going to start dating all my entries going forward. I'm only able to upload them intermittently and by dating them I can keep a consistent "tense" instead of switching back and forth, I hope.
Jan 23rd 2024.- The wind continued to blow this morning, my friends were eager to explore, but I was a little more reluctant after last nights chill. I didn't mind a break so I set them up with the dinghy and a map and sent them up to Norman's Cay to dive the airplane wreck and see all the beautiful fish.
I haven't yet found a site suitable to dive from Island Eclipse, the water around the reefs we've visited so far is shallow and only accessible by dinghy. I'm eager for the opportunity to try out the new dive hookah we picked up from Gator Gills in Florida but we need Island Eclipse's inverter to run the compressor. Until then it's just snorkeling. I have two full SCUBA tanks on deck, but I'm saving them for the right place. It's not easy to get tanks filled in the Bahamas so I want to make the most of them, and I'll be waiting for Henry to do that.
I took the afternoon to work on the engine, clean up and tidy the boat, and just enjoy some 'me' time. I also rigged a riding sail to stop the boat from sailing at anchor. In the end I didn't like the way it shook the rig violently at times so I took it down. I've also surmised that it's probably the windage of the life netting that's contributing to the problem, but I very much like the netting so sailing at anchor it will be.
Around 3pm while I ate my lunch in the cockpit I noticed a familiar boat not so far in the distance, It was my friend Jonathon from Lake Silvia and his Gulfstar 50.
He's also been cruising around solo while his girlfriend comes to visit every few weeks. He was also a little overwhelmed by the whole experience, between repairs, weather, and loneliness it was all a little daunting. I made an effort to reassure him that the learning curve boating is pretty steep and the repair list would slowly get shorter the further along he got. In other words I lied to him!! This is the life and it's not all play and no work. One of the first things I ask other boaters is how long their repair list was.. Today was no different, I jumped in Jonathan's dinghy and we zoomed into shore for some exploring On the way we stopped by another boat we'd happened across in our travels and they were no different. They were preparing to ascend the mast on their trailer-able tri-maran after blowing a cheek block on their lazy jacks. Lazy jacks are a main sail storage system of pre set lines used to gather the main sail when you drop it. They'd also had various other failures throughout their travels, the husband told me as his wife rolled her eyes! I turned to Jonathan and gestured to him as if to say, "see, it's not just us".
We hung out on the beach over some beers for a while, before returning to the boat Shannon and Zack had survived the adventure with much enjoyment but the dinghy hadn't faired so well. In what must have been a terrible swell the rubber anchor for the seat had torn from the tube leaving nothing left to attach the seat to. Yet another thing that will have to wait until I get home.
After dinner I headed over to Jonathan's boat, not before setting up Zack and Shannon with another movie, "Crazy Stupid Love" to keep them entertained. It was a nice surprise to see Jonathan agai,n so we continued to swap war stories over beers on his boat. Although very similar to Island Eclipse, Gone Away was a fair bit bigger, they share almost identical carpentry and cabin layout but she's a fair bit beamier and carries her beam fairly far aft, allowing for a third stateroom on the starboard side of the engine room. Fortunately for me Jonathan has Starlink, he shared his password with me and I was able to get on line, call home and respond to some emails.
It was nice to talk to both Deb and Henry to catch them up on recent events, as well as catch up on theirs. They say time apart makes the heart grow fonder, but I was quite fond of them already.
I noticed the cockpit light on Island Eclipse go out around 10pm, I hung out with Jonathan a little while longer before heading home to a quiet boat, I wasn't yet ready to retire so I fired up a movie to keep me engaged before slowly starting to drift.
It rained quite heavily overnight, fortunately for me I'd closed things up before hitting the pillow, so I didn't need to jump up and run around frantically closing things.
Wednesday 24th, 2024.- The winds continue to howl across the island this morning, the seas lay mostly flat in the lee side of the island but the winds continue to make the boat dance, tracking back and forth across the anchor. Jonathan is going to pick me up in his dinghy to go snorkeling after his kite boarding session, a sport I'm desperately eager to try once I've recovered a little more from my stroke. I'll learn on a calmer day than this one for sure!
Shannon and Zack are going to take our dinghy to the beach and do some snorkeling of their own today, it's a relief to be able to let them explore by themselves now that I've got a dive buddy of my own for a couple of days. Shannon and Zack just finished cooking up some lunch, we'll head out once we scarf back some grub! I'll catch you all up later, once we've been out adventuring!!
Jonathan and I returned to the lazy river for some exploring, and some diving. We took the dinghy all the way to the east beach, and rode the tidal current back to the anchorage. The current was whipping through at a couple of knots so there wasn't much actual swimming as we simply drifted with the dinghy.
In the cracks of the coral towards the mouth of the creek, the water was teaming with life. The small fish didn't stray to far from the protection of the reef. We'd hoped too see some more turtles on the way down the lazy river but the tidal current and stiff winds reduced the visibility so much so that we could have passed right over one and not have known. With that in mind we boarded the dinghy and made our way back to the boats.
Zack and Shannon arrived back at the boat not too long after me, just before sun set. We all pitched in to make dinner and catch each other up on our day's adventures. Following dinner, I set Shannon and Zack up with a movie, "Passengers" before heading over to Jonathan's boat for a beer and some internet.
Based on the weather, tomorrow looks like the best day to sail back to Nassau in order for Shannon and Zack to fly home. This will give me three days to provision, take on water, fuel and do laundry before catching Monday's stiff west breeze back to Shroud Cay. I let the crew know of the plans and we all set our alarms for 7am.
Thursday Jan 25th, 2024.- Zack was first into the kitchen this morning and had the kettle boiling by the time I dragged my butt out of bed. While he and Shannon made breakfast, I got busy readying the boat for sail. I secured all the jerry cans of fuel and water to the rail, stowed the dive gear and secured the cabin for a day on starboard, moving all lose items to port.
We got underway shortly before 8am, Shannon was at the wheel and Zack was tending the sails, while I pulled up the anchor. With no engine available to us we simply unfurled our sails, as we drifted out of the anchorage. We took up a north, north east course towards our first waypoint, where we turned east, setting ourselves up for a downwind run to Nassau's eastern anchorage.
We had following seas for most of the day, subtly diminishing as we grew closer to New Providence, it had been a beautiful day, a little rocky at times, as a following sea often is, but nothing to complain about. We saw very few boats on this passage other than a couple at the beginning of the day transiting the Exumas and one big Catamaran flying his chute on a similar heading as us. We were averaging 6.5 knots over most of the trip, putting us in Nassau shortly before 5pm. We wanted to be pretty conservative dropping the hook, in the event we dragged, without an engine I wanted lots of space to re-set the anchor. No one wants to wash up on the beach overnight. We'll be arriving shortly, hopefully our anchoring will be less eventful than it sounds, only time will tell that story!
True to form, the wind shifted and dropped off as we approached the anchorage. The last six miles of the trip, after the turn at Georgie's Point took another two hours. The sun was close to setting when we finely turned upwind, furled the sails back in and dropped the hook. Not worried about room, I played out 85' of chain as we drifted away from the hook With the tide coming in we had enough speed at the end to snap the bow up into the wind and hopefully set the anchor.
And with that, the days adventures had come to an end! Safely on the hook, after a long days sail without an engine on either end, it was a relief and a confidence boost going in to two weeks solo and engineless.
I dinghied Zack and Shannon ashore to the grocery store for some chicken for dinner, but there was none to be had. I've observed over my recent weeks that fresh groceries come in Thursday or Friday. Well I guess it's Friday. Instead, we took a ham out of the freezer and threw some slices on the barbeque, to go with the mashed potatoes and vegetables already on the stove.
We watched a movie after dinner before heading to bed reasonably early. There was lots to do tomorrow prior to my guests' departure. We had to fill the main water tank, all the empty fuel tanks, do laundry and grocery shop. Each time ashore is $10, so I'm on the clock until they depart.
Friday Jan 26th, 2024.- I was up around 7:30 this morning in an effort to get a head start on my day. After my morning tea, I got to work on the starter, on the off chance I'd just fried the solenoid I decided to take into a rebuilders to see if it was salvageable. Like most boat repairs, difficulty depends on "location, location, location", and although most of Fred's serviceable components are on the starboard side right in front of the door, the starter is not. It's buried on the far side, under the heat exchanger and behind the alternator. Yep the alternator that just found its happy place, has to be removed... yet again.
I disconnected the starter and alternator from the main positive bus before I started... this time. Knowing that things would be disassembled for a while I thought it best not to cut corners. Once I was no longer at risk of electrocution I dropped the alternator out of the way and performed the boat yoga maneuver "shoe horn" as I wedged myself between the front of the engine and the back of the generator across three boxes of fake beer in order to access the starter. After much aggravation and a significant amount of discomfort I moved into the boat yoga position "recovery". As I lay on my back on the floor of the companionway allowing blood to flow again, all I could thing of was the installation. How am I going to hang the starter and install the bolts at the same time? Being that the problem was two weeks away, I picked myself up and continued on with the day. The starter weighs about 35 lbs., a lot to carry in a back pack, oh hold on a minute I think I've done this already, walk forever with heavy stuff on my back. With that, we dinghied ashore. We also had all the jerry cans with us to fill at the gas station. Being full serve, I was able to leave the tanks at the station while we headed into town.
We tie up at Nassau Yacht Heaven Marina. As I mentioned, it's $10 a trip so we planned to make the most of it. I would have taken a cab but it starts $50 dollars for a tourist and comes down significantly when you say you'll walk. Not in a haggling mood it was going to be a walking day. When we got up by the grocery store I split up with Shannon and Zack so they could search for their own adventure.
Shortly after we split up I lost wifi, the Island Wifi hot spot I had with me suddenly lost connection leaving me without directions other than my best guess, so onward I went. On my way to the rebuilders I stopped by "The Ranfurly home for children" to see if they'd accept our donations. We'd brought a bunch of stuff with us for the Cuban children, but when the insurance forced a change in our itinerary we needed to find a new home for our donations. It was easy enough to find and they were eager to accept what we had. I made arrangements to come back tomorrow to drop everything off. A big bag of kids books donated by Henry and a dozen professional soccer balls I got from MLSE.
From there, it was off to the rebuilders. The sun was hot today and although I was prepared for the heat, the starter in my back packed weighed on me! My back was drenched in sweat so I put out my thumb and hoped for the best. Moments later a woman pulled over and gave me a ride the rest of the way, and the way back. She knew the owners of the rebuild shop so finding it was no problem. The young lady behind the counter was super nice and eager to get things fixed up for me. I left the starter and $35 for the inspection and headed back to the rally spot to meet up with Shannon and Zack.
The young lady giving me a lift was also very nice, I mean, she'd have to be, to pick up a stranger and drive him around town. Growing up in Nassau, she longed for it during her time in Atlanta for work. She decided to move back shortly before COVID, and has no regret about her decision.
I got back to our meeting spot a little earlier than expected, so I did some re-con in the store and I was right. Friday is fresh food day. I headed back outside and waited for my two amigos to arrive. Once they arrived we headed into the store to reap the spoils of our well planned visit. Tonight it would be boneless, skinless chicken breasts!! A much improved choice, over the thigh and leg pieces we'd bought when Teddy arrived. Once we'd grabbed what we needed, we headed back to the boat for what would be their last night aboard. Before heading back to the dinghy we stopped by the gas station to pick up the six jerry cans we'd dropped off. It took two trips but we managed to get them back to the dinghy, then back to Island Eclipse, along with the three of us and our stuff.
Zack and I continued to split the tank filling duties, waiting until dark to head to the fish market. I headed over first with the two empty cans. It's a bit of a height to climb up onto the pier, and a 50 yard walk to the hose. Those 50 yards sure get longer after each and every trip. 100 gallons of water is roughly 1000 lbs, so we'd be moving 1000 lbs, 100 lbs at a time over a combined distance of 500 yards. As you can well imagine it's a lot of work and an excellent reminder that conservation is a lot less work!
Once I'd finished my five trips I had Zack drop me off at a fellow Canadian boat to mooch some wifi as mine was still down. They were another lovely French Canadian couple on a Catamaran they'd purchased three years prior. This was their first time in Bahamas, after spending their previous winters in Guatemala. They'd sailed up to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, before jumping off and sailing cross the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida keys where they waited for a window to cross to Bimini.
When I got online I called Deb and investigated my wifi outage. The Island Wifi web page indicated that it was an isolated outage affecting Nassau, someone had severed the fiber optic cable to their main transmission tower and that there was no timeline for the repair. Not the best news, but also no surprise.
I stayed aboard for an hour or so, swapping horror stories of repairs and stressful moments, before heading back to Island Eclipse. It had already gotten pretty late by the time I got back so Zack and Shannon headed off to bed. I however stayed up a while longer planning tomorrow's events over a cold faux beer.
Saturday Jan 27th. It was again an early start, I still had lots to get done before I'd be solo. I had Zack run me ashore with the week's laundry and bedding, along with all of the donations for the Ranfurly children's home. It was a tremendous amount to carry but I strapped it all on my shoulders with some extra line and off I went. Still without wifi I had to make the best of my navigation and recall skills.
This time I jumped on a bus headed south towards the children's home. When I told the driver where I was going, he assured me I was on the right bus, and he'd be sure to see that I got to my destination. When we arrived at the children's home he pulled right into the driveway to drop me off, it was not my intention to impose on the other passengers that way but they seemed very supportive and thanked me for my donations.
I met with the woman from yesterday and she seemed genuinely surprised by my return. She was incredibly thankful for the donations and a little beside herself when I said I didn't need a receipt for the donations. She thanked me once again before I headed off on the next part of my pilgrimage. I
I "happened by" a McDonalds shortly after setting out from the children's home so I stopped in to use the wifi... and maybe buy a burger... While I ate my Big Mac I loaded the directions to the rebuilders on to my phone a well as call Deb to give her the low down on things.
Deb was unavailable at the time so I just downed my meal and headed out.
It was a two hour walk to the shop from the McDonalds and I only had to ask for directions twice. It seems that without wifi the routing app I was using defaults to a no wifi message stranding me once again without directions. Fortunately I had the address and two good feet to get me there.
By the time I arrived I was feeling pretty bagged, I must have looked it because the young lady behind the counter served me up a cold bottle of water while I waited. The tech showed me what he'd found, a charred melted, and completely unsalvageable husk of a starter. He had a replacement one that I'd have to Gerry rig to fix but it was $400 more than a direct replacement from American Diesel. So it would be. Solo sailing for the next two weeks without an engine. It is what it is, and with that I left them the remains and began my long walk back. Fortunately the tech came out and set me up with a ride back, so my feet would get a break... for now!
I had the driver drop me off at the coin laundry, only they dropped me off at a different one than I was used to using. It was about the same price, but they had no seats, TV or other luxury the other location afforded. How would I catch up on my Gilligan's Island if I couldn't watch the black and white re-runs like the other laundry? Oh well, I'd have to make do.
Two hours later I was all done. Clothes, bedding and towels were all fresh, folded and ready for transport, and although I had a rough idea where I was, my internal compass got the heading wrong and I ended up walking the long, long, long way back to the boat.
By the time I arrived home, Zack and Shannon had already departed for the airport, they'd left the dinghy tied up at Yacht Heaven as arranged along with the water jugs, which I filled at the marina before heading back. It was nice to have the boat to myself again, I made my bed and tidied up a bit before heading back to the fish market for more water. So far there was roughly 90 gallons in the tank. I needed one more trip to fill the tank and one more trip to leave the the two jerry cans on deck full. I'd like to take a long hot shower as well so that would be one additional trip in order to indulge.
On my last trip back from the market I stopped by another boat to make some friends and mooch some more wifi, just enough to follow the weather and call Deb. They're sailing a 'new to them' Oday 34 out of Maryland. They'd been island side a month or so longer than us but they're calling it early on account of their sick dog's deteriorating condition. They'd been having a good time but they'd also encountered the similar rough days we all do, ones that test your resolve and push you to the brink. We hung out for about and hour or so before calling it an evening. I headed back to Island Eclipse to wind down and head to bed... In my own bed!!
Saturday Jan 28th - I slept well, the noise of jet skis, and wake slapping of the hull woke me up around 9am. I got up, checked the battery monitor and put on my tea. before changing into some shorts.
I headed up on deck to check the bridal and get a read on the day's weather. I'd like to charge up the batteries today, and heat some water for a shower. I wonder how Barney's feeling this morning? I hope he's up for a working day, his mood is always questionable until I flip the switch, so I'll leave you all in suspense while I go and see...
Well my friends, things couldn't have gone better, Barney started up first try, so I managed to get the batteries back up to 95%, as well as heat up the water for a hot shower. I spent a little time chatting with the neighbours before cooking up some dinner and watching some Netflix. Although Island Wifi is still not in service, I've been able to connect to our neighbour's Starlink to get caught up on emails and such, hopefully it's not a sustained outage as my new friends are heading out as soon as the incoming weather passes through.
Now I'm off to fill the water tanks before the wind picks up, then I'll probably watch another episode of Sex Education before heading to bed. Catch up with everyone tomorrow! Thanks for reading.
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