Spanish Wells

  Just a quick note today. We left our anchorage just off of Lynard Cay this morning at 7:30 after a nice breakfast consisting of a corned beef hash omelet, toast and hot coffee.
  Big swells passing through the Little Harbour Cut and they didn't let up once on our over five hour crossing past "Hole In the Wall" on the southern tip of Great Abaco and then on to Ridley Head, just on the northern tip of Eleuthera, a total of 51 miles.
  The waves were on our port quarter bow and fairly consistent, and we were only ringing the ships bell on every fourth one or so.
  We only passed one sailboat going the opposite way of us, but we saw three sailboats way off in the distance when we finally spotted land as we approached Eleuthera.
 

  We wanted to go on the hook, but the wind is going to be nasty when the cold front moves in Monday night, or early on Tuesday, so when we cruised by the local mooring field and saw nearly all of the only eight moorings already taken, we called on the VHF and got assigned a mooring for $20 per night.
  We are in a tight little mooring field and the sailboat next to us is pretty close. We got the "hands on the hips" treatment as we tied up, but our mooring harness is as tight as we can get it. The other guy's isn't.
  I said hello to our neighbor and told him I'd be monitoring the radio if he saw a problem. He seems nice enough, and said that he has a spotlight he uses to get the attention of other boaters. I told him that the spotlight will be hard for me to see when I'm sleeping.
  Tomorrow we'll make our trip to BaTelCo to see about getting Internet back on our iPad. I missed having it today.
  We also still have an overheating issue on the starboard engine. Either we picked up more debris in the starboard sea strainer since I cleaned it out in Port Lucaya, or there is another issue. I'll have to look into it tomorrow. I'll check the circulating water pump belt and then the raw water impeller. If I have to call out the cavalry, there is a good boatyard here. This has been a full day, so none of these things are happening for the time being.
  A pork roast has been simmering in the crockpot all day. (Ever use a crockpot when you had to use a bungy cord on the lid?)  When we ladle the pork over the egg noodles we're going to cook up later, we'll have a feast. We'll add a bottle of wine we bought in Marsh Harbour and then maybe shoot some bottle rockets over toward the neighboring sailboat if things get too quiet.

Hope Town and Pete's Pub

  As soon as we left Harbour View Marina I heard a distress call on VHF 16. A boat was sinking nearby and there was a request for assistance. Even though the boat sinking was eight miles away, I decided to try to help once I cleared the harbor, but by time I got out to where I could put the boat on plane, there was already help on the scene and all vessels were told to "stand down". The person making the distress call was hard put to describe his location, initially making it hard for anyone to come to his aid. Things to remember.
  Our cruise over to Elbow Cay and Hope Town was a short one, only a few miles. Hope Town Harbour is small, and is mostly mooring balls. We anchored just outside on the harbor entrance, along with four or five other vessels. It was my birthday and I wanted to spend the day on the hook, especially since we had just spent ten days at the dock at Harbour View.

  We didn't even put the dinghy down. We just sat on the boat and listened to the stereo and occasionally took a dip in the beautiful water. In the photo above, I'm enjoying my favorite beverage, bought in Marsh Harbour for $48 per case.
  My birthday dinner of bar-be-que'd pork steaks and "summer crabs" didn't turn out like we had wanted, but I still got to spend the day doing what I wanted to.

  The next morning we took a cruise with the dinghy into the harbor. The town sits on the east side of the small harbor, and the lighthouse and some resorts are on the west side. We got some fuel in the dinghy and went back to the boat for a few hours.

  The street in the picture is typical of all the roads in Hope Town. They barely are the width of a small truck, and some are just for walking. All the homes are painted in bright colors and most are neat and clean looking. Most of them also seemed to be vacation homes for rent.

  Here's another view of Hope Town. We were out to celebrate our anniversary, and we had plans to go casual, picking out a place called Captain Jacks, because they had an outside deck and we took Holly with us, but Holly wasn't allowed even on the deck at Captain Jacks. Geez, it's not like we were wanting to bring a toddler into their restaurant!

  We found another restaurant with an outside deck, and they welcomed Holly, so we sat at the outside bar and had a couple of cold beers and enjoyed the shade at the Harbour View Inn. Catchy name.
  We perused the menu, thinking we would have some appetizers to start with when the bartender wanted us to "cash out" because she was going home, the shift was changing. I hate it when that happens, so I told her we would be glad to pay our bill as we were just leaving. The menu was a bit pricey anyway.
  Not wanting to ruin our anniversary celebration, we reluctantly took Holly back to the boat, and even more reluctantly we went back to Captain Jacks for dinner.
  Captain Jacks was having trivia night. As we stepped off the dinghy, they were just asking the first question, so the host asked if we wanted to play, but we declined.
  The waitress that waited on us had an attitude like you wouldn't believe, but we attempted to kill her with kindness when all I really wanted to do was just kill her. Her bad attitude was starting to rub off on me, so to be ornery, every time the host would ask a trivia question, I would blurt out the answer, which in every case was the number three. Each time I was told that if I did it again, we would have to buy the house a round of drinks. I laughed each time, as well as some of the other folks there. Rosie just wanted to melt into the floor.
  We met some folks at the table next to ours and they were very nice. It was a whole family, out celebrating the wedding of their grand daughter. The grand parents had been living in Hope Town for many years. We told them that we had been married on that date too. Both times.
  Things were going well until we got our dinner, or at least until I got mine. I ordered fried chicken. I knew I would only get a breast and a wing, that's how they do it in the Bahamas. You get  a quarter chicken, either white or dark meat.
  When my plate came, the piece of chicken looked like some part of a chicken that I had never seen before, and I've had lots of fried chicken in my life. I would have sworn that someone, or something had taken several bites out of the chicken breast before they deep fried it. Apparently it was payback time for my trivia antics.
  Rosie got a small taco salad that wound up looking inedible by the time she got around to asking me if I wanted any of it. No thanks.
  We went back to the boat still hungry and wound up eating some cheese and crackers. But Holly was very glad to see us, and that made our whole night.
  On Friday morning we pulled up anchor and cruised fourteen miles or so south to Lynard Cay, at the southern end of the Sea of Abaco. We dropped the dinghy once we got our hook set and took Holly to one of the very nice beaches on the west side of Lynard Cay.
  By mid afternoon we pulled up anchor again and took the boat into Little Harbour, just a little over a mile away. We were going to anchor outside of the harbor but the wind was picking up and I didn't want to leave the boat at anchor out of our sight while we visited Pete's Pub,  the famous beach bar overlooking Little Harbour.

 
  We entered the harbor at near low tide, a risky move, but the lowest our depth gauge read was 4.2 feet going in. The narrow channel is marked, but there is unforgiving rock on the starboard side going in. We slipped in slick as a whistle and grabbed one of the few vacant moorings.
  We took the dinghy in to the bar to pay the $20 mooring fee and then we went to explore a little bit. The harbor has a great abundance of sea turtles, the most we have ever seen in one area. They're amazingly quick.
  We were intent on making up for a less than enjoyable evening the night before, so by late afternoon, it was on to Pete's Pub, which is in the center of the photo above, and just off our bow.

  Holly was more than welcome at the outside bar. It was early, so we were able to grab the best seats in the house. I didn't think we would get along with our bartender because all she did was complain about working double shifts for the last few days and she was by herself. But...we won her over eventually and she gave us tremendous service. We never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a beer, and it was standing room only later on at the bar.
  We met lots of other boaters, and Raymond, the bartender from Snappas came in and actually seemed glad to see us. I even got a knuckle bump from him.
  We left a RiverBill's sticker on the framework of the bar. Look for it if you ever go there.

  It was way past dark when we finally got into the dinghy and back to the boat. I told Rosie to not even let me know how much our bar bill was when we left, but I intended on making up for a less than perfect night on the night before, and we did.
  Things were a little fuzzy this morning, but we had a great breakfast in the harbor, and then rode a high tide out, back to Lynard Cay for the day and to spend the night on the hook before heading to Eleuthera on Sunday morning.
  We took Holly back to the beach and boy did she have a ball! We let her run and play in the water, just like any proud parents would.
  A cold front is coming in on Tuesday, and it's going to get very windy throughout southern Florida and the Bahamas, so we want to be in a safe anchorage by then.
  We plan on being in Spanish Wells by tomorrow afternoon. On Monday I have to visit the BaTelCo office because I'm can't add minutes to our data plan on the iPad. The BTC home page has no option to use the prepaid cards we bought in Alice Town. We'll get it figured out. Our Bluechart Mobile app doesn't need Internet service to work, but we like to have Internet at the helm when it's available.
  I got news today that a guy I started with at the beer factory many years ago died today. He didn't get to enjoy any of his hard earned retirement, having left the job diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about the same time I left. I feel fortunate that I've gotten to live this dream with Rosie for the last year. Every day forward will just be gravy, as I've already gotten more from life than some people have. Like I always say, "I'd rather be lucky than good." And I've been lucky.

Reflecting On One Year Of Cruising

  One year of living on the boat was celebrated on April 20th, but we didn't leave St. Louis until May 8th of last year. It was my birthday, and what a way to celebrate a birthday!

  I'm a year older, and I think I'm a bit wiser, as far as cruising and living on a boat goes, anyway.
  Rosie and I have faced a few challenges in the last year, but we've met them, and have overcome them. We are in no worse health than we were a year ago, and the boat is no worse for wear either. In fact, the boat runs better than it did a year ago. But it hasn't been without a lot of work. Rust is a constant issue, but much better and more expensive yachts share the same problem. It's said that stainless doesn't mean stainfree. Everything on the boat works as it should (except for the generator, but that will be fixed today), even our one Bora fan started working again, right out of the blue. Keeping our little city operating at 100% is a primary goal of ours.
  We checked some numbers and found that we've spent a tad over $12,000 for fuel since we left St. Louis. We also spent $4,000 to stay at marinas. A-B Marina in Key West was over half of that though. Like they say, we wasted the rest, but we've been able to overcome some minor debt we carried with us upon leaving St. Louis, keep the boat maintained, and even save some bucks for upcoming surprises. This lifestyle has been affordable for us.
  We miss our friends and family at times, anyone would. There is a fairly long list of friends that have visited us in the course of the year, and we've been able to meet up with friends in Florida that we haven't seen in years. We expect to be able to meet up with more friends as time goes by, once we get "settled" some, and can predict our whereabouts a little easier.
  We are still both enthusiastic about our adventures. I do get overwhelmed at times about the responsibility of getting us where we need to be, and keeping the boat safe and operating properly. There are lots of decisions to be made and I make them, and I won't allow anyone to second guess anything I decide to do. Of course, we run into all sorts of other boaters who have the right idea about everything. I resist telling others what they should do, but rather just relay our story and they can decide what works for them.
  Rosie and I have both learned some things about each other that we didn't know, none of them are deal breakers, but were a little surprising. It would serve no purpose to go into them here, but even with our thirty- seven years together, we still don't know everything about each other. Not sure if we want to find out more though. Who knew Rosie was a man?

  There's been lots of rain here all week, and southern Florida has had lots of rain too. Because of the rain, our generator part we need didn't get picked up from the Westerbeke dealer in West Palm Beach until Thursday. All FedEx packages then go to Memphis for sorting, and ours did too, then got sent back to southern Florida to get flown to the Bahamas. Severe weather on Friday got our package routed to Freeport instead of Marsh Harbour. We are supposed to get it today.

Someone asked me how Marsh Harbour is: In the photo you can see the one traffic light there is. But the hardware store is one of three, and all three are stocked with just about anything a person might need. Every service you could want is here too, but there are no quaint little streets like in New Plymouth, or like we expect to see in Hope Town. Most of the thoroughfares are dusty and filled with potholes. This is a bustling city compared to the sleepy island towns that we like.

  Harbour View Marina is home to a shuttle service that takes the rich and famous out to Baker's Bay on Guana Cay. The 77 foot Lymon-Morse yacht in the photo is a charter vessel used to take some of the larger groups over to Guana. There are also two Hinckleys used as well, a 36 and a 40 footer. All vessels are kept in pristine condition. The Lyman-Morse is currently for sale for a mere 2.4 million. Who wants it? It's nine years old.

  

  On Sunday, Rosie and I took the dinghy out to explore. We found some pretty beaches nearby, and around on the other side of Marsh Harbour are some nice homes and resorts. Most folks around here go to Nippers, a beach bar on Guana Cay. Some folks we met at the pool asked us to join them for the weekend on the hook near Nippers, but we stayed here at Harbour View, and went again to Snappas next door for Cinco De Mayo and had a good time.

  Besides the generator part issue, we've had some other problems. Our Internet service was interrupted on our MiFi device because of a mix-up on the part of AT&T, but we got that resolved after a few phone calls.

  We've also exceeded the 40 minutes allowed on our International calling plan due to a lengthy phone call regarding payment by our medical provider to the health clinic in Marathon where I got my physical last month. Using the magicJack Internet phone service has not been the answer, if the connection is not top notch, the phone calls are of poor quality.

  These little problems are magnified when phone service, or Internet service, is poor. We get used to those luxuries when we are in the U.S.

  We should be heading to Hope Town in the morning, only seven miles away. The weather should cooperate for the next week so we can travel through the cays to the Little Harbour Cut, and then cross nearly fifty miles over to the Eleuthera Islands, first stop being Spanish Wells.

  But like I've said, Harbour View Marina is not a bad place to hang out for a while. I just said to Rosie yesterday when we were lounging around the pool that we should consider coming here for vacation some time.

Harbour View Marina Is Not a Bad Place To Wait

  On Monday morning, after a quick breakfast, Rosie set to work scrubbing down the boat and I set off on my errands. My first stop was an outboard repair shop just down the road. They advertise generator repair, so it may have been possible for them to get the part I needed for our generator.
  I couldn't be helped there, but they suggested Marsh Harbour Boatyard, which is ultimately where I figured to wind up, but wanted to check on possible places on the way, which by my best guess, was about four miles, at least. I was to ask for Dennis, nobody but Dennis, period.
  NAPA auto parts was a dead end. The part number I supplied wasn't even in their system. This detail, I learned later, should not have been an indicator as to whether they could obtain the part, but I didn't know that then.
  I stopped at the Abaco Hardware store, which is either a True Value or Ace Hardware affiliate, I'm not sure, but they have a well stocked store. I wasn't looking for the generator part there, but our dinette table needed some minor repair, and I found some hardware in the store that I could use.
  I finally arrived at the Marsh Harbour Boatyard after a very long walk along a fairly deserted and windy road. I walked into the office and was met by a nice woman and less than nice man. When asked if I could be helped, I said that I would like to speak to Dennis.
  "Can I help you?", the woman said.
  "No, I'd like to talk to Dennis".
  "What about?"
  "Well, it's about an engine on our boat".
  "What kind of engines do you have?"
  I'm wondering what part of "I'd like to speak to Dennis" that this woman didn't understand. I don't do well in these situations, but I held my cool and said that I had a Westerbeke generator on our boat and that I'd like to speak to Dennis about it.
  "Dennis is way down at the other end of the yard", the woman said to me.
  "If you don't mind, I've walked quite a way already, and I sure don't mind walking a bit farther to speak to Dennis", I told her, with my last ounce of patience.
  "Oh, I'll get him for you, if that's what you want", she said.
  Yeah lady. That's what I want, is what I was thinking, but didn't say.
  Dennis finally shows up and he is very nice. I explained my problem and told him what part I needed. He said that they could order the part, and I felt like things were going well, until he said that the guy who orders the parts wasn't in today, but would be back tomorrow.
  I offered to let them install the part if that would be a better business proposition for them, seeing as how they would have to go through the trouble of getting the part from West Palm Beach. Dennis said that that wouldn't be necessary and then he offered to drive me back to Harbour View Marina. I took him up on the offer.
  On the way, Dennis mentioned the electrician, Andrew. I said that I was considering calling Andrew to see if the solenoid could be repaired, but I didn't want to take a somewhat functional solenoid apart until I had a new part ordered. Dennis thought that was a good plan.
  Once back to the marina, I called Andrew. A woman's voice answered the phone and I asked to speak to Andrew. "Speaking", is the reply I got. Nearly made a tactical error there, I was thinking.
  Andrew said he'd be over in forty-five minutes to look at the solenoid. He showed up in twenty minutes and I immediately felt gypped because he wasn't wearing a skirt. (If you didn't read my last blog, that's your problem.)
  Andrew climbed into the engine room and commenced to start the generator. I offered some key assistance, but Andrew declined any help from me, saying that he knew what he was doing. I let Andrew fumble around a little while, trying to start the generator, before I informed him that he wouldn't be able to start the generator unless he switched the override into the override position, enabling him to start the gen from the engine room instead of the salon. I then added that I'd also might be able to help him further, if he lets me.
  He grumbled something and then got his voltmeter out. It wouldn't work. I allowed as to how I had a voltmeter, albeit not as nice as the one he was using, but that it was in working order.
  "Let's see what you have", he said.
  I brought out my new voltmeter which met his satisfaction, and his mood changed and he became cordial, even allowing me an opinion or two about the matter.
  He agreed with me as to how repairing the solenoid could be possible, but an attempt wouldn't be prudent unless we had a new solenoid in hand. The repaired unit could be kept as a backup. Good plan if I should say so myself.
  I told him that if he could co-ordinate ordering the solenoid with the Marsh Harbour Boatyard, I would agree to employ him in the task of installing it. He agreed, and called the Boatyard and told them to have the information ready for Victor, the parts manager, first thing in the morning.
  Andrew then presented me with a bill for $85, having told me exactly what I knew in the first place, but I couldn't have sat all day doing nothing to resolve our issue, so I paid him without complaint. I considered charging him for using my voltmeter, plus my expertise in knowing how to start the generator, but I decided against it. Andrew said that he would call me on Tuesday morning with an update.
  On Monday afternoon, Rosie and I spent some time at the little pool at the marina. We met some nice folks and wound up having a very nice afternoon. After a good dinner on the boat, we watched some network T.V., the first time in months.
  On Tuesday morning I sent Victor an email, outlining our issue, and getting him on track. I told him I'd call once he got settled into his workday, not entirely trusting Andrew to be on top of things.
  After ten o'clock I called Victor and asked if he had gotten my email. He had, and he had also sent me a reply. I was at the marina office making my call, so I asked Victor to tell me what his email said. Basically, his email said that he wouldn't be ordering the part because they were not a Westerbeke dealer. Now I knew why I needed to speak only with Dennis about ordering the part, but that tactic wasn't going to work at this point.
  Victor had some detailed instructions as to how to go about ordering the part and getting it to Marsh Harbour without paying duty, upwards of 45% of the price of the part. His best information he gave me was who to call in Palm Beach for ordering the part, so I did that first.
  I called JAS Marine in West Palm. They have a store in Fort Lauderdale too. Lisa, in parts, told me she would call be back when she learned about the availability of the part, because the part number I supplied was not recognized by her parts list. I know these things happen when equipment is old, and our generator is 17 years old, so I wasn't worried.
  While I was waiting at the phone in the marina office, another boater nearby told me how to order the part without paying duty. The woman in the marina office concurred, saying what I should do is have the part sent via FedEx, and have the invoice and a copy of our cruising permit attached to the outside of the package. Also, it was very important that we have our boat name included in the address line, such as M/V Swing Set. This was good information.
  After waiting a reasonable amount of time, I called Lisa back. She still hadn't located the part, but was sure she could. I told her that if I could have a primary fuel filter sent along with the solenoid, that she could go ahead and do that. I supplied her with the shipping information, my credit card information, and told her that I'd fax a copy of our cruising permit right away. I told her I would also send her an email, and that she should send me an email confirmation once she found something out. My day was getting better. Back at the boat, I sent Lisa another copy of our cruising permit, plus a photo of the solenoid we needed, so there would be less confusion. I would say "no confusion", but there is always "some confusion".
  The day was overcast, so Rosie and I went for a walk to find another chart we needed for Eleuthera, and to pick up some groceries at Maxwell's, a very nice, modern grocery store here in Marsh Harbour.
  Maxwell's is a big, well stocked store. Some of the prices were unbelievably high, but others were not too bad. We filled three bags of supplies, and planned to go back later in the week. We wound up walking back to the boat in the rain. Rosie hates walking in the rain, but it was interesting to see just how fast she can walk when she has to do it in the rain.
  By 4 P.M. I hadn't gotten a reply from the email I had sent Lisa, so I called JAS Marine. Lisa was busy, so I talked to Mindy. Mindy couldn't understand why Lisa hadn't gotten my email, so I sent her one, and she got that one and forwarded everything to Lisa. Mindy then went to speak to Lisa in person while I was nervously on hold on the phone. Mindy said Lisa was still working on it. My outlook darkened.
  A half hour later, Lisa sent an email. She located the part and would have it in hand by Wednesday, the next day. She would then send it to me along with the fuel filter, and provide me with a tracking number. Yahoooooo! A celebratory Budweiser was in order!

  This morning it has been raining. Its due to rain the rest of the week. Quite a few boats have arrived here at the marina, which is a very nice establishment. We could have found ourselves waiting in a worse place.
  Meanwhile, we'll wait to get our tracking number for our package. I hope the right part comes, and it's here by the weekend. I haven't heard from Andrew, and I don't expect to. If the right part is sent, I'll put it on myself, and we'll be in business. If there is still a problem....well, there won't be. But if there is one, I'll do what it takes to make it right.
   I'll keep you all in the loop.

"The Whale" And On To Marsh Harbour

  I had said we had two options to get from Green Turtle Cay to Marsh Harbour. They were taking the Whale Cay Cut, or taking the Don't Rock Passage. The other option I didn't mention was a shallow, twisty passage just west of Whale Cay, and that is what I thought we would try, considering we would be going at high tide. But I wasn't ready for what we found.
  On Sunday morning we got up early and had a nice breakfast of a spinach and bacon cheese omelet with a side of Bahamian Bread, toasted. Don't forget a couple cups of hot coffee.
  A sailboat had just pulled anchor that was anchored in front of us and I called him on the VHF. He had just come through the Whale Cut at noon on the day before and although he said it was "bumpy", he thought it wasn't too bad. I knew he came through in much greater wind than we had this morning, and he also said we would have better conditions going through than he did, if we left now. We were pulling anchor as I spoke to him, and we headed out.
  "The Whale" is a narrow cut that dumps deep ocean water onto a shallow area of the Sea of Abacos. The swells roll in, even in good conditions, and they rage in bad conditions. A strong northerly wind, coupled with an outgoing tide, result in breakers that will wreak havoc with even the largest of vessels. My approach was to get a visual on any breakers before we committed the boat to the cut.
  When we made our turn to pass through the cut, we could see that the ocean wasn't breaking in the channel, but the swells were big, the biggest we had encounter so far. But since there were no waves breaking, our curling over, I figured we had a shot. I also realized why taking the Don't Rock Passage, or the Whale Cay Passage, were equally treacherous; trying to negotiate a shallow and twisty passage with the giant swells would be tricky. I considered that attacking the swells head on in a straight line to be our best chance.
  When we passed through the cut we only rang the ships bell twice, but sea spray was blowing over the top of the bimini. We had our isinglass closed, and we stayed dry and nobody barfed, but I had a grip on the wheel just trying to keep us on a straight course. I know now that if we ever encounter waves taller than the boat, I will simply crap my pants.
  After getting through the cut, we had to make a turn to the south and take on beam seas to head for the Loggerhead Cut. The Loggerhead Cut was dredged over 20 years ago to make a channel for cruise ships transiting the cays in this area, but the route was abandoned soon after because it was too dangerous. As we were headed for the Loggerhead Channel, we could see a huge wreck in our path that wasn't on any chart we had. I wasn't sure if it was in our way or not, until we came right up on it.
  With the swells to our stern, we glided into the Loggerhead Channel, keeping distance from the old steel posts that used to mark the channel. Once we got Guana Cay on our port side, the seas calmed and we made a beeline to Marsh Harbour, eight miles away, but I was a nervous wreck.

  Entering Marsh Harbour is no easy task. The channel twists and turns through several shoals, plus boats are at anchor throughout the harbor, so it was hard to tell where we were supposed to go. In these situations, I always figure that it must be deep between any two  boats, so I used that method to get into the back of the harbor.
  We fueled up at the Conch Harbor Inn Marina, taking on 107 gallons of diesel for a shade under $700 bucks, cash. I didn't like the price quoted for dockage at Conch Harbor, so we popped over to the Harbor View Marina and signed up for at least three nights for a buck a foot per night, plus metered electricity and $5 per day for all the water we wanted to use. The first thing we did was wash the salt off of Swing Set, opting for a more thorough washing in the morning.
  The town of Marsh Harbour probably has just about anything you want, at a price. We took a long walk in both directions away from the marina just to get a lay of the land. We were hoping for a nice quaint town similar to New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay, but once off of the water, the town is mainly a series of dusty paved roads, no shade, lots of signs, and more dust. Nearly everything was closed, it being Sunday, but I made mental notes of all the placed I wanted to visit when they opened on Monday morning, as I began my search for the fuel flow solenoid we needed for the generator.
  We had also gotten a reference for an electrician named Andrew. It is well known that Andrew wears a skirt and has a preference for other men. I don't care. He's the guy I want if we have to resort to having our solenoid rebuilt. Any guy that has the nerve to wear a skirt to work has to be good at what he does. I hope he thinks I'm cute.

  We treated ourselves to hot showers on the boat and went next door to Snappas for happy hour. We wanted to celebrate making the pass through "The Whale" in one piece, not that we ever need a reason to celebrate.
  Two fellows at the end of the bar are world travelers on their sailboat, and it was fun trading stories with them. They couldn't believe that Rosie is of little use in navigating our boat, but she was quick to assure them that she wasn't. To her credit, she has other attributes that outweigh any navigational skills known to man, or otherwise.
  So a full day is what we had. Tomorrow, Rosie is going to give Swing Set a thorough washing and I am going in search of our generator part and some other things we need. The forecast is for rain all week, so we might be here a while. We keep getting stuck in these rotten places.

A Couple of Stops and Then Green Turtle Cay

  Seven or eight miles to the southeast from Allans-Pennsecola Cay was Crab Cay, or one of them. There are at least a couple of Crab Cays on the charts for this area. We took a slow cruise to Crab Cay and anchored in a calm spot within view of the first beach lined with palm trees that we have seen occurring naturally since we've arrived in The Bahamas.
  Between Crab Cay and Great Abacos Island was a small inlet leading to the Sea of Abaco. In our anchorage we had a view through the cut where we could watch boats travel from the Sea of Abaco into the Little Bahama Bank.
  We took the dinghy out to explore but were soon battling a strong outgoing tide as we were making our way into a creek system leading into the island of Little Abacos, which is adjacent to Great Abacos Island. A combination of enough throttle to keep forward momentum, plus shallower and shallower water, with a rocky bottom, was not my idea of a good thing to be doing, so we turned around and headed for some calm water just inside the inlet leading out to the Sea.
  I donned my snorkel gear and spear to inspect an area below a rock shelf in very shallow water and found an abundance of snapper. I speared a larger one on the first try and proudly took it back to the dinghy where Rosie and Holly were waiting, and I put it in a bucket that I had brought along for this very purpose.
  My activity in the shallow water stirred up the fine sand, or mud, so seeing more fish became a problem. I tried to spear another fish, but missed him, when I saw a nice sized "summer crab" and nabbed him, cleaned him, and added him to the bucket. Two sea creatures in one day is a record for me, so we high tailed it back to the boat to get my catch in the fridge and away from any prying eyes.
  I placed the snapper on my cutting board and it took one flip and went right back into the water and swam away. It took me a few moments to reflect on this event. No tears were shed, although tears were warranted.
  Still not believing my misfortune, I decided to snorkel around the boat after checking to confirm our anchor holding. I swam back behind the boat, and there was my snapper, resting on the bottom, or better put, sitting on the seabed waiting to die. It didn't get a chance. I speared it again and brought it to the boat. I didn't waste any time in cleaning the snapper this time and putting two small fillets in the refrigerator.
  Later, with my eye on more dinner supplies, I got back into the water for some more snorkeling. I was swimming away from the boat when I realized I was cooking along at a pretty good rate. In no time at all, the incoming tide had me pulling fast away from the boat. I honestly had all I could do to swim back to the boat while holding my spear in my right hand. Lesson learned there. Rosie did get a funny look in her eye when I asked her if she would have been able to come after me in the dinghy if I needed her to. OK, two lessons learned.
  Our plans for the evening were to have our fresh caught fare for dinner, along with a grilled sirloin roast. When I went to light the Magma Grill, it wouldn't light. I had filled the tank up in Marathon and hadn't used it yet, and it indeed felt like it was full, but no propane would come from the tank. There is a little screw valve on the tank valve that was closed tight, not allowing the propane to come out. I backed off the screw as the attendant at the propane supply store was supposed to have done, and a grillin' we went.
  We had snapper with lemon pepper, steamed along with "the crab", with our grilled sirloin. We added a box of macaroni and cheese and ate good that night. Livin' off the fat a da land!
  The next morning we left Crab Cay and headed for Coopers Town, and the anchorage across the Sea of Abacos at Powell Cay. We anchored up close to a beautiful beach, just north of a rock bluff which was sandwiched between another long white beach to the south.

  Once I made sure we had a good anchor set, we took Holly and the dinghy to the beach, marveling at the abundance of star fish lining the sea floor. We let the dinghy float at anchor just off shore and we went for a walk. In the picture, I'm wearing my dive knife on my right leg. I was no boy scout, but I come prepared.
  Holly got to run free along the waters edge on our walk and she was in heaven. She would only run part way ahead and then turn around to make certain we were behind her. She'd wait for us a bit until she would run ahead again. At one point she made a dash for the water for a brief swim, and then back to land she came. It may have been her finest moment.
  We got back to the dinghy as some other boaters were coming to shore, thus we were able to get a picture of us together.
  That afternoon we took the dinghy to the southern beach, but we left Holly on the boat to rest. We met some folks under some palm trees attempting to clean a few conch they had gathered. On a makeshift table nailed up between two trees, they had several knives, two hammers, a pair of pliers, a screw driver, a mallet, all laid out. The scene looked like a surgeons table in Negril. The only interest they had in us was whether we had any ideas about how to get the conch extricated from the shell. I only offered as to how I had watched a Bahamian in Bimini do several of them just by knocking a hole in the end and waiting until they crawled out, their home having been ruined. The conch hunters didn't want to wait that long, so pounding and digging away they continued.
  By nightfall, we had been joined by a dozen other boats, all sailboats, except one. We had a very calm night and decided to leave first thing in the morning, but we had a glitch. When I went to start the starboard engine it wouldn't start. The port engine and the generator are on a dedicated battery and the port engine cranked right up. I used the jumper switch to start the other engine. I know our house bank of batteries are on borrowed time. Normally we run the genset for a couple of hours in the morning to bring everything back up, but on the previous night, we had no wind, and since we were leaving right away, there was no reason to run the generator. This is the same scenario we had on the morning we left for Bimini. We now will have to ratchet up our power management a little.
  As we cruised to Green Turtle Cay we ran the water maker and the generator, and the wind generators. We fully intended to arrive with charged batteries and a good supply of water in case we anchored in either White Sound, or Black Sound, places where I would suspect the water supply to be questionable.
  Upon arriving at New Plymouth, an old English settlement on Green Turtle Cay, we decided to set anchor just west of the government dock, outside of either of the two harbors, and we're glad we did. We later took the dinghy in to both harbors and didn't find the views as nice as we had outside. Several other boats must have decided the same thing as we were joined by a few other boats throughout the day.
 

  The harbor for New Plymouth is separate from White or Black Sound, and is pictured above. There is a very nice dinghy dock for the public, and we tied up to it and dumped some trash in a nice big stainless steel dumpster right on the dock. We walked into town and were impressed with the clean concrete streets and tidy painted homes.
  The town has been in existence since the 1800's. There are two hardware stores and three small grocery stores, and several restaurants and few bars. We made note of one of them and decided to come back later. One of the bars, I mean. We did buy a few things from Sid's, the best stocked grocery store, we thought.
  Back at the boat, I decided to run the generator for a couple of hours because we would be gone to dinner, the time we would usually run the gen while we cooked. The generator refused to start.
  The truest thing about a diesel engine is that it has to get fuel. Well, any engine is like that, but diesels are relatively simple in that fuel flow is the usual cause of an engine not starting.
The one thing I know how to do is change a fuel filter. I hadn't changed the Racor filter since last August, so even if it wasn't the cause, it sure wouldn't hurt. Trouble is, I thought I had two extra filters for the smaller Racor unit on the generator, but I was down to our last one.
  After the filter change, the generator still wouldn't start. While operating the preheater, I noticed that the fuel flow solenoid wasn't activating, so I gave it a little nudge while holding the preheater on. The solenoid clicked into place and the engine started right up. I still wasn't sure of the root cause of our generator not starting, but one thing I knew was that I was out of spare filters, the easiest thing to fix.
  Later, we went to Sundowners for some beers and dinner. On our way into the dock, we stopped and talked to the German couple who we had met in South Bimini and were about to head back to Florida. It was nice to see them again.
  Once we arrived at Sundowners and had ordered two Kalik's, I got to talking to the owner, and I asked him who might have some Racor filter elements. He asked another patron at the bar the same question, the patron got on the phone to his brother-in-law, and a short time later, a fella pulled up in his golf cart, long hair, dirty t-shirt, no shoes, but with two Racor filter elements for our Racor 500 fuel filter. The price was high, but gladly paid, along with a tip and a beer for George, the owner of Roberts Marina in Black Sound. That was service.
  We had a nice time at Sundowners. They have free WiFi, so I tried to call my dad. Magic Jack may be free, but the connection was horrible. I'm glad we kept a small roaming plan with AT&T.
  This morning I went to start the generator again and it wouldn't start. I gave the fuel flow solenoid another kick in the ribs and the engine fired right up. We ran the generator for a couple of hours while we had breakfast and did some route planning for our trip south. I shut down the generator and did some diagnostics on the fuel flow solenoid. I was getting proper voltage at the solenoid once the preheater was activated, just like it's supposed to, so the problem isn't a bad connection to the solenoid. I did some random activation of the preheater and the solenoid did activate sporadically, so it will work, just not dependably. Our mission has become to either get this solenoid fixed, or buy a new one, and Marsh Harbor is the place to do either.
  Rosie and I went back into New Plymouth for lunch, and to pick up anything we might have missed at the grocery. In Black Sound, we stopped to talk to a sailor that was familiar with the area and he suggested Marsh Harbor Boat Yard for our generator repair, and also suggested an electrician in Marsh Harbor who probably could fix the solenoid. Bill Raynor was full of other useful information, and we were glad we stopped to talk with him. One thing he told us was to check our passports to make sure the amount of time on them was stamped 180 days, like our cruising permit is. We did check later and all was fine.
  Once leaving Green Turtle Cay heading south, cruisers need to either pass through "The Whale", a cut out to the ocean, and come back in again a few miles south at the Loggerhead Channel, or take an inside passage through "Don't Rock Channel", a shallow and treacherous route. The outside route seems to be the no brainer approach, but breaking surf makes the Whale Cut even more treacherous than the twisty Don't Rock Channel. Bill Raynor told us that we should have no problem going through Don't Rock, especially at high tide, so we're giving it a shot tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes.

Allans-Pennsecola Cay

  We didn't leave Fox Town on Sunday like we had planned. In the morning there was plenty of rain clouds in the area and more were heading in our direction. Monday was looking better as for as the forecast went, so we decided to stay put. Even though we were only going to travel eight miles to the east, there is no sense on leaving an anchorage when you have a good hook set if you don't have to.
  By mid afternoon the sun stuck its head out briefly. We put on our rain gear for insurance, (it won't rain if you put on the raincoat), gathered our week's worth of trash, put Holly in her Sunday best, and motored the nearly one mile across to Da Valley in Fox Town.
  The dock at Fox Town Shell, where the bar/restaurant "Da Valley" is located, sits on tall pilings which are not suited for getting on and off a dinghy. Most visitors are directed to tie up at a neighboring building with a deck right over the water. A wide wooden ladder provides the means to climb up, and to tie up. If you aren't the first one there, you are out of luck.
  I had told Rosie that we would bring the one bag of trash that we had, but we would leave it in the dinghy until we saw if there was an opportunity to dump it somewhere. The last thing I wanted to do was be accused of sitting out on anchor and avoiding the town, only to come in when we needed to dump garbage. That is not what it was, but it was how it would appear.

  In the photo, you may be able to see Swing Set way out past the rocks and a catamaran anchored pretty far off in the distance too. The sailboat tied to the dock had been towed in the day before. They had lost power and were calling for two days for help, but didn't issue a distress call. I only heard a boat calling Spanish Cay. There was no evidence of anyone being in trouble. More about them later.
  We walked in to "Da Valley" and were met by a half dozen locals in a very spartan room housing a plain wooden bar and a pool table. A dining room was off to one end and the deck was out front. A kitchen and bathrooms were toward the back. This would be the site of our Sunday afternoon activities, nearly seven hours of them.
  We met Judy Russel, the owner, one of her daughters, and then we met Ronald, Judy's husband. We grabbed two seats at the bar and ordered two Kaliks, after finding out the price, which was $4 each, a steep price but seems to be the going rate. No one else at the bar was having anything, just hanging out.
  We found out that the grocery store was closed on Sundays, a fact that didn't surprise me. We didn't really need anything, but we would have bought some eggs and some limes if they had them. Certainly they would have limes, but eggs would be a stretch. We might have even bought a case of Kaliks, but like I said, they weren't open.
  We began to meet the locals as they came in. Everyone was very friendly towards us. I was soon told that to them, we were like royalty. I don't really like being treated like royalty, but when you consider the alternative, I guess it was OK.
  I went out on the deck to make a call on Magic Jack. My dad didn't answer, so I called some friends in Florida because I was on the WiFi at Da Valley and the call was free. I did eventually get a call in to my father and we had a brief conversation.
  As I completed my calls, a fella approached me and introduced himself. I thought he said his name was Curtis, so I said, "Pleased to meet you, Curtis".
  "No!...It's KIRKWOOD! K-I-R-K-W-O-O-D" he spelled out. Then he proceeded to list all the services he was prepared to avail upon us. Anyting we need, brudda.
  Our freezer was full, so I didn't want any fish, or "summer crab", so after a brief description of all the services he himself provided as an "attendant" there at Da Valley, then came what I was expecting, a request for money.
  As I have said before, I don't hand out money to anyone. And, if KIRKWOOD had asked for one dollar, or five dollars, I would have politely declined his request. But....Kirkwood had asked for SIX dollars. I had to ask myself why the number six? He said it was only to be "a loan", and that no one could see me give it to him or he would get in trouble. I was intrigued by the amount, and the clandestine nature of his request, so I said I would loan him the money. How repayment was going to be facilitated was another mystifying concept.
  I went to the bathroom and withdrew six one dollar bills from my wallet. I palmed the bills and went back to the deck and was prepared to slip them discreetly to Kirkwood, but he wasn't having any of it. "Don't do dat, mon. Don't do dat." He was in fear of being seen taking money from me to the point of paranoia.
  I got up and on my way back inside, I slipped the bills under the tarpaper on the side of the building and said to Kirkwood, "Look here". He did.
  Soon after, Kirkwood entered the bar like he was loaded, a new man had arrived. He approached one friend and bought him a Dr. Pepper for one of his newly acquired dollars. Another chum got a Coke for the same amount. I was starting to like this guy. Later on I whispered to Kirkwood that it was time to repay the loan. I asked him to go to our dinghy and get the bag on trash we had on board and get rid of it for us. He was happy to oblige and promptly did so. He was happy and so were we. I later received a respectful "knuckle bump" from our new friend.
  A woman from the sailboat out front had come into the bar seeking information about when was the next high tide. We talked to her some and found out their story. Her husband had changed out the Racor fuel filter on their diesel engine but didn't purge the air from the fuel line, so the engine wouldn't start. So for a simple item like that, they had become disabled at sea. I asked the woman why her husband didn't stay put where they were, which is where we are now at Allans-Pennsecola Cay, and she said her husband wanted to try to sail back to Fox Town. It gets worse.
  During the transit, one of their dogs, a four pound toy poodle, went topside to barf (not bark) over the side and got swept off the boat. With no power, there was no way to turn around in the wind, so they watched the dog swim for its life as they blew back toward Fox Town. Even with the tiny life jacket that the dog had on, there wasn't much chance of it surviving. I don't know if the woman was in possession of all of her faculties, but she didn't seem too upset by the situation. I know that Rosie and I would have been inconsolable. The very thought is still bothering us even today.
  A few other things that the woman revealed to me, and Ronald was listening in, had me convinced that her and her husband had no business being out in their little sailboat. I even asked her if her husband was making any comments about suicide. At one point I looked at Ronald and said that we needed to go have a "talk" with this woman's husband. He agreed, but we didn't do it. Apart from never trying to date a hooker, two more things a man should never do is tell another man what he should do with his wife, or his boat. I gave the woman our card and told her to call us if they needed any help, as they were going in the same general direction as we were. I hope to never hear from them.
  We met Freddie, the mechanic who fixed the fuel problem on the sailboat. He was making a decent living there in Fox Town, just doing anything he could to survive. Knowing how to fix things always gives a person a leg up when they are around others who don't. Kirkwood came over to Freddie and engaged himself in conversation with Freddie, and it was obvious that Kirkwood was a pariah in the community, even given his largess with found money. Kirkwood was pounding on Freddie's back in exclamation at the end of every sentence until Freddie finally said, "Kirkwood, if you hit me one more time, I'm gonna knock you out!"
  The place became deathly quiet until Kirkwood made a quick apology and a quicker exit, only to slip back in and ask me for another loan. This one I declined.
  By dark, the place was full of customers, and we were making a big dent in their Kalik supply. Judy began getting them from a cooler in the back and they were nearly ice, a good thing when beer tastes like a Kalik tastes. We weren't in Kansas anymore, and I don't like to overstay my welcome in a place with a pool table and a plentiful supply of alcohol, even if I'm the one drinking most of it.
  We ordered a plate of cracked conch to go, and asked for our bill. Seven hours of pounding Kaliks for both of us, plus just one order of conch brought our total just into three digits. I had to get a twenty from Rosie for the tip. Judy handed us the biggest container of fried cracked conch we had ever seen, piled high with lightly battered conch, a little bit of fries and a tiny cup of slaw. We had heard Judy pounding away at the fresh conch before deep frying it. It was the best conch we ever ate. Period.
  On Monday morning it was raining pretty hard. I looked at the radar and saw a break in the weather that was to happen about mid-day. When the sun came up, we pulled up anchor and headed to Allans-Pennesecola. As we left the harbor, Ronald came on the radio to say good-bye to "Mike and Rosie". We may have left a good impression.
  I kept an eye out for a little dog swimming in circles all the way into our anchorage where there were four boats nestled in. We picked out a good spot that wouldn't interfere with anyone and set a hook. I dove down on the hook to confirm a good hold because we had rocks on our lee side. We had another one of our great "surf and turf" dinners and after dinner, I used some of the chicken bones to put a couple of lines out in the hope of catching dinner for the next night.
  We played some gin rummy and enjoyed a quiet night. This morning the wind had swung us around and was forecasted to whip up later in the day, so I dove on the anchor again and positioned it better in the sand. On the way back to the boat I found a small conch crawling along the sea bed minding its own business. Things didn't bode well for the conch as it became bait. One thing I learned from a fisherman at Da Valley was how to use conch for bait, which there is always a good supply. I have a rod out there now, baited with the rascal, as I write this blog.
  Tomorrow we start heading southeast along the cays that make up the eastern chain of the Abacos. We'll stay a day or two at each anchorage as we head towards Green Turtle Cay where we might get a slip and visit a grocery.
  I've also forgot to tell about the one Bora fan that failed on the boat, just as we got to Bimini. We'll try to find a replacement if possible, and we're going to be in areas that might have such a thing. If that's the worst of our problems for a while, we'll be lucky.