Mark of the Beast 6 6 6

Sailors as a lot are a superstitious bunch. I try not to but I'm doubly affected because of my Italian heritage. Now Italians are superstitious - big TIME.

This morning started innocently enough until I took my readings from my weather station for reporting on the Basra Weather net at 7am. The outside temperature was 66.6 degrees Fahrenheit or as the superstitious think "mark of the BEAST". I didn't think much of it at the time but as this day unfolded - maybe there was something there..

We left White Sound this morning at 7:15am to get away on the high tide and that went well. I tried dragging the dinghy using 2 lines and that worked pretty good but I wouldn't do it for more than a couple of miles. Manjack is only 4 miles away so why not.

We arrived in the anchorage around 8:30am and it was looking good. Nice spot near Born to Cruise. We dropped the hook - the CQR - backed down and damn - just drug back and would not set. Ohh well - pulled the hook up and dropped the Delta. It was biting easily and we backed it down but the line never went taunt. Karen said "Ahhh we have a problem here". She had reversed but no load on the prop. A quick look at the prop shaft showed the engine turning but the prop shaft Not Damn - it had backed out of the coupler and thus no longer connected to the engine but fortunately it stopped just shy of the coupler and had not pulled out all the way - whew!!!

We had a good breeze which seemed to set the anchor. I jumped in the dinghy and pulled with it against the boat and all seemed right. Ohhh well it happens.

Gosh it was only 9am so we just settled in. I opened the engine compartment to cool it and we visited with Born to Cruise. They said they found the mother lode of sea glass yesterday. Karen was excited so she left later with Jill and Wayne to hunt sea glass. I stayed to work on the engine.

The real gothcha once I removed the coupling hub was the shaft key was missing. Ohhh that is bad since there is no way to lock the coupler to the shaft. Aaaack!!.. I looked around thinking it was thrown when the shaft pulled out. I finally reached under the engine and just felt with my fingers since I couldn't see anything and - oh boy - I found it!!

I then tried to put the hub back on the shaft. It would start about ½ inch then stop. When I had it off before I had to beat it on with a 3lb Ball Peen from the outside - that option was not available today. I tried to work it on but it just would not go.

I had a little light lunch then put the wet suit on and headed for the water. Damn - I could wedge myself between the rudder and the prop but still no movement. Unfortunately no one available to help since they all went sea glass hunting.

Ohh well a couple of beers and my new Barefoot Man CD and the issue was not so bad anymore. Heck - the shaft is started and will turn from the engine so even though it is not locked I still can go forward but no reverse - that will work in an emergency.

Since the prop pulled out while in reverse maybe I can drive it back in by going forward. Hell it's worth a try and I'll try it when the glass hunters return. Gosh hunting must be great because it is 4:30pmn and nobody back yet!!

Ohh the other issue was when I sent the position report this morning and tried to shut the PC down it would not turn off. I had to force it down via the 6 second power switch.

I sure hope bad things are not happening in 3s today. I'm one short right now.

Shellin' on Gilliam Bay --- GTC

Another fine day in Green Turtle Cay (GTC). The weather forecast has stiff winds of 20+ coming most of the week. We decided to stay another day at GTC. We could have left but I had to make the decision by 8am because of the tide and I was not comfortable leaving just yet. Later in the day I was but then I would need to wait until 5pm before leaving tonight --- so we should leave tomorrow unless there is a drastic change in the forecast.

Several boats did leave this morning with plans to cross on Wednesday back to the US but with a 7 foot northerly swell and 15 kt SE winds (opposing) – we will stay put a bit longer.

This morning I topped off the dinghy fuel tank – we burn a lot here at GTC with that long ride to town and we did some grocery and souvenir shopping this morning. I had it in the back of my mind to do laundry but since it seems we will need to be back here by Saturday for a cold front – we will do it later.

Low tide didn’t come till 1pm today so we went over to Black Sound by dinghy and docked at the pseudo public dock and walked down to Gilliam Bay to hunt shells. It was beautiful but quite windy. We had a very long but enjoyable walk and found a few shells. Mostly we found Frenchies!! You can spot them a mile away – 50 something and they wear very compact Speedos for men and European cut bikinis for women. Karen would not look.

We walked the beach for a couple of hours and got plumb wore out. Back on the boat by 4pm and time to veg out till I cook some burgers on the grill tonight. Time to get back to simple fare.

We did go to the Green Turtle Club restaurant for dinner last night and it was great. But my simple tastes do not allow me to comfortably digest these fancy sauces they use so I had an uncomfortable night sleeping – that and the wind blew pretty hard again last night.

Tonight the wind should be milder but still fresh – near 20kts. Great for the wind generator but bothersome to those who have to listen to all the creaks in the boat.

Born to Cruise left this morning for Manjack Cay and we expect to join them tomorrow morning for a few days before darting back into here.

Blowing in the Wind

Windy, Windy, Windy -- boy the night really piped up. It was not too bad but it was difficult to sleep because of all the noises coming from the enclosure last night. It was definitely blowing mid 20s around midnight and for a couple of hours but then settled down to just a nice breeze by morning. Surprisingly the morning was not as forecast at all. Shouyld have been blowinbg hard but was not.

We took a nice walk on the Bluff House Beach and the Sea of Abaco was just flat - no white caps. Surprising. We took some pictures of Jill and Wayne around the Bluff House with the Sea of Abaco as a back drop then over to the Green Turtle Club to see what was on the menu for dinner tonight. We just feel like splurging tonight.

The weather forecast has the winds moderating but still strong most of the week. With a direction of NE - E it will be okay to island hop so we will most likely leave early in the morning tomorrow. High tide is 6:45am so I need to be through the entrance by 7:30am. Plan is to anchor off the Settlement here and do a minor provisioning run then head up to Manjack Cay for a day or so, then Powel Cay for another day or so. Depending on the weather we will either head to the USA after that or come
back to GTC and await another weather window. Chris is saying don't go till the weekend.

This afternoon I jerry jugged 40 gallons of water and 12 gallons of diesel to top everything off. Then a little shopping at the Green Turtle Club gift shop (Karen's idea) then back on the boat for showers and get ready for dinner out tonight. Ohhh they have a dress code here and shorts are fine but need a colored shirt. I believe I have one but it is wrinkled!! Maybe most will come out by dinner time.

I can stop the RAIN!!

I have developed a rain shield. It was originally intended to be a rain collector but it is actually a rain shield. When I built it a few days ago during a driving 1-inch frog strangler down pour the rain ended as soon as I had it deployed. Once it dried I put it away. This morning we had a light shower and I thought I should set it up again but I delayed. Then another 1-inch frog strangler hit and I could kick myself for not setting it up. At 20 cents a gallon for water I was not adequately motivated to deploy during the storm. When the rain let up I set it up. Then the rain stopped and has been stopped ALL day!! Thus a rain shield.

I tried to buy some coconut bread yesterday in town but all was gone when we looked. So this morning I opened one of the coconuts I had extracted from the coconut husk. I successfully drained the juice, which was delicious and removed the excellent meat. Karen found a recipe for bread with nuts and we modified it for the coconut meal. It turned out pretty good with just a hint of coconut flavor in it.

The wind has been blowing continuously in the 20 kt range all day with higher gusts. The boat is dancing but feels in control – no jerks. All the boats here on anchor seem to be behaving nicely today. Unfortunately it is just too uncomfortable to get off and with the wind chill it is probably in the mid 60s so we postponed the Bocci Ball tournament today.

On the plus side the wind generator is feeling quite prodigious with its amp output and has behaved and not overheated so we may watch a movie tonight since we have excess power today. I have spent most of the day reading so I don’t think I want to continue reading tonight. We will see.

The weather forecast is not good. In Chris’s forecast today he has the windings staying in the 20 + kt range through Thursday and he sees the seas building each day. He even noted today that he thinks the Whale Cay passage will be impassable until next Saturday!! Doesn’t look good for our weather window next week. Oh well this is a good place to stage and wait. We will definitely get off the boat tomorrow but today I think we will just keep sitting tight.

Island Gas Truck

Life is different on an Island. Like when the fuel truck comes to the gas station it is actually a fuel barge that comes in. It is big and hulking and kind of scary but it does make it through the windy entrance to White Sound. Today it came in and fueled up the Green Turtle Club. At $6.17 a gallon they still have plenty of gas over at the Bluff House. As he approached one boat just after the channel entrance they yelled that he was in the channel and had to move. Then they easily maneuvered around him. I think someone has a little Napoleon attitude here.

It was a nice day. Flat calm this morning but is supposed to be blowing 20 – 25 after midnight tonight and for the next several days. Always it’s the middle of the night!!

We went to the ocean side of the beach across from Black Sound near low tide. It sure didn’t look like low tide so must have been wind – wave – swell conditions. At any rate we had a nice walk about town. I tried to get a case of Kalik Gold at the liquor store and they were already sold out. No more till next Thursday!!

After lunch we returned and went to the Library and the grocery. With the forecast winds it will be a few days before we can dinghy back to town. But hey – unless it is raining we can still get off the boat here in White sound and walk the roads around the Green Turtle Club and the Bluff House.

I think tomorrow it will be a Bocci Ball tournament on the beach at the Green Turtle Club!!

The long range forecast has a possible really good weather window coming in next week Thursday through Sunday. If it holds then that will be our window to return.

Make Lemonade

What's that saying? "When life throws lemons at you - make lemonade". Well that is what I tried to do today.

We have had nearly nonstop rain today and very heavy at times. Gosh I thought - at .20 cents a gallon wouldn't it be nice to collect that rain?? Well I'm trying. I made a rain catcher today out of some scrap Sunbrella and a plastic thru hull I had. I sewed the scraps together and put the thru hull in the center and attached a spare hose to it. Then the rain slowed to a drizzle.. Ohhh well I'll test it later.

Earlier we had a LOT of rain because the dinghy was fully 1/3 full!! It took awhile to pump that out but none of that went into the water tank.

Other than that nothing much else going on today. Two boats left and none arrived. I finished another Clive Cussler Dirk Pitt novel and tried to get a more reliable connection to the internet here. For some reason when it rains - the WiFi just goes to hell.

If I get a good connection I'll attach a picture of the rain catcher to this Blog.

Hopefully it will stop raining tomorrow and we can go to town. I heard Abaco Seafood has Lobster for $12 a pound and the season will end in just about 10 days - time to stock up.

On that note I defrosted the freezer and it took about 1.5 hours. It was a mess. Nearly everything was in cased in a solid block of ice. I think this occurs when I put the new bags of ice in that don't quite fit right and they partially melt. I'll just have to throw the excess ice away in the future. That is hard to do at $4.50 a 10lb bag!!

Rain Rain Go Away

This is different - a rainy day in paradise!! Yes we have had a couple of trace rain showers over the last 3 months but this is the first full day of overcast skies and off again on again rain showers - albeit light. It's different.

I took the time to organize and consolidate stuff stored above in the V-berth and store some things in the area under the V-berth now that provisions are being used and space is opening up..

I also changed the engine oil in the genset today. It has been 108 hours and it was ready to be refreshed. It has been working great on this trip 200 + hours without an issue. I like it - hope it continues.

A fellow boater who is known to the readers but will remain nameless for fear of embarrassment decided to move into the Bluff House Marina this afternoon and got into a little trouble. The wind was blowing strong and he tried to back into one of their slips and the wind caught him before he secured a line on an outside piling and was then blown broadside to the docks crossing a couple of slips. With the help of many hands and me in my dinghy we got him right in the slip. Ohhh so embarrassing
but hey could happen to any of us.

The rest of the afternoon has been spent reading some fiction and reading the small engine repair manual on my Yamaha Outboard motor. It is working okay but just doesn't develop as much power as it used to before that guy in Hope Town worked on my carburetor. I suspect I need to put a rebuild kit in the carburetor or just replace it. I'll do that once back in the USA. It works acceptably but could be better.

Not much planned for tonight. This rain will probably keep us all boat bound for the evening. Hmmm that dock is not looking so bad right now especially since they are still running the special on "dockage for food".. Dream on - it will be left overs tonight and besides we had a feast last night with Born To Cruise with barbecued chicken from the grill.