Blog 4
2017
Eleuthera
... We LOVE
Eleuthera
(and
so does Panacea!)
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| Beach view from Tippy's |
It's
was two whole weeks for us in Coral Harbour. The pace had been slow,
with no weather concerns because we were at dockside in a protected
man-made waterway. Every now and again I lend the carpenter, doing
hurricane repairs, a hand to carry something awkward, and I spend the
rest of the time doing cosmetic repairs in the cockpit.
We
visited a Building Supply warehouse and got some primer and paint for
the cockpit, as well as a couple of treated pine boards with which to
construct a new bathroom cabinet. Our host entertained us with Johnny
Cash music as we drove through that mission. It felt gooood. Nick's
Morgan Plus 8 still awaits a new owner in the carport. He seems to
have lost interest in the car.(If only I had more deck space on the
boat.....darn!).
Susan
and our hostess have driven the entire island doing coffee klatches
and museum tours. Sue says she has been on every road on New
Providence. Other visitors have come and gone from the wharf while we
stay here. We could have anchored out, but we really like these folks
so we stay until Nargis arrives. Shep and Deb of High
ZZ's joined
us from Palm Bay Marina after a day or two. They are cruising friends
from years past in Bimini. We hang out together whenever our wakes
cross.
With
Nargis aboard, we traversed Coral Harbour, waiting until lunchtime so
as to avoid small arms fire from the practice range at the Naval
Base. High ZZ's
turned west, to return to the States, while we turned east –
destination Shroud Cay, where we arrived after a brisk sail, just as
the sun drops below the horizon. Next morning we departed Shroud and,
again with a brisk wind, sailed into Big Majors spot and found a good
place to anchor, close-in under the coral cliffs.
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| Lunch at Lorraine's Black Point |
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| Nurse sharks coming for leftovers |
Brisk North winds held us in Big Majors Spot for several
days, but did not prevent us from taking dinghy expeditions to the
Staniel Cay Yacht Club and Isles General Store. When the winds turned
easterly we sailed over to Black Point Beach, where we spent a couple
of days hanging out on shore with more fellow cruisers.
With diminished easterlies we raised anchor and made our
way out of Dotham Cut fighting the tide, which had not quite slacked.
We were sailing on a course for Powell Point, Eleuthera only twenty
minutes after raising anchor. Things were going just fine.
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| Cape Eleuthera Marina |
We
were steering manually as the auto-pilot couldn't cope with the swell
on our quarter. We had been fussing with the sail trim, attempting to
get her 'balanced', finally accepting the 'fluffly' conditions and
just sitting back.
Whenever
things are going THAT fine I tend to relax and speculate about what
will be the next project for Panacea.
We have it in mind to enclose the cockpit. A curved
glass windshield might be within reach – costwise. Roll-up side
curtains will let us stay warm and dry in the kind of weather that
brought us to the islands this year. “Yup, we're going to do that”
were my words spoken in my mind as the new plan.
“What
was that?” Nargis had heard a change in engine note. Admittedly,
the engine had
slowed a few RPM's. I adjusted the throttle up a tad and re-cinched
the small lanyard that we 'lock' the throttle with, telling myself
“the darned throttle spring is too strong...”.
Moments later, we lost 300 RPM. I raised the throttle.
Yup, full response.
I was automatically trouble-shooting, and by revving her
up again, was assured that fuel was getting through.
Susan
had gone into troubleshooting mode automatically too. “The
antifreeze overflow tank is bubbling a
lot”.
“That's
it, we're sailing again” I declared as I shut the engine down. Sue
and I looked at each other “...Head Gasket....again!”
The winds dropped to the point where the plotter gave us
an ETA of midnight. I rigged the dinghy abreast and tied the steering
of the outboard, checked its oil and filled the fuel tank.
Making three knots solely using the outboard, our
Estimated Time of Arrival soon dropped to 9:00 pm, and when the winds
steadied and increased, we began to smile again. We arrived at Powell
Point and clipped into Davis Channel an hour before sunset. We messed
up our tack at Poison Point, circling to lee close-in to the point in
total darkness – before getting our act together – finally
anchoring in exactly the same place where we had dropped the hook two
years ago – also with a dud engine.
In
my brain I was seeing Tekla
Bramble
already at anchor just ahead of us. Of course – that was two years
ago. This time we are one lone boat. At least we are on completely
familiar ground this time. We have done this before.
When
we raised anchor at sunrise, leading a flotilla of other sailboats –
all of which passed us as they sped West and North. When we entered
Governor's Harbour in mid-afternoon a few of those same boats sent
their tenders to assist placing us in the anchorage. One lady urged
us to pick-up the empty mooring ball in mid-harbour. I was slow to
accept her advice as Susan would have to be handling the throttle in
the dinghy while I would necessarily have to steer Panacea,
leaving
it to Nargis to secure us to the mooring ball. This task would
require a lot more strength that she possesses.
After two tries at anchoring, one of the other boaters
suggested that he assist with the ball.
Problem solved.
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| Dinghy on the beach Governors Harbour |
Susan stayed aboard while Nargis and I drove to the
French Leave Resort to pay for a couple of nights on 'their' mooring
ball.
Mooring balls in the Bahamas are usually installed by
the Bahamian government and then 'leased' to a nearby commercial
enterprise whose business it will be, to recoup the leasing costs and
eke a margin of profit from mooring rentals from cruisers passing
through.
This seemingly straightforward concept has a few kinks.
One of these kinks can be laid at the feet of the
authors of several chartbooks and cruising guides. To be sure, the
authors of those books and guides were committing what they knew to
be true at the time - to paper. Unfortunately, when the Government's
mooring ball business plan evolved from “free for all” model - to
a “lessee and sub-lessee” model, the “knowledge” that these
things are free could not be erased from all of the guides and
chartbooks out there in circulation.
The battles on VHF between defiant boaters and
frustrated lessee mooring operators have not generally diminished.
They are not a pleasant thing to witness.
And now – back to the story. We presented ourselves to
the business office and advised that we wished to pay for the use of
their mooring ball. The young woman looked at me with a serious
expression and replied “We won't take your money. You can stay on
the ball if you wish, but I have to advise you that some of the
moorings have failed and we cannot assure that the two remaining ones
will not fail as well”.
With
thanks, we returned aboard, happy enough to stay on the mooring in
the mild conditions we were then currently experiencing. If the
hardware was going to fail, then it would fail when under heavy load,
probably during a 'blow'. I inspected the mooing lines and the
attachment hardware, which all looked 'perfect'. At 'sundowners'
aboard another boat Kevin of Apres
Ski told
me that he had once attached his own hardware by diving to the ring
on a mooring block in this harbour. Others advised that the mooring
where we had attached had been occupied by a large power boat for a
long period. We felt well-assured on learning that fact. When the
wind turned to the northwest and every other boat left Governor's
Harbour - we stayed right there on the ball.
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| Derek and Sue enjoying lunch at Tippy's |
It got pretty ugly, what with all of the rolling and
pitching – but the mooring held. I declared that I had had enough
and dinghy'd to Anchor Bay on the opposite side of the isthmus to
Cupid's Cay, where I sounded the bottom and otherwise
'scoped-it-out'. We made the move the very next day, even as some of
the other sailboats returned to GH.
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| Derek checking out the anchor set |
Anchor Bay is delightful. As I write this I am listening
to the pastor of the Episcopal Church as he delivers his sermon only
two-hundred feet away. Skin diving in this cove is a treat, with
clear water – unlike the water in the main harbour. We expect the
new head gasket to arrive tomorrow from the tractor supply firm in
Las Vegas. Hopefully it will solve the problem. If it turns out that
we have to do other things to get her running again, well this is a
great place to hang-out. The anchorage is protected better than the
main harbour and we can stay near the grocery stores, banks, the NAPA
auto parts store and the express company.
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| We are anchored facing Fish Fry and Library |
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| Our stern is side on to the Episcopalian church |
Many
of the local people are aware of our reason for staying and have
offered advice. One morning walker, wintering here from Mahone Bay,NS
invited us to 'visit' with he and his wife, an offer we intend to
take Tom up on. Last night we were invited to attend a grand 50th
birthday celebration by the sister of the celebrant. The sister has
been very helpful at the watering dock. She just happens to be
working on a construction crew – but whenever a dinghy approaches
the dock, she drops her tools and brings a water hose to the cruisers
dinghy.
And the birthday party was a smasher – and only 400
feet away at the 'weekly fishfry' site. Sue and I left early, Nargis
hitched a ride back a little later.
It's a sunny Sunday morning here in Anchor Bay. We have
been catching up on boat chores that we fell behind on while bouncing
around on the mooring. Nargis has just booked her air ticket out via
PineappleAir for Tuesday. Today is a day of R&R. We had tried to
rent a car for today to show Nargis some other parts of the island –
but could not get one. It seems that the Easter Season is a busy time
here for car rentals.
We're going to explore by dinghy instead, and maybe do
some snorkelling.
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| water falls at Leon Levy Preserve |
