Thursday, January 30, 2020

Bahamas – At Sea
22.57.714N
73.43.419W

I don’t think either one of us slept very well last night.  We were both worried that we’ve not been very lucky on this trip and wondered what else might lie in wait for us.  In any event, we rose early and started preps for the day waiting for the cruisers net at 8am so that we could say our goodbyes to those we’ve met over the past month. 

Once done, we dinghied into town and while Dale topped off our water can, I started our shopping.  Milk, bread, cereal, candy; just the essentials.  With mission accomplished, we headed back to the Palace and while I put groceries away, Dale hopped in the water and cleaned the prop and waterline.  We hoisted our dinghy back into the davits securing it tightly for the trip and then lifted the kellet and anchor. 

We slowly made our way to the fuel pier at the Exuma Yacht Club trying to hail them on 68 (George Town frequency), 16 (International hailing channel) and 14 (local George Town business frequency).  Apparently, they weren’t in the mood to talk but we did see someone by the fuel dock and proceeded to it.  We elected to reverse into the dock as Dale prefers to take on fuel on the port side and with the wind blowing us down onto the dock, we were fortunate in that we looked like we knew what we were doing. 

Calm seas after a night crossing.

We were second in line and while waiting, assisted another boat coming in.  I’ve decided that we need to add pulling into a slip to the spectator sport category too.  Its hard to maneuver in tight spots with a single screw but the poor guy mangled it badly.  There were 5 adults and 1 child trying to help him out.  Finally, he was secured and we returned to our own boat and topped off our fuel. The only drawback being, the earlier you go to town, the more likely their credit card machines aren’t working.  So, Dale had to come back to the Palace and dig out more cash to pay for our purchase.  Ugh!

It was at this time that our insurance adjuster called us to ask for more documentation.  I explained that we had already sent it to her.  She was able to locate it and said that she would get back in touch with us.  We reiterated that we were in the process of leaving for the Turks and Caicos and that we needed an answer soon as we were hoping to just keep going to Puerto Rico.  She didn’t realize that we hadn’t intended to stop, so she said that she would be back in touch quickly.  That was the last we heard from her and we didn’t lose cell service until after 5:30pm.  But, I digress.

About 11:30 am, we finally pulled out and into the channel, turned south and started making our way out to the Exuma Sound.  Before actually turning toward the ocean, we decided to put the main sail up behind the shelter of the islands.  Dale wanted to be up where it feeds into the boom to make sure things were working properly, which left me trying to keep the boat into the wind, cancelling every AIS alert coming across the chart plotter, hoisting the main halyard (which is only pushing a button) put also keeping the reef line straight (a stiff line that tends to kink every 3-4’.  By the time the main was totally deployed, I was cursing like a sailor, red in the face, jibed twice, and furious with the world with a tangled mess of line at my feet.  But the deed was done with no hiccups to the sail itself. 

Sun Rise near Samana Cay, Bahamas

We entered the Sound and started our trip.  We motorsailed for a couple of hours but when the wind began to fill in, we actually cut the engines and sailed alone for a couple more.  When the wind died down, back on came the engines to keep our speed above 4 kts.  We did this a couple of times but by evening, the wind died out completely.  There’s 2 ways of looking at this.  Sailing in low wind saves fuel but costs time; motoring in low wind is usually smoother, saving time but costs fuel.  We made Rum Cay by 8pm and Samana Cay by dawn.  With any kind of luck, we should make Mayaguana by 4pm on 1/31/2020.  Dale had 2 ships during the night (one he saw via AIS but had to call as he couldn’t see lights until it was about a mile away) and I had 4 (actually, the 1^st one was at change of watch and we had spotted it on the horizon.  I didn’t have to call any—but one did give me pause but by this time it was already dawn and I could actually see what he was doing.)

Now its my turn to get some rest, so I’ll put this away and start to look for those WiFi signals that reach out well across the water.