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The Thorny Path to Windward

Year after year, cruisers like ourselves sail south from the East Coast of the U.S. and make our way toward the Caribbean. We brave the swells, storms, currents and Trade Winds planning our every move around weather windows. The North Coast of the Dominican Republic is by far the roughest leg of the journey and many often sail right past it jumping off from Turks and Caicos and arriving in Puerto Rico.

We decided to take what old salts like to call the “Thorny Path to Windward” fighting the cape effects and coastal acceleration sailing dead into the wind as we make our way East. We followed Van Sant’s guide, or what he likes to call the “Thornless Path to Windward,” all the way across the North Coast of the DR and we are forever grateful for his wealth of knowledge. Most helpful was his suggested itinerary for departure and arrival times at various points along the coast. With a few minor tweaks on the departure times, Van Sant’s itinerary saved us from getting beat up on the near 300nm journey from Luperón to Puerto Rico.

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Ready to say good bye to Luperón, Peter and I went into town one last time to get our despacho before the Navy building closed at 5pm. The DR is very strict about being cleared in and out of each port of call, inspecting yachts in transit for any illegal stowaways. We made sure to ask the officials to document that our next stop would be the next major port of call, Samana. It’s okay to stop along the way for weather and resting, but any officials we might have encountered would need to see that we were properly cleared out of Luperón and our next destination is recorded as still within the country. If we had declared that our next stop would be Puerto Rico, but we had stopped again along the DR coast, we would have been checked out of the country already and in a heap of trouble with the local authorities. If we don’t stop at Samana, it’s no big deal. Puerto Rico doesn’t care to see the despacho at all.

The Navy officials were willing to process our paperwork at 4:30pm since we told them we were leaving within the hour. If we were not going to leave right away, they wanted us to wait until the next day and come back to get our despacho then. Conveniently, the officer was not able to get ahold of anyone that could come out to inspect our boat since everyone had gone home already. He processed our despacho, shook our hands and sent us on our merry way.

Peter and I had no intention of leaving at 6:00 in the evening, knowing the Trade Winds were surely still piping outside the harbor with less than friendly seas pummeling across the entrance. Didn’t they know who Bruce Van Sant was? He lives in Luperón for crying out loud!! Hadn’t they dealt with thousands of other cruisers following Mr. Van Sant’s recommendation to leave at 4am? Apparently not.

Around 2:00 am I untied the lines and made my way out to the bow with a spot light. Peter carefully motored through the mooring field navigating around the mud shoals as I shined the light on approaching boats and vacant mooring balls. The twinkling of anchor lights in the harbor pierced the thick darkness of the night blending in with the stars up above. The flat calm waters quickly disappeared as we followed our tracks back out through the channel. The waves grew bigger and bigger.

Just then, in the darkness behind us, I saw a light. It was a small boat with several men in it and they were headed right for us. Their outboard motor was at full speed and they were going over the waves almost vertically. Not a single one of them spoke English. They were screaming at us and telling us to turn around. It was 2am in the darkest of nights with huge waves coming straight toward us and we happened to be in the narrowest part of the channel. With a cliff to our starboard and a dangerous shoal to our port, they insisted that we turn around that instant, not even a little bit further.

I quickly scrambled down below and grabbed our despacho and held it with two hands out the side of our cockpit trying to show the men that we had clearance to leave that day. They were very suspicious and tried to board our boat. I waved the despacho at them again, reaching my arms as far as they could go without falling out of the boat. I was trying to block their entrance to board us while showing them we had valid documentation. Thank God I had it in a clear plastic sleeve (like the kind we used to use for book reports in elementary school). The waves were slamming up against the boat spraying saltwater everywhere. They took it from my hands to examine it closer. The men were on radios trying to reach someone. Peter was busy trying to navigate the boat so he couldn’t pay attention to what they were saying. The dogs were barking, the wind was howling, the waves were crashing against the cliffs and we were relying solely on our chartplotter and radar. It was quite possibly the scariest moment we’ve had so far.

After Peter got the boat turned around he attempted to idle in the tiny area the current had pushed us towards. Anyone that has a Whitby knows these boats DO NOT turn or back up, especially in tight places, and with 3-4′ waves pummeling the beam. What seemed like 20 minutes later, they let go of the side of our boat and in a confusion of broken Spanish, they finally told us it was okay. “Adios?” I screamed. “Si, Si, Adios!” they chuckled back.

Were they absolutely insane??? That was the worst possible moment to approach and tell us to turn around. Peter’s excellent Captain skills got us out of that mess safely, but it sure was scary.

We arrived in Sosua around 7am on May 2nd after taking advantage of the calmer night lee winds. After 8am is when the winds really pick up and we took Van Sant’s advice and made sure we were securely anchored before then. We dropped the hook inside a reef with waves breaking just 200′ from the boat. That may seem like a good distance but when 8′ waves are breaking on either side of you, it’s kind of unnerving. There weren’t any options for staying out further due to a significant dropoff past the reef. Van Sant had also said to not travel or anchor here in a North swell but in order to make an amazingly calm 3-day window for crossing The Mona Passage, we had to traverse the DR coast on a schedule.

Music blared from the beach all day and vacationers zipped around on a huge inflatable banana towed by a little fishing boat. Paddleboarders were surfing the shore breaks and kids were swimming in the shallows. We tried to get a little rest during the day in preparation for the next departure later that night.

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We rounded Cabo Macoris in the middle of the night and made short tacks inside the lee of Cabo Frances Viejo stopping off at Rio San Juan the morning of May 3rd. This part of our journey was pretty uneventful, motorsailing all night and sleeping all day.

The swell wasn’t as bad in the old fishing village of Rio San Juan but we still left our mizzen sail up while were anchored behind several old fishing boats. Having the mizzen sail up keeps us pointed into the wind and significantly reduces the amount of rocking back and forth from the relentless North swell funneling in to the anchorages on the North Coast.

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We left Rio San Juan around 9pm that night knowing we would be fighting the Equatorial Current around Cabo Frances Viejo and wanted to clear the cape well before 8am the next morning. We kept with our current schedule of planning the next arrival for 8 or 9 am before the winds picked up.

The shores of Bahia Escocesa led us to what Van Sant calls Puerto Escondido, tucked inside a gorgeous hillside of mountains and cliffs. This would be our last stop before crossing The Mona Passage the following day.

A SAILING Experience: Bahamas to Turks and Caicos

Monday morning 4.21 we pulled anchor at 8am in George Town after making breakfast, coffee and getting through our morning routine with the dogs. SV Krow was about 20 minutes ahead of us. We navigated out of the harbor south from San Dollar Beach and watched anxiously as Krow’s mast flung wildly back and forth like a metronome as they made their way into Exuma Sound. If the waves were rocking a 50′ Valiant that much, we would surely be experiencing more action than that very soon.

Previously satisfied with the way everything was stowed below deck, I did one more sweep of the entire boat to triple check that nothing would go flying. The dogs were happy and looking around. Peter put us on course to the northern tip of Long Island.

2-3′ seas and 10-12 knots carried us away into Exuma Sound on a beam reach with all sails up. The motor was off and all was great.

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Rounding the northern tip of Long Island got a bit scary. The winds picked up to 15-20 knots with gusts of up to 25. The seas quickly grew to a relentless army of 5′ waves with the next charging at us right after the last as we traveled downwind. Another reminder that “when it’s time to reef, it’s too late”…

Sailing in conditions like this is new to us and we had a heck of a time getting the boat back under control and getting the sails down. 5′ following seas in 20 knots was just too much for us to keep any sails out that day so we turned the engine on, pointed straight into the pummeling waves to get the main and mizzen tied down. Peter had to bring them both down by himself since there was no way our autopilot was going to let me get away from the helm. It took every ounce of concentration I had to keep us dead center into the waves. As each one crashed over the bow my knuckles grew whiter and whiter. Peter was out on deck doing a fantastic job tying up the sails despite the stormy conditions. The whole ordeal took us about half an hour.

We were finally ready to fall off the wind and make a 180-degree turn to port. Mary Christine flung around like a ragdoll as we got back on course. The smallest slip of the hand or over-correction of the wheel would push us back broadside to the waves as she yearned to point dead into the wind. Every second had to be anticipated. All afternoon we held our compass heading and steered by our peripheral vision watching the rolling waves sweep under our stern gushing toward the bow.

Of course it wouldn’t be a passage if our fishing lines weren’t out. The zinging of the reel quickly changed our mood from high anxiety to bubbling with excitement. We landed our first Mahi Mahi while aboard the Mary Christine. It as about 20 lbs, not too bad! Somehow the fear fo the 5′ waves slowly disappeared as I helped Peter filet the fish on deck. The autopilot held well enough now that the winds had died down a bit. This fish would give us 5 meals each with plenty left for the dogs.

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That night as the sun went down, we pulled further and further away from Long Island towards the Crooked Islands. The swell grew and the waves rose from 5′ to 8-10′. Eyeballing the steering was no longer an option as darkness engulfed the boat. I couldn’t see the waves sweep underneath us anymore which meant we had to rely strictly on our instruments and feeling the waves. At 5′ it was hard to “feel” our way downwind. Luckily, our course happened to be dead on downwind all night long.

We slept in shifts, sometimes two hours and sometimes three. We held our shift until we couldn’t stay awake anymore. Staring at a chartplotter in the dark is a little like driving on a lonely county road at night. Boredom sets in and it becomes hard to see with tired eyes.

As the sun came up the next morning the seas were much calmer. The gentle rolling of the ocean surface rocked us slowly. The weather was perfect with moderate winds and sunshine on our shoulders. All three sails went up and we made great time. We were just far enough away from our buddy boat SV Krow to not be able to see anyone or anything all around us. The overwhelming feeling of peace and serenity set in. The wind filled our sails and the sun kissed our faces. Mary Christine glided through the waves effortlessly and silently. All that could be heard was the cool ocean spray refracting off the bow. The water was a rich blue, so crisp and powerful.

The coast of West Caicos grew closer. Our friends on SV Krow took the northern cut to Provo. We anchored in solitude tucked inside the Southwest Reefs. The exhaustion of the completed passage wore on and we were fast asleep for a few hours of rest before continuing on to the Dominican Republic later that evening.

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There is something so incredibly enchanting about being on a boat in the middle of an ocean. It was just Peter and I out there, free from all the troubles and worries back on land, free from rules and free from the standards of society as we know it. There is so much more out there to discover and experience. The world is a beautiful place and what better time in our lives to feel the joy that sailing off into the sunset brings us!! Dreams really do come true!!

 

The Exumas: New adventures, Private Beaches and Bull Sharks

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Anchored off of White Cay, Berry Islands

Peter and I have been enjoying our time in the Bahamas immensely. It’s hard for both of us to believe we’ve been cruising for only a little over a month. It feels like an eternity ago that we started gearing up for this adventure but the reality is, only 7 months have passed since we first laid our eager eyes on S/V Mary Christine (previously S/V Hey Jude). It’s even harder for us to grasp the fact that this is only the beginning! There is no end in sight to this dream as we make our way through the Bahamas heading south through the Eastern Caribbean and over to Central America.

After Josh and Leah’s departure we took some time to regroup, reorganize and recharge ourselves while sitting comfortably at the dock in Yacht Haven Marina, Spanish Wells. After the weather gave way, our travels took us southwest to the Fleeming Channel. We spent the night at anchor near the channel and awoke the next morning for a gorgeous sail to the Exumas.

Knowing we would be dodging marked and unmarked coral heads, it was imperative that the sun be directly overhead for the second half of the trip. Some of the cruising guides tell of boats making crazy turns back and forth for seemingly no reason at all. This would be a sure sign of lurking coral heads below the surface. On a sunny day you can see them from a few hundred feet away. I lathered on some sunscreen around my favorite bikini, grabbed my polarized sunglasses, a hat and some water, then made my way up to the bow to stand watch. Peter kept eyes on the Garmin chartplotter and Navionics iPhone app for the known coral heads as I called out the unmarked ones. I was a little more nervous about it than I needed to be. After passing a few, we realized there wasn’t much to it. Most of them had plenty of depth to the waterline although we had heard they can be as shallow as 3′ from the surface. There was more overcast than we would have liked which caused us to miss one of the coral heads until we were already going over it. No damage done thank goodness :)

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Gunner loves standing watch from the highest point he can reach

Hard to tell where the water ends and the sky begins… It was a gorgeous and mystical day. The stillness around us felt like we were in a time warp, slowing floating along.

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Peter is always catching something when our trolling lines are out, pretty much every time we move to a new anchorage :) Another tasty mutton snapper got filleted up on deck while under way.

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(**UPDATE** Click ‘HERE‘ for more photos of our journey across Fleeming Channel! The were misplaced at the time of this post)

We arrived at Ship Channel Cay and anchored for the night. This easy pace of life sure is spoiling us. It’s times like these where I tell myself, “I could get used to this,” but wait… I am getting used to this!

The next day we went snorkeling with the Air Line to see what we could see. After the small engine was all set up, hoses uncoiled and the dinghy prepared to tow behind us, Peter and I took a look around underwater. My LifeProof case allowed me to snap a few pics.

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Can you see the school of barracuda??

There was a lurking school of smallish barracuda checking us out. A little creepy, but they didn’t bother us.

We were very much alone out here. No other boats were anchored nearby. A guidebook recommended one of the nearby rocks for diving. There was a slight dropoff just beyond where the visibility stopped beyond the rock. Peter likes to go scope out the dropoffs to see what kind of big fish might be hanging out there. The thing about searching for big fish is that there is often BIGGER fish lurking nearby.

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I was busy looking around when suddenly Peter grabbed my arm and shoved me toward the dinghy. We had previously agreed on hand gestures for things like BOAT, LOBSTER, SHARK and NURSE SHARK, but he wasn’t giving me anything… just a terrified look in his eyes that I could clearly make out through his goggles, along with a sense of urgency that I don’t get from him often. His air hose appeared to be okay, and so did mine. I didn’t see any boats or anything else around us. Without further hesitation, I grabbed onto his shoulders and swung myself behind him kicking as fast as my flippers would take me.

In moments like this there isn’t much room for imagination. I had one thing on my mind and that was getting out of the water as fast as I could. I still didn’t see anything so I hopped up into the dinghy with a boost from my fins. Once my arms and legs were safely inside the safety of the dinghy I called out to Peter asking him what was going on. He didn’t move as fast as I had, but he was making his way back to where I was and finally got himself out of the water too.

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Peter has fish eyes and can see farther than most underwater. The visibility back in San Diego was usually a murky 10-15 inshore on a good day so his eyes have been trained to spot the monster halibut and other creatures of the sea he has been spearing for years.

About 40 feet from where we were swimming here in the Exumas, Peter had just seen a bull shark at least 8′ long and 500-600 pounds. It was just on the edge of the dropoff and just barely within his visibility, lurking into the blue. It was an unmistakably large, dark, stormcloud-gray figure with a smokey-white underbelly. It’s big strong head and stout body glided through the water as if it weren’t even moving a muscle. It knew we were there long before Peter saw the shark. We were in his reef and although it wanted nothing to do with us, it was clearly scoping us out.

Peter was pretty messed up by the experience for a few days. Even I had a bad dream about a shark brushing up against me that night. We probably would have had a great time snorkeling even if we didn’t see the shark but better safe than sorry and we moved on to shallower waters.

Our next destination was outside Allen’s Cay for protection from a small weather system moving through. The current was pretty strong but we made sure to stay away from the larger group of boats anchored in there. Right as we had pulled in we saw a sailboat drift back and nearly hit the catamaran anchored behind him. We wanted no part of that holding so we moved up and around a bit away from everyone else. Allen’s Cay is where most cruisers go to see the wild iguanas of the island. Peter and I weren’t too interested so we tended to boat projects and stayed cozy during the blow.

We moved on the next day to an anchorage on the north side of the rocks at Highbourne Cay. Winds clocked up to 30 knots and we swung around in circles all night. The wind generator was cookin but it didn’t make for a very comfortable sleep. The forecast we had didn’t match the wind and wave direction we got, but we stuck it out til morning. Our delta anchor has been taking good care of us.

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We checked out the beach on that side and where the water meets the sand it was a beautiful clear blue. The puppies were happy to go for a ride and do a little exploring. They sure love the dinghy!

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Later that day the wind was still a bit chilly when it came time for our solar showers on deck. We were the only boat there so it wasn’t for privacy that we had to rig up some towels, but rather for protection from the wind. Deck showers are fun but I’m really not a fan of being soaking wet with cold wind.

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Highbourne Cay Marina was a one-night stay. We knew it would be expensive, but we were also hoping for free wifi since we didn’t have our local Bahamas sim  card yet. Not the case… It’s a $15/day charge to access satellite based wifi for connection with only one device, and it was terribly slow!! There were a lot of big boats in there. Definitely not the kind of place we would stay for long, but it was a nice break after the 30 knot winds tossing us around the night before.

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The nurse sharks swarmed here too, just as they do at most marinas in the Bahamas, next to the fish cleaning stations as the fishermen throw in their scraps. It’s quite a sight to see. There were three bulls sharks that came in to see what all the commotion was about and we distinctly noticed them as they lurked around the edge where the nurse sharks were. Their shape gave them away along with their constant motion. The crazy part is that there were kids swimming just on the other side of the jetty, just a few hundred yards away!!!! The marina here even has shark netting around their designated swim area. I guess these people didn’t care?

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Hawksbill Cay was secluded and pretty. We took the paddle boards over to a quiet beach where the mangroves crept up a stream. This adventurous man of mine decided to follow it up as far as he could looking for a spring. No luck though.

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Gunner and Betsy guarded the boat while we were gone exploring. If you saw them roaming free on deck would you come any closer? :) Gunner’s bark can be rather annoying at times but they definitely let us know when someone is even remotely getting close to our boat. Good dogs.

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The end to another picture perfect day… we really are living the dream!

So this is paradise…

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Spanish Wells brings a wish Farewell to our Crew

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Monday 2.24 around 4am we pulled up the anchor and headed for Spanish Wells. It was a perfect quiet sail the whole way. The dogs even got to enjoy a nap soaking up the sun. Suddenly, we slowed down to 4 knots with all sails out as we approached a small dark storm cloud.

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Just as we passed underneath it on the outside, the winds picked up to 15 knots and began pushing us with incredible speed. The GPS clocked a whopping 8.5 knots!!! That is WAYYYY fast for us! It was pretty cool because we weren’t hardly heeled over at all but still smokin’ fast!!

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As we passed under the dark nasty sky we watched the dozens of funnel clouds appear and minutes later, disappear. A few of them turned into water spouts. We were just far enough away to feel safe :)

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This system pushed us in all the way to Royal Island where we anchored. There were a few other boats anchored in there already. We took our deck showers, got the BBQ started and settled in for the evening.

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While we were looking at an overview of the islands of the Bahamas, we saw this:

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Looks like a dolphin to us!

The next day (Tuesday 2.25) we made the short trip over to Spanish Wells and pulled into Yacht Haven Marina. The docks are a bit rickety and there is a bunch of construction going on but they have water (city), power, wifi and showers. I haven’t been spending much time with the wifi here as we’re busy with boat projects and cleaning up. It’s kind of nice to stay unplugged even when the option is there to reconnect via internet. It’s a small town here of around 2000 people. The local accent is predominantly British sounding and almost all the cars are driven from the right side. They drive on the left side of the tiny streets and most of the locals drive golf carts everywhere. There is three or four restaurants here, a grocery store, a couple small markets and some ‘take-away’ snack-shack type places.  The birds are chirping and there is green grass in their tiny yards. The streets are clean and everyone is very respectful with their trash. Locals are very kind and welcoming here. Very different from the other Bahamian places we’ve visited so far.

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Coconuts in almost every front yard!!!

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Here’s the view as you walk just a few blocks to the other side of the island approaching the beach:

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They say Eleuthera is where you can find pink sand beaches.  They really are pink here! No filters on these photos…

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We think this is another deep blue hole of some sort. It’s marked off with buoys.

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What a nice way to carry groceries back home!

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My new pink sand beach background photo on my phone…

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Simply Paradise <3

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House on the beach in the Bahamas? Yes please!!!! How cute is this place? Its actually for rent as a vacation home for a couple hundred a night.

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There was a cannon ball sitting in the yard of this beach house. Lots of history here…

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Can you see the bananas? …

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Wednesday night (2.26.14) was Josh and Leah’s last evening with us before heading back home to San Diego. We all went out to dinner at The Shipyard restaurant. Fantastic meal and even better ambiance.

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We’re sad to see them go. It was nice having some extra hands on deck as well as great company exploring the Bahamas. We hope they found an appreciation and understanding of the blood, sweat and tears it takes to live the cruising lifestyle that we’ve chosen. Now Josh and Leah have a glimpse of what our new life will be like as we take our floating home with us to some of the most beautiful places on Earth!

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This is only the beginning for us. We’ve been cruising since February 2nd, just a short month ago, and there are still so many adventures ahead. Please be sure to follow along and let us know when your travel plans will put you Where The Coconuts Grow!!

Leave a comment with thoughts or questions… we love to hear from you!!

More mechanical challenges in Little Whale Cay

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Wednesday 2.19.14 Gunner went potty again on deck first thing in the morning! Two mornings in a row!! Hooray! We prepared to boat for two hours down from White Cay to Little Whale Cay. When the engine turned over, the alternator belt started to squeal. We had heard it once before but this time it didn’t go away. Peter shut the engine off and went to check the belt.

What’s broken this time? The arm for the alternator!! If the issue had been the belt or the alternator itself, we could have easily replaced it with spares that we are carrying but in this situation the arm is attached to the engine and was bent so far it was rubbing on the fly-wheel. Luckily, the previous owner Steve was a master woodworker and had installed a vice on the inside of the engine room door. The guys took the alternator arm off, put it in the vice and then bent it back into place. The screw was put back in and Peter used some hose clamps to secure the cracked arm as a temporary fix. Success!! This could have been a major, major problem but with a little DIY ingenuity Peter was able to get us up and running once again.

As the rule goes, you can’t finish one boat project without starting another one. When Peter was climbing around in the engine room he started tracing the leak we have been dealing with the last week. At first, we thought it was from the anti-siphon hose on the generator. Then, we thought it could have been related to a leaking thruhull. Maybe it was a deck drain. Finally Peter found the culprit. There is a leak in the main engine exhaust hose somewhere between the engine room and the stern. He replaced two hose clamps and it appears to be doing the trick. Another project checked off ever-growing list!

The good news is that we had a nice sail down from White Cay to Little Whale. We topped out at 7.3 knots. WooHoo! Tucking in at Little Whale was smooth. The water was calm as soon as we crossed through the channel. The anchor held good, the wind generator cranked quietly all night and we got some much-needed rest.

The cruising lifestyle is definitely not for everyone. There are many challenges, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. It requires a tremendous amount of teamwork and communication for everyone to be on the same page. While it may put a strain on some relationships, it’s also a great way to bring people together very quickly. We’ve been moving incredibly fast over the last three weeks, stopping only as long as we need to, waiting on weather. We’re glad to be in the Bahamas but its time to slow things down. The surf, sun and sand will still be there when we arrive at the next place. We need to work a little more on our serenity right where we are :) On a lighter note, Gunner peed on the astro turf two more times that same day!! He finally gets it, we hope.

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Thursday 2.20 we woke up early for the first time today and listened to the Chris Parker weather forecast. It’s a good thing he broadcasts on several different frequencies at several different times. Waking up at 6am for the first report isn’t exactly easy for us! Coffee was made, Leah got a load of laundry done and we made some water. Josh and Peter took the dinghy over to the small private marina next to us in Little Whale Cay and talked with the caretakers that live there. They had a few small items we could purchase but there was no store to reprovision from or get any groceries here. Waiting on weather, we decided to head south further to Chub Cay where they had wifi and hopefully a few services like restaurants, groceries and showers.

This little guy washed up on our decks during the sail down to Chub and I found him trying to go down our deck drain:

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We spent a couple of nights in Chub Cay Marina but it was ridiculously overpriced. $4.50 a foot!! The boats in there were all massive yachts and decked out fishing boats. There was another tournament going on so we were just about the smallest boat there. The docks were beautiful, extra wide floating concrete. Definitely the fanciest docks we’ve been to so far. It was a crazy sight to see with all the underwater lights at night and monster boats all around us.

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There was only one restaurant there which was actually terrible and crazy expensive. The small market had a few overpriced items but nothing worth buying. Luckily we talked to the two other cruiser boats and they told us to go down the dirt road just a bit and at the end of the green building there is a lady named Dretha that will sell us fresh bread, eggs, soda, hamburger meat and even cook lunch or dinner for us! We sat outside her house at the picnic bench and had some pretty tasty burgers and fries for about $6 a plate. The showers were super gross and super far away. I had to ask them to bring some toilet paper over because both of the restrooms were out. There were ants and no-see-ums everywhere. The power was a flat rate per day and the water was .50/gallon but it was good RO water (reverse osmosis) instead of city water so we could actually drink what we put into our tanks. We got some laundry done, filled both water tanks and relaxed a bit. Josh and Leah went exploring with the paddle boards and checked out some of the vacant houses on the beach. It was like a ghost town there! So many huge vacation homes but no people in them. Not exactly somewhere I would care to come back to either.

After two nights in the marina we spent two nights outside the channel at anchor waiting for the next window to cross to the Berry Islands. We had to use a stern anchor to keep us pointed into the swell to ease up a bit on all the rocking and rolling there. Leah and I got some sun while Peter and Josh went diving. Gunner just couldn’t help himself and had to come lay right between us up on the bow. He’s a momma’s boy who sure loves the sun!!

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One night we took the dinghy up the shallow channel that crosses to the other side of the island to check out the sunken boats, rays, conch and all the starfish. With a little bravery, I dipped my iPhone under the water’s surface to get some cool pics of the huge rays. That Lifeproof case really does hold up well!! No issues at all. If you remember from an earlier post, we already tested our cases out to the max and they held their weight in gold.

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