01/01 Happy New Year.
(OK! Here's the deal, it's now 4/10/2001. I am still in Jacksonville Fl and
Andi is still in Chattanooga TN. I had to replace my computer and rebuild
everything from scratch and still haven't had time to update this web page. I
am going to get underway and head back to the Bahamas. I will try to keep
current starting now and update 12/1/2000 thru 4/10/2001 when I have the time.
I have did some neat stuff and met some cool people while I've been here
and want to tell you about it. I want to go sailing more. By-By.).
04/16 Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas (26.46N 77.20W) - Anchored off New
Plymouth. I left the marina at Ortega on the Wed 11th. After taking on fuel, I took DNA
to "The Landing" at down to Jacksonville and parked just south of
the Main Street Bridge. I had promised some bridge tender friend a tour of
DNA. I also wound up giving tours to other dreamers that came by during there
lunch hour. I'll bet there productivity was down when they got back to work.
On Friday the 13th, I passed under the Main Street Bridge,
waved good by and headed out. I reached the St. Johns inlet around 1 PM,
turned south, and set a course for the outer marker off Cape Canaveral. The
wind was 10 to 15 so stopped to motor and sailed all that day and night.
I passed the Cape around noon on the 14th. By around midnight I was somewhere
off the cost of Ft. Pierce, and decided to turn east and head across the
stream.
The wind was on the nose so to I had to drop sails and
start motoring. The stream wasn't ruff, but it was role. They were coming from
the side and about every fifth set, DNA would roll over and dump everything
that I hadn't secured, in the floor. This only lasted a few hours and seamed
to settle down when I got farther out in the stream. I reached the north west
corner of the Little Bahama Bank around 10AM the following morning ( the
15th). Still no land in
sight.
After checking the chart, I realized it would be dark
when I reached Green Turtle, so I stopped the motor and tried sailing with
only the jib. I gave this up after a couple of hours, no wind. I set the motor
to a fast idle and relaxed.
I reached a point about 5 mi north of Manjack Cay around 7
AM on Monday the 16th. This is where I had decided to enter the Sea Of Abaco.
Before heading in, I took the time to shower and wash my hare in the clean/cold
saltwater of the Atlantic. It felt good. I got through the inlet around 9AM and turned
left for Green Turtle. The wind was blowing, so I went back under sail and
arrived around 11AM. After looking at how shallow the water was at the
entrance to White Sound and Black Sound, I dropped anchor off New Plymouth.
During the trip I was doing morning and evening
position reports with cruising friends in Jacksonville and Titusville.
The question came up: why I was staying away from land for so long when there
were easer routes. Answer: Andi doesn't like blue water sailing I think I do.
This was the first opportunity I had to experience it. While I enjoyed the
trip, I'm not sure I proved any thing. It was only three or four days and
there was no bad weather.
New Plymouth at Green Turtle Cay
Update 04/20 Friday - Monday was a Bahama holiday and
customs was closed. I got the dinghy in the water, put the motor on and got
the paddles and other equipment on board. I couldn't get the motor started. I
changed the plug which didn't help. I brought the motor back on DNA and
started to take it apart. After removing the cover I saw the problem. I put
the cover back on the motor, motor back on the dinghy, TURNED THE GAS ON THE
SIDE OF THE MOTOR TO ON, and tried again. It started right up. All I can say
is I've been away from cruising way to long. That wasn't the end of my dinghy
problems. The motor was still running rough and half way to shore it quit. I
was lucky that a boating couple was returning to there boat and gave me a tow
back to DNA. The problem turned out to bad gas. I have four containers and I
know one is good. It will take some testing to find out if the others are OK.
Tuesday I made it to shore and found the customs office. He
had to leave so he gave me the forms and asked that I come back at 4PM. At
5:30 I came back to DNA. Found out later that he had missed the ferry. Went
back the next morning and checked in with no problem. I think he felt bad,
because he said he was extending my permit time to 6 mo which was longer than
he normally gave. I gave him the $100 fee, returned to DNA, and replaced the
yellow "Q" flag with Bahama curtsy flag.
Monday night, about 3AM, a
front came through and killed the wind generator. When the wind started
blowing forty and fifty mph, I decided to shut it down. The next morning when
I tried to start it back up, nothing happens. It acts just like it did last
year when we reached Nassau. Last year we lost several weeks sending it back
to the factory for repairs. Not to mention to cost of phone calls and
shipping. Because time, money, and help taking it down is in short supply, I'm
thinking of letting it go till I get back. What hurts is running the motor to
charge the battery while the wind is blowing 15 and 20 mph.
The water maker has also quit working. I took it our and
performed the cleaning procedure, but it hasn't helped. It appears to not be
pulling water into the unit. That will probably be my next project after I get
the web page updated with this entry. I will try tomorrow.
Update 04/22 - No luck at BATELCO yesterday. They are
closed on Sat & Sun. I will try again tomorrow. Wind is still gusting
20+mpa and cool. Should start getting better around Tue.
Update 04/25 - Well I finally got the web page updated
using the phone coupler. You can't use the computer at BATELCO here. I think I
got the photos uploaded but they didn't show up on the page. It may be an
upper/lower case problem. If the fix is not something simple and quick,
we may haft to wait till I get back. It cost $19 so far.
I took the Pur-35 water maker apart and found a
cracked check valve. No one here has one and I haven't been able to find the
repair kit we have on DNA. I called Andi and checked where she thought the
might be, no luck. One thing is sure, it's here. On the way over, I was
looking for several things. The one nice thought I had was "I know there
here". In the old days it was: I may have left it in the car, at the
house, on the other boat, at the office,........... Like I said, I
know it's HERE!
The wind generator is still not working. I wasn't able to
contact Air Marine because of phone problems. Another front is coming so I've decided
to stay here. It's nice, so why not?.
Update 04/28 - Phone cost update: You can use the Bahama
Phone Company (BATELCO) card to call the US for $1 a minute. Even the 1(800) are
$1 a min. you can't dial 1800 you must dial 1880. You can't call a new 1(888)
numbers, that I'm aware of. I got a pre-paid ATT card before I left. In the US
it's .04 per min., here it's .50 a minute. That's better than $1 but I haven't
found a way to call a 1(800) number. In the US it's a free call, so when you
key it in here, using the ATT card, it says it's not a valid number. There seams to be a new
calling card floating around that's .22 a min.. It's like the ATT card, but
they don't have any here. There are so many numbers to key that I haven't been
able to use the ATT card with the computer. It's easer to plug in the BATELCO
card and let the computer call, but it cost more. Cell phones are not an
option in the Bahamas. The global type phones are $1.65 a min. + a mo. rate +
initial equipment cost. ......... Someday!!! Someday!!!!
Once I found a non 1(800) number for the Air Marine people,
I had an idea how to check out the unit. I was very proud of me, I remover the wind generator from it's stand
at the top of the radar
arch all by my self. I didn't draw any blood, break anything, or lose any parts over the
side. After taking the unit apart, three more trips to shore, just under an
hour in calls to there tech support, and some rewiring to temporally get around the problem, I put
everything back together. NO Change. It will be Monday afternoon before I can
call them again.
Earlier, I had started DNA's motor to recharge the batteries.
The batteries were down quite a bit (150 amps) and it didn't seam the new
Balmar was charging. I turned the motor off and was going to restart it, to
watch the Balmar go through it's cycle up routine. Nothing! I mean Nothing!
I had no power to the motor at all. Even the test alarm on the control
panel was dead. I had power in the boat. Because I didn't know when I would be
able to re-charge the batteries, I turned everything off except the VHF and
ice-box. Because I didn't want to break anything else, I went to bed. The next
morning the motor started with no problem. I don't like that. Without knowing
why it quit working, it can happen again. Something is still not right with the charging.
It's a small world. While I was typing this, there was a
call from outside. It was the couple off the boat anchored next to DNA. They
were asking about the boat and name. It turns out they keep there boat across
the lake from Ortega River and were in the Ortega just before leaving
Jacksonville. They took basically the same route as DNA, with a couple of stops
in-between.
Update 04/30 - The wind has blown 25 to 35 for the last
three days and they say it will continue for at least another two. It has also
started to rain. Today was interesting, it started out with a fire.
One of the
unused stove eyes had leaked some kerosene. It had migrated to the back of the
stove under the brass warming plate that covers the back third of the stove
top. while making coffee it had got hot enough to ignite. Two quick shots, from
the galley extinguisher, and the fire was out. After fixing the stove
problem and cleaning up the mess, I resolved to fix my DC charging problem.
I first moved all the stuff I had stowed in the quarter
berth to the main cabin. Think of your storage closet at home. I opened up the
engine compartment and removed the belt, alternator, and then the positive
cables running to the starter. The one from the battery and the alternator.
The end on the alternator cable was very lose. I repaired and cleaned all the connections
and re-connected it back up. I now had power restored to the motor's switch
panel. I put the alternator back and replace the belt. When I was re-tensioning
the belt and was tightening the bolt that holds the alternator to the motor I
heard the 'pop'. I removed the bold and found the end missing.
I removed the belt and alternator to see the end of the
bolt imbedded in the motor. It was an inie not an outie. I found my set of ease-outs
by partially emptying the port cabin locker. I got out my cordless drill and bits
only to find it was too big to fit in the available space. I then located my electric
drill by partially emptying the starboard locker. My new 'Vector Powerforce 150
Watt Inverter' wouldn't run it. I couldn't locate my old pocket inverter (I
know it's here), so went for the big new 1500 watt inverter. I found it by partially
emptying the starboard V-berth locker. You're not going to believe this but at
this point 'The Force' took over. I was able to drill the bolt, insert
the ease-out and remove the end without a hitch. The trip to the marina in
thirty mph wind and rain was a little wet, but it only took about thirty
minutes and the replacement bolt was only $1.05. I put everything back together and
started the motor. My new 75amp alternator started charging 73amps. It
never did that before. I shut it down and surveyed my surroundings. It looked
like I had emptied every thing except the ice box. Still no sign of the water
maker repair kit. Slowly, everything was returned to it's proper place, then I
made a cup of coffee. It was only 2:30. The
wind generator people are in AZ. I still had time to got to shore
and give them a call.... I decided to be lazy, lay back, and listen to the wind and
rain outside.
Update 05/06 - Not much has changed. The weather in the
Bahamas appears to be getting worse, not better. Oh well that's part of
cruising. Yesterday I decided to take the dinghy around the north end of Green
Turtle to explore an sheltered cove. The wind was blowing so hard it was a wet
trip. At one point I saw something big and dark dart under the boat. The water
was ruff so I couldn't tell what it was, but with the ocean less than 1/2
mile away, I thought 'shark'. I brought my fingers in and spread my feet apart to
stable to steady the boat. I could picture Andi laughing when a dolphin
finally broke the surface. When I rounded the point, it got rougher quick. I
could see the breakers coming in from the ocean and there was no island
between me an the wind. The cove wasn't that far so I went on. I didn't
stay there long. It was too shallow to ever get DNA in and I was beginning to think
this wasn't really the weather to go exploring. I filled the gas tank before
leaving and heading back.
On the way back, I noticed the dinghy was taking on water
more than usual. When I got back to DNA I decided to take some empty cans in
for fuel. While I was filling them at the marina, the dinghy was still taking
on water. When I got the fuel back to DNA I decided to take the dinghy out of
the water for the night and check it on shore the next day. I emptied the
dinghy and removed the motor. When I was raising it I went to remove the drain
plug. The plug's screw an locking lever was missing. There was a 1/8 hole through
the center of the rubber plug. I removed the plug and secured the dinghy for
the night.
Today is Sunday so no
one is open to check on an new plug. I know we have a spare but I can't
find it. I filled the hole, in the rubber plug, with caulk and let it setup.
The dinghy is back in operation. If I had left it in the water the
dinghy and motor would have been on the bottom.
Update 05/08 - No one on Green Turtle has a plug that will
fit my dinghy. Good news! While looking for the spare plug, I found the water
maker kit. We are now making water. I also found the old pocket inverter.
Boats are beginning
to transit the Whale Channel. They report it's ruff but passable. One boat
said: ' I've checked the schedule and I haft to go today!'...... I have no
schedule, me and DNA will see what it's like tomorrow.
05/11 Bakers Bay, Great Guana Cay (26.41N 77.10W) - Went around The Whale this
morning with ten other boats. It was ok
but still scary. The swells were mostly around 4ft but every once in a while a
couple 8 to 10ft would come through. They were close together so, when DNA was between
them, the
other boats would disappear. While the trip took less than four hours, I decided
to stop just on the other side at Bakers Bay. It's an open anchorage,
protected from the ocean, with a pretty beach. It also looked like there was a
lot to explore ashore.
On the trip, I had felt a slight vibration so I decided to
check to see if the alternator had loosened up or something. The new
bolt holding the alternator was loose. I decided to remove it and add a lock washer. When it came out I found it had not loosened up, it had
broken off
like the first one. I got DNA ready to sail to Marsh Harbor tomorrow.
05/12 Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island (26.33N 77.03W) - Got up early to check
the 7:00AM weather on the Bahama Net (4003Mh). It looked good and there was still
some wind. I raised the main sail and then pulled up the anchor. I let it
hang and returned to the helm. DNA fell off the wend and started sailing. When
I had cleared the other boats in the anchorage, I set the autopilot, went
forward and secured the anchor. I put out the jib and set a course for Marsh
Harbour just under ten miles away. Before entering the harbour, I rolled in
the jib. I then sailed DNA into the anchorage, found an open spot, headed up
into the wind to stop DNA, and dropped the anchor. As DNA fell back, I pushed
the main out into the wind to help set the anchor. I lowered the main, jumped
in the dinghy and headed to the shore for some drill bits. It was almost 11AM
and the stores close at noon for the weekend.
Marsh Harbour is primarily a large cove surrounded
mostly by marinas. A few are still closed from the last hurricane that hit
here. Within walking distance, thy have a large verity of businesses. There
are three or four large hardware stores.
Update 05/13 - No luck with the broken bolt. The new bolt
was stainless steel and SAE, not metric. I broke several bits trying to make a dent. When I
finally got a hole, the bolt was in so tight, the ease-out broke off in
the hole.
Update 05/20 - This week was mostly spent visiting with a
friend from Jacksonville. He was passing through Marsh Harbour on his way back
to FL. I wedged the generator back in place, like it was, so I could run the motor to
charge the batteries. I contacted Air Marine and they are sending a new
control board for the wind generator.
One day we took the ferry to Man-O-Way Cay. This is nice
little community. One main street of businesses runs along a narrow harbour.
I could get DNA in here, but only at hide tide. While there, I
checked with two boat yards about DNA. They said they couldn't help.
The next day we rented motor scooters and drove to Treasure Cay.
This area is very
expensive. Condos, golf course, and marinas that charge you even if you anchor
out. On the way back, we went by the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard. The mechanic wasn't there. I
explained the problem with DNA and they said they would call me the next day on VHF. The
next morning they called and sail that they didn't have the tools to do the job
and couldn't help. Friends, on two other boats, came by and gave it a shot.
They both brought some of there own tools. Still no luck. I broke several more drill bits and
decided to try a Dremel grinding bit. The Dremel was able to make some
progress, but the
grinding tips don't last long. I felt a little like a dentist drilling a tooth.
I took a break and we took the ferry to Hope Town.
This was the first place that had an anchorage where I would take DNA. You
must use one of the moorings to stay in the harbor. The town is on one side of
the anchorage and a light house on the other. We bummed
a ride, from the town
side, over to the light house..
Getting back turned in to an adventure. There
is no road:
So make sure you have a round trip ride before you try this. The path above
was one of the larger ones.
The next
morning I put the alternator back on and wedge it back in place so I could
recharge the batteries. That took about 8 hours. I am now losing fresh water
from the motor's cooling system. I had to keep adding water while the
motor was running. Adding a little water ever 10 or 15 minutes, adds up. The
water tanks starting getting low so I put the last 24 gal, I had on deck, in DNA's
tanks. When the batteries
were charged, I went to do
laundry at a local marina but I was too late. So I settled for a long hot
shower and called it a night.
Update 05/27 - Did laundry Monday and ran motor another two
hours. Still losing water but not too much. DNA's water tanks are all I have
left. All the water cans on deck are empty and only two of the fuel cans are
full.
My friend left Tuesday heading back Jacksonville. I
called a local mechanic to come look at DNA's problem. He said he would come
the next morning. That went on for several days so I quit calling. I spent the
next several days trying various O-rings, gaskets, and packing material,
trying to stop my new water leek. I finally gave up and took the water system apart.
I found a crack in the pipe. I called the local boat yard and they said it would
probably be Monday before they could get to it. I was low on water and
battery, a lot of PLEASE, $15 to solder the pipe, and $24 for the cabs
and had the repaired water pipe back on DNA. I had no shortage of gasket materials
on board to re-connect the system.
I fashioned some support blocks for the alternator, so
it couldn't reach the water pipes. The next couple of days I spent running
the water maker to refill DNA's tanks and the motor to bring the batteries
back to full charge. OH, two days later, I realized I had everything on
board to have repair the water pipe myself. Oh well.
Update 05/29 - Because I was so low on water I have temporally
altered the water system. I routed the bathroom sink and the water
maker raw water output to the bilge pump. I took the sink's through hull and
routed it through a strainer and then to the water maker filter system. I can
now run the motor and water maker at the same time. That is why I am adding
a new through hull to the system.
I went buy UPS to pick up the replacement part for
the Air Marine. It was being held at customs. There was no paperwork on the
package. A phone call to the states and a fax back to customs and the package was
released with a $20 fee. $10 for a stamp tax and $10 for UPS as my agent. I
don't think it's right for UPS to charge at both ends. I wanted the part, I
paid the money. I don't know if there's a 'plan B' but I will check before I
use UPS again.
I also removed the autopilot and took it to the local electronic repair shop.
The handle will no longer engage the unit . It had started to go bad on the passage
here and I broke a wire removing the unit. I went back the picked it up the
next day. They had repaired the wire I broke and added an new repair kit, which is primarily
a new belt. The cost was $124. I was a little upset when I found the
handle was still broken. When I pointed out the unit could not be used because
the handle would not stay engaged, they pointed to the hole they had drilled
in the handle so I could put 'something like a rubber band' to hold the handle
in place.
Update 06/01 - Yesterday morning brought a new disaster. If you are squeamish,
skip this section. I found that a hose hade come out and dumped the entire
content of the holding tank in the V-birth locker. There was shit every where.
I do mean shit. The brown lumpy stuff. And the only way to get it out was by
hand. When I started this task, it began to rain so I had to close the
hatches. This cut off my fresh air supply. I all most ask what else could go
wrong, but I didn't want to know. If you ever have 4 to 6 hours free
some time, you should try this. It puts all the other 'shit' that's going on
in your life in prospective. After the bulk was removed and placed in a
doubled garbage bag, I used my little shower pressure washer to hose down the
area. Then I had to remove the head and cabin floors so I could clean the bilge
from the wash down. After I repaired the holding tank, put everything
away, and got cleaned up. I went to shore for long, long, long hot shower.
I came back and installed the new circuit board on the wind generator. Then
connected the wires and blade and mounded it back on the radar arch. It's working but I am
not use to the new noise.
Today, I worked on the bolt some more. No lock
on removing it. Cleaned up the wiring to wind generator. Found a broken wire
to one of the solar panels. I repaired it and picked up three more amps.
Update 06/02 - Today I decided I has had enough. I went to
the store and found a 1/4 cobalt bit. It widened the hole in the bolt and I believe
cut a little deeper. Then I took the largest ease-out I had and drove it in with a big hammer. I used a small torch to heat the bolt. Then, using
a socket and ratchet, I began to apply pressure and felt something give. I
gave it a couple a more hits with the hammer, reheated the bolt, and started
again. The bolt began to move. IT WAS OUT!!! I took the metric replacement
bolt and screw it by hand with no problem. The other bolt had not damaged the
threads. I replaced the alternator and put every away. I added a large lock washer
to the new bold so I could secure the alternator without making the bolt so
tight.
--- MORE 2001 ---
--- Main Menu ----