It's never just the one thing...

Posted from 26deg 35.5'N, 77deg 00.5'W, Man-O-War Cay, The Bahamas

Another guest post by Andy, remaining as Head Bilge-Cleaner and Chief of Anchor Hauling until Wednesday.

We stayed at Green Turtle Cay for an extra night, because we were enjoying the little island and the Island Roots Heritage Festival so much. I got some photos and even a video of Steve and Jan dancing to a Calypso band, so I'll make sure those get on the internet ASAP.

The passage from Green Turtle Cay (pronounced "key", by the way, you lubber) to Great Guana Cay necessitates going outside the barrier islands for a short jaunt, but the two passages in and out of the Sea of Abaco can be treacherous if the wind and current are opposing. We were a little nervous about banging in to some serious wave action since it was blowing about 25 knots, but the passage was uneventful and ended up being a very nice sail.

You may have noticed that I added a title for myself-- "Chief of Anchor Hauling". Well, for some reason, our windlass has stopped working. We noticed this on Saturday morning, and it fell to me to hand-over-hand the 80 feet of 3/4 inch chain and 60lb Bruce anchor. Generally, this isn't all that big a problem-- especially when lowering the anchor: you motor over the spot where you want to drop it, and gradually back down as you release the chain. Same, really, with weighing the anchor-- motor over the top of the thing, and hold in position as Andy hauls up the hook. Both of these require the motor. And Andy.

So, yesterday, as we were taking down our sails and getting ready to head in to Great Guana Cay, our motor quit. Andy threatened to quit, too, but was persuaded to hang around for a few more days. Where was I going to go, anyway? My flight isn't until Wednesday. (And, incidentally, the dinghy has a slow leak. Seriously. We can't get the patch to hold.)

Anyway, we conclude the problem lies with the water impeller, which cools the motor and requires a several hour repair-- and it's getting dark. So, now it's blowing 25 knots, and we have no motor or anchor windlass. Fortunately, we're resourceful and seamanlike people, so we don't need no stinking motor. We'll sail in to a crowded anchorage, full of very expensive boats and judging eyes, point Mystique head-to-wind, and coast right up to the perfect spot, where we'll drop our anchor and take down the sails, drifting back to the ideal spot for the night while the other boats cheer and toast us with champagne. Or whatever it is that rich people toast with. The consequences of messing this up are a bit severe, as you might imagine if you can imagine a boat without steerage drifting back through a field of anchored boats like a pinball.

All that makes a nice story, but, I must say we pulled it off admirably. Or, at least tolerably well. We didn't hit anything, is what I mean, and I figure that's sort of the goal of this whole thing. Don't hit stuff, and we didn't.

At least, not until about an hour ago, when we touched gently with the sandbar guarding the entrance to the harbor where we're currently swinging idly from a mooring. Which is nice, because my back is sore. And if you're going to hit something, sand is a good option.

In other big news, the wind is expected to clock to the South tonight and die to "light and variable" from the steady 25 we've been seeing, which is good and bad in a sailboat, depending on if you are going somewhere, or you're there already. Since we're here, and the motor works again thanks to a swap of the impeller, I'll call it good news.

My G 'n T is calling--

Andy

PS!! Check out the new post with the map!