The Last Great Adventure...
We're two ex-aircraft engineers who had enough.
After years of working all hours and standing around on cold, wet airfields waiting for nothing to happen, enough was enough.
It all started one evening in the pub, as most crazy ideas do.
John was due to retire and wanted to buy a boat and sail the Med but he couldn't do it by himself and asked me if I'd like to come along. Well, how can you turn down an offer like that.
So we started making plans and looking at boats.
At this point I should just mention something important.
We've never owned a boat or been sailing before for that matter. After all, what could go wrong!!! As it turned out, a lot!!
Anyway, after about 5 years and lots of rehashing of plans, we decided the Med was not going to work and we started to look to the Caribbean instead. So we nipped to Florida to have a look at some more boats. By this time we'd ruled out a large monohull gin palace, as we'd never be able to fuel it and had settled on looking at power catamarans. Well it turns out that Florida is awash with them, some good but most not so. After a few days and several veiwings we finally found Cat Escape and we loved it. So we signed the papers and started the purchase.
Now the clock was running. We returned to work and started making plans for the next phase. Most of our friends still didn't believe we'd go through with it but as time moved on and John sold his house, there was panic setting in as they realized it was happening. Unfortunately during this time my dear old mum passed away but she was able to see some photos and wished us well before she left us.
We took ownership of Cat Escape on the 1st June 2017 and then everything switched up a few gears.
We handed in our notice at work but had to work 2 months notice out, which gave us time to sort out the last bits. This mostly involved giving everything away. The rule we set was, if it didn't fit in 2 cases it went. TV's, furniture, cooking stuff everything, we even gave our cars away, until finally we had to move into a hotel as we had nothing left.
All our friends gave us a lovely send off party and finally realized we were doing it.
And so the adventure begins.
We arrived in Florida on the 1st Aug with our 2 cases each and nothing else.
This was the point we discovered that things don't work the same in the states as in the UK. We'd had the boat left in a large boat yard in Stuart, Florida. With instructions to have a couple of small jobs done before we arrived back. Unfortunately, on arriving at the boat yard we found nothing had been done. When we asked why they hadn't started we couldn't believe the reply. We needed you to sign the work release before we can start and we can't send international emails of phone calls. What a load of rubbish. Because they had lifted the boat out we could just leave and so the problems started. I'm not going to go into the details but just to say jobs which should have been completed in a few weeks took 4 months. This ment we had to stay in a hotel and rent cars to get about. We went to the boat yard almost every day and our disappointment mounted daily and we were faced with more and more excuses.
The only upside was we'd booked a boat handling course in the BVI's for a week, so we took a flight to Tortola and had a great week learning how we should do things. Our instructor "Dutch" was brilliant and we were soon building our confidence. The week past quickly and very soon was our final test. We docked at the Moorings and Dutch got off to leave us to plot a course for an overnight stop to Soper's Hole. We set off at about 11.00 and motored 10nm down the coast and moored up for our overnight stop. We needed a beer after that. Everything went well and the following morning we headed back to the Mooring and docked. Dutch was waiting for us and after a quick chat gave us our certificates. We passed.
We returned to Florida feeling quite pleased with ourselves but the feeling was soon ripped away by the boat yard as there was more issues.
The following week hurricane IRMA hit the BVI's and distroyed the Mooring and the rest of the island, we were lucky. IRMA hit Florida a few days later but we were still in the hotel so nice and safe. It was a strange experience to say the least as the hotel filled with alsorts of people and there pets. But we weren't ready for what came next, Karin on reception said "have we see the pig"? Yes a pig. Not a little miniture one but a full size 300lbs porker called Hamlet. He was lovely and at least for a while we forgot about what was going on outside.
Anyway, IRMA passed and we'd not got any damage to the boat so that was a blessing but it didn't stop the boat yard causing us more issues with a leaking log tube which we only found once the boat was back in the water and we'd moved to Riviera Beach. We had taken a Volvo specialist with us to try and find out what the problem was with our starboard engine. After cruising down the ICW for 3 hours and the engine shut down over 20 times we asked the "specialist" what the problem was? His answer left us gob smacked. "The computer said there's nothing wrong, so there's no fault". He left and never came back having taken $700 for the free ride. 2 weeks later we had to take the boat back to the boat yard so they could lift it out again and start cutting the back end to bits.
We were now running into another proplem.
As we had arrived on the 1st Aug on an ESTA our 90 days were rapidly running out and we were going to have to leave on Thanks Giving, no if's about it either. The boat was almost ready but just to twist the knife one last time the boat yard closed for the hoilday and would let us leave until they checked the money had been transfered. So we had to get a flight to the Bahamas and so we ended up in Port Lucaya without a boat. We had taken on a captain to bring the boat over a couple of days later but even that didn't go to plan as he could find anyone to sail with him. During the week he was on the boat he broke the patio window and messed with the generator so it wouldn't work. He also lost a $100 fender over the side and couldn't be bothered to go back for it. So by the time he arrived on the 4th Dec our boat was a wreck. He wanted to know when we wanted him back to take us south. That'll never happen.
Anyway here we were in Port Lucaya with a very broken boat feeling that maybe this wasn't such a good idea and what else could go wrong?
Our luck has to change? Or does it!
So we find ourselves in a new port with no idea how we're going to get things fixed.
We started with the generator that the captain had messed with. Google's great for somethings. After a day of scrolling through websites we finally found a circiut diagram and once we opened the electronic control box we found the the relays had moved themselves around and were all in the wrong places. Funny how that just happens! So after putting them back the generator started right up and has been fine ever since.
During our first few days we'd been finding our way around the town and bars and found that everyone we met were very friendly and helpful. We happened to get chatting to this nice Scotish chap who had lived here for 19 years, when we told him of our problems he gave us a load of local contacts who could help. This was a bit of a break but there's no Vovlo Penta engineers on the island.
Anyway, Jim and his lovely wife Andrea, invited us along to the Hawksbill Yacht Club a couple of days later where we we're made very welcome and we got even more useful tips and information.
So the following week we were able to get our broken window fixed. Dave at GB Glass was a star, he took the whole unit out and had it back a couple of hours later as good as new and it only cost $250. Thinks were sttarting to look up.
It was now Christmas and we'd made some new friends at the marina so we took a few days off from worrying and had a party. It was ment to be a few drinks at lunch time but ended up as an all nighter. Everyone had a great time and for a while we felt better. More boats arrived just after Christmas so we dicided to do it again on New Years day and yes, it was just as messy. What a way to start 2018.
By now we had our own little community in the marina. Steve was on his new yacht getting away from the cold of north America, Heidt was from Alabama and had been sailing boats for years, Kristen and Brett Biba and their 2 dogs Pumpernickel and Batman were sailing from Texas and like us have no plans to go back. There was also Noel and Sukki, who've been at the marina for several years and were planning to sail their 38 foot yacht to Portugal at the end of April. Rolly and Carol had come all the way from Canada to escape the snow. Last but not least there were our neighbors, Terry and Gloria, two of the nicest people you could ever meet. Terry had spent a long time in the US navy and Coast Guard, so he was able to help us with how to handle our boat and he came out a few time to make sure we didn't get into trouble. We've made life long friends and we hope to meet up again next year.
Anyway, as January started we tried to get in touch with Vovlo Penta America to see if they could help with our now long standing engine issue that was actually getting worse as we now couldn't start it at all most of the time. Well, surprise, surprise they told us that they couldn't do anything and we should go back to the engineering company in Florida and give them another chance. I thought they were joking but no they told us that's what we had to do for them to help. So we did not take there advise but found another company called Marine International Diesels in Fort Lauderdale.
Jefory Burke is the owner and what a differance from the other bunch of clowns.
This man really knows his stuff and within 10 minutes of arriving we knew that one of the ECU's had failed, we swapped the one from the good engine and it seemed to work. So a couple of days later the new part arrived and we fitted it. We started the engine and it ran great, for an hour then stopped again. We were gutted. So we called Jefory and to our amazment he got on a flight the next morning to come and see what was happening. This on Saturday, his day off. That's the first time we'd had that kind of service since we arrived. As with everthing on the boat it wasn't easy, we spent all day checking wiring and connections and finally, after everything else had been tested the only bit left was the engine ECU itself. He was amazed as in all his years of working with these engines he'd only ever replaced 2 and they both failed for the same reason, they'd had a lightening strike. It's the only thing that kills the ECU. So a new ECU was ordered and arrived a few days later. We fitted it and crossed our fingers, turned the key and it started right up. Brilliant. So the following afternoon we made plans to go for a little test run.
Know at this point let me remind you all that up until now we hadn't been able to do anything with the boat ourselves due to the engine problems, so this was our very first chance to "Have a go". What could possibly go wrong!!!
So with Terry along for a bit of moral support and guidance we left the safety of the dock and move out into the channel. We were able to do some handling practice and even dropping the anchor a few times. We were so pleased as everything was going well. Oppps. Spoke to soon.
With that, we lost drive to the starboard gearbox. The engine was still running and responding but the gearbox had failed. We just couldn't believe it. It was a good job we had Terry onboard as he was able to show me how to bring the boat back to the dock on one engine. It's not easy to say the least but we got in and secured the lines, turned everything off and wondered if we'd ever get a break, we were gutted.
So after a cuppa and a think we decided to check the oil level. It should be fine as we'd payed to have the filters and oil change in the boat yard before we left, so imagine our surprise when the oil was almost black and the filter was thick with crud. We checked the port gearbox too and that was the same. Yet again we'd been charge a load of money and no work had been done. We were more than cheesed off but what could we do, they'd had our money and we're out of the country. The only thing for it was to call Jefory and order the parts we needed. While we were at it we ordered some extra parts for the exhuast which would need to be replaced soon. About 10 days later a large box arrived with all our parts and we set to doing the oil change on the gearboxes. We thought we may as well fix the exhuast while we're at it and it was a good job we did, as it was so badly corroded it could have failed at any time and probably taken the turbo with it, so for once we had a bit of good luck.
A couple of days later with all the jobs completed we asked Terry to come again and we had another go. This time everything worked. We even go brave and took the boat out the Bell Channel and into the open ocean for the first time. We only stayed out a couple of hours as we didn't want to push our luck. When we got back to the dock and had shut everything down we both finally felt that something had gone right for the first time, what a relief. Over the next few days and weeks we got a little more adventurous and practiced our manoeuvring and handling skills until we were happy we knew what we were doing. It wasn't all without issues as we got caught by the wind one afternoon coming off the dock and it pushed us into another yacht. There was a panic for a few moments but with the help of everyone in the marina we finally got free and no damage was done but we were shaken so we just went to the fuel dock to top the tanks off and came back, very carefully and without and further incidents.
We had decided that it was about time we moved on. We were happy the boat was fixed and had planned our course south. Also all our marina friends were planning to leave too. So we paid our bill and said goodbye to all our new friends at Bones Bar, Molly's, Rum Runners and all the boys at the marina, who had been a source of daily entertainment with their antices on the jet skis. I'd just like to say a special thanks to Terrance the dock master at the Flamingo Bay Marina, he made everything so easy and was so helpful. One of lifes really good guys.
The Adventure Starts Here... Finally
Off We Go....
So on the morning of 18th April 2018, we were up early, well early for us anyway.
We did our final bit of clearing up and made sure all the hatchs and windows were closed. We had a final cuppa and took our brave pills. We were as ready as we were going to be. So at 09.30 we slipped the lines from the dock at Flamingo Bay Marina for the last time and slowly set off. All our wonderful friends waived us off. I think they were just waiting for us to hit something really, anyway we were on our way. John had a final tidy around the deck as I steered us out the Bell Channel and into the unknown.
Well this was it, we were doing it, no going back now. As we got to the outer marker I slowly increased the power, all was good so as the speed came up I pushed it a little more Cat Escape was finally doing what she was ment to do.
As we watch Port Lucaya disapear behind us we had 130nm ahead to Palm Cay, which is just around the corner from Nassau at the east end of the island.
We were now cruising at 18 knots and the miles flying by. Our course plotting all seemed to be going to plan and the auto pilot was keeping us right on track, brilliant. After about six and a half hours we had New Providence in sight. Everything was going great and we were really enjoying it.
Oppps, done it again.
As we came around the south of the island it all started to get a bit tricky to say the least. We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of an uncharted coral field, at low tide. What had gone wrong? I'll tell you what. Instead of taking our original course we took the advise of an expert sailor in the bar the evening before. Big mistake.
We've never had to concentrate so hard on anything in our lives. At one point we had one foot of water under the boat and the weather was starting to blow up, it was getting very choppy too and that just made things worse. Well after about two and a half hours of stress, we finally made it to the safety of Palm Cay Marina.
We found our slip and made the boat secure and had a couple of beers. We're not doing that again.
It was now that we discovered the marina shuts at five and the bar and restaurant are only open Thursday to Sunday. Oh well beer and crisps it was. We were both knackered. It had been one hell of a day for two old gits who've never had a boat before but we'd done it.
We're having a couple of days in Palm Cay and taking the opportunity to look around Nassau.
If the weather plays ball and the wind dies down, we hope to set off on the next leg on Tuesday.
Here we go again
The second leg...
After a few days in Nassua to recover from the stress of our first adventure, we restocked with food and beer and on the 26th April we set off on the second leg.
We'd done our planning and had a nice route to take us down to Staniel Cay. This place is famous for it's swimming pig and it's where "Thunderball" was filmed. We were looking forward to a couple of days site seeing.
All was going well and we were covering the miles nicely but after a couple of hours the weather started to turn and the wind started to increase, this wasn't forecast until much later but we all know how accurate weather forecasts are.
By the time we got to Staniel Cay we'd managed to out run the weather and it was a little calmer as we came into docked. Just to remind you all, we've not been at this long and I've only ever docked at a nice large clear areas. So just imagine how quickly the stress levels went through the roof when I see they expect me to park in between two Mega yachts and I have to be within a couple of feet. No pressure then. Well I must be getting better as after a couple of attempts we got in and we didn't hit anything either. So we made the boat secure, fired up the BBQ and opened a couple of cold ones. The wind had started to increase from the west and we were getting banged againest the dock a little more than we liked so we put out all of our fenders and went to the bar. Later that night the weather took a turn for the worse. On friday morning we woke up to cloudy skys. We decided to go for a walk and see what the island had to offer. There's a few small shops where you can get supplies but it's limited, so don't expect to much and you won't be dissapointed. By the afternoon the weather was starting to get worse and the sea state was also bouncing us about and as our dingy is out of service we didn't get the opertunity to visit the sites but there's always tomorrow. That evening we went to the bar and met some lovely people there, Jeff and Liby, were doing something similar to us. They had sold up and bought a boat and were enjoying sailing the Caribbean but realized they needed a bigger boat so are heading back to the states for something larger. We also met Jason and Mel who had moved from Texas to Florida where they kept there boat and were having a lovely time too. They have a lovely dog called Winston, a real softy and a hit with everyone.
By Saturday morning we were being tossed about like a toy, we could hardly stand up. At about 09.30 I went to have a look at the forecast and at that point the heavens opened and the wind and rain became so bad that almost everyone from all the boats, big and small were now in the bar. I say almost as John couldn't get off the boat because it was now being smashed againest the dock with such force he couldn't make the jump. I was very worried so I had another cup of tea and watched the strom. Finally the wind eased up just enoug to let John off. Then it started again. This went on all morning until about 13.30. We walked back along the dock to find a mess. Part of our rubbing strip had been ripped off and a nail which was sticking out of the dock post has taken a couple of lumps out of our fiberglass, a large bit of the side window sunscreen had also been rubbed off by the fender. The sea was still so ruff there was nothing we could do. It carried on all night. You could sleep because of the noise. So when it started to ease at about 05.00 I was able to get an hours kip before the alarm went off at 06.00. By now the weather and the sea state had calmed down so we had a quick look over the boat for anymore damage and decided it was time to leave. We slipped the lines and got to the fuel dock first thing, we topped the tanks off and payed our bill and we set off on the next bit, damage and all.
Onward to Emerald Bay
Leg three
As we said goodbye to Staniel Cay and made our way out of the cut and into the open ocean on the east side of the Exumas, we turned and followed the coast south. The weather had finally given us a break. Oppps, there I go again.
We were just over half way to Emerald Bay when we got a call on the radio from our old friend Heidt Adams who we met on Port Lucaya at Christmas. He was heading north after spending time in Georgetown where he'd cut his foot badly on a counch shell and had to have a load of stitches. We turned and sailed along with him for a short time then wished eachother well and a safe onward trip. We turned back south and continued to Emerald Bay.
All was good in the world. Then we noticed in the distance a very large storm, it was the tail end of the strom that had passed us the night before. As we watch it on the radar it seemed to start to change direction. Guess which way it's now going?
You've got it, right for us. For once, just once can we get a break?
Anyway we only had a couple of miles to go to Emerald Bay so as the rain started to hammer down I turned towards to harbour and push the power up, I'm going to out run this. Well we managed to just get ahead of long enough to get into the harbour and calmer waters. We had two options here, either pay for a dock with power and water or a much cheaper one with no power or water. As we'd been able to run our water marker all day our tanks were full and with solar and a genset we can sort things out ourselves. So we tied up to a nice quiet dock and you've guessed it, had a beer.
Although there's no bar or resturant at the marina, there's a very nice hotel 100 yards away where you can use the beach and get food and drink a plenty. But it's not the cheapest place. So after a couple of beers and fish and chips we called it a night. Best night sleep for several days. Today is Monday and so the laundry needed to be sorted out. The marina had washers and dryers but at the moment only one dryer works. Maintenance are trying to get the others working but have an up hill struggle getting the parts but it's all clean and tidy and the staff are all very helpful. As I write this the weather is starting turn bad again, with storms predicted all week, so I guess we'll stay put and explore the island by car.
More to Follow
Beer in the rain...
So yesterday we decided to rent a car and take a trip to see what Georgetown had to offer. Well it's a nice little town with some good store. There are two large supermarkets which are well stocked with veg and meat along with the usual tins, we got most of what we wanted including some nice lamb chops for the BBQ.
After stopping for a coffee we got back in the car and drove south out of Georgetown just to see where the road went. Well after about 45 mins of dodging pothole well finally came to the end of the road and the island. By now it was raining again so we decided,as turned around to head back we we'd stop off at a little bar in Williams Town and have a beer. Well sometimes you just have too.
While we were finishing off our beers we had a message from friends who were anchored just off Stocking Island opposit Georgetown to say they were heading to town and could we meet up.
We first meet Kristen and Brett and the two lovely dogs, Pumpernickle and Batman, just after New Year in Port Lucaya. They've taken time out to travel on the boat and see how far they can get. They've had a lot of guests during the last couple of months and it's kept them very busy.
So it was lovely to catch up over a couple of beers and swap stories and adventures. They are a really fun young couple, with a spirit for life that takes some beating. So after a couple of hours we said our good byes for now.
By the time we drove back to Emerald Bay the wind had started to get up. So I fired up the BBQ and cooked our lamb chops, which were lovely. We had a few more beers and called it a night.
So, today is Wednesday and we're trying to do something to fix the davit but at the moment the rain is hammering down and there's no way we can do anything apart from sit and write this update.
Life's a Beach...
Here we are, still in Emerald Bay. The weather here has been terrible over the last few days but we've used the time to finally fix our dingy davit. After several hours of cutting, drilling and hammering, we finally fitted some new heavy duty rollers and stronger rope to allow us to lift the 500lbs that is the dingy with it's motor and the davit. After a few final tweeks we got it working great, so now we can drop and raise the dingy whenever we need it, something we've not been able to do properly since we've had the boat.
Well that was a good days work.
At 05.30 on Sunday morning we were woken by the bilge alarm going off. What now!!!
So Sunday morning was spend with my head down into the belly of the boat trying to find where all this water was coming from. As it was fresh water and not salty, we thought it may have been a leak from all the rain we've had but after some investigation we discovered the leak was coming from the water heater. The seal around the element was completly perished and water was running out and down the power lead, not good. So now we have no hot water until we can get a new element and seal from the US.
Well today is a busy one, what with shopping and planning for tomorrows onward trip.
Next stop Clarence Town.. We hope..
So on the morning of the 9th of May, with the boat full of supplies and finally clear skys, we set off for Clarence Town. Thinks went well for the first hour and then it started to get choppy and from no where and large thunderstorm started to develop out to our right and it was travelling fast to the north east, right in front of where we needed to make our next turn. So for 3 hours we tried to out run it by heading in the same direction, taking us a long way north of our track, trying to get in front of it but the sea was now getting very rough and we had to slow down, the strom was now moving faster than us. Finally, we noticed a small break in the middle of the storm and we just had to go for it. The rain was so hard I couldn't even see the front of the boat at times. It took about an hour until we finally cleared the storm but by now we were so far off track we would never be able to get to Clarence Town before midnight. We decided we'd have to go for "Plan B". So we headed for Calabash Bay on the North West tip of Long Island.
Now, getting to Calabash Bay wasn't much of a problem and we managed to find our way passed the reefs and get into a safe spot. Now our first big test, there's no marina at Calabash Bay so we were going to have to drop the anchor and spend the night on the "Hook". No pressure to make sure we got it right. Anyway, after a couple of tries we got it.
Our friends, Brett and Kristen were also anchored a little further up the bay, so after having dinner we dropped the dingy and motored up to the holiday resort for a couple of beers and a chat. They'd come across the same route just further south and hadn't seen any bad weather at all. Must just be us.
So we had our first night of bobbing about, it wasn't too bad and the following morning the clouds and storms were moving away so we pulled the anchor up and set off again for Clarence Town. As we rounded the top of Long Island we were faced by the Atlantic. There was quiet a swell but as we weren't running right into it we carried on. Of course, we'd looked at the weather and sea states before we left and it was giving waves of 0.5 to 1 meter, not too bad if you just slow down and ride them. When we got about half way down the East coast of Long Island the wind started to get up and so did the sea. We now had swells of 5 to 10 feet and it was getting very uncomfortable and still getting worst. After 6 hours of being bounced about we finally got to Clarence Town and found a spot to drop the anchor and settle down with a beer.
Now, our plan was to be in Clarence Town a few days and then head on to Turks and Caicos Islands. Guess what? We've now been here for two weeks and the weather has us pinned down. The wind is right in off the Atlantic and wiping the seas up to 7 meters, so we have no option but to stay put.
It got so rough staying on the boat we couldn't sleep or walk around. So we checked into a local hotel. We can see the boat and we have anchor alarms set so we can keep an eye on it. We put so much anchor chain out it's not going anywhere.
More of Long Island
Finding things to do.
After a couple of days we had a call from our friends Brett and Kristen, who were still in Calabash Bay, asking if we'd like to go for a drive as they had a car for the day and were out exploring. They came and picked us up and after a short drive we arrived at Dean's Blue Hole. It's breath taking, this is the deepest blue hole in the world. It's over 660 feet deep and it's used by free divers. Over the years several people have died while diving here.
It was great to get out and about for a change, so the next morning we went to hire a car. It was good to have to freedom to be able to get away from the boat and Clarence Town for a while. Long Island is just that, it's about 60 from top to bottom and only a couple of miles wide and there is only one road. Just like the rest of the Bahamas they drive on the correct side, as in the UK so as long as you avoid the "tank trap" pot holes you're fine. Over the next few days and weeks, we explored as much of the island as we could. even ending up small rough tracks which a tractor would have struggled with but as we were in the universal all terrain vehicle (a hire car) we kept on until we ran out of ground clearance or road, which ever came first.
A few days later we had a call again from Brett and Kristen asking if we'd been to the caves yet? As we hadn't we met up with our guide and off we went.
It was amazing. The Lucayan Indians lived in the caves for thousands of years and many remains have been discovered. The caves go on for miles but only the first 300 or so yards are open to the public as you need diving gear to go any further. There were hundreds of bats, 3 or 4 different type as I remember and lots of other insects you don't normally see. Our guide was great, he knew all there was to know as he and his family own the caves.
As I said, now we had wheels we could get out and about which ment more bars and eating places to visit. We had our favouites. Max's Conch Bar was probable the best as we ended up there most evenings. Good beer, good food, good company and a good laugh too. Max (who's real name is Gary) don't ask. He's had the place for over 20 years and has worked very hard to make it the nice spot it is. Part of his secret is the menu changes every day,
Our other favourite was the Rowdy Boys Bar in Clarence Town. Again good food and drink and a lovely family run atmosphere. Bernard and his wife, there daughter, his brother and cousins all seem to help, or at least help themselves. The hotel and bar were completely wrecked after a hurrican a few years ago and it's taken him a lot of time and money and effort to rebuild it and what a great job he done too. The hotel rooms are finished to a very high standard and everything is spotless. But this isn't why we liked it so much on a Friday evening, that was due to the fact that every Friday, Bernard has his famous Pig Roast. Forget it if you're a veggie, you've picked the wrong place. It's a complete meat feast, of course there's a roast pig but also beef, chicken, goat and an assortment of fish too. It $25 for all you can eat and it never seems to run out. On a good night there'll be over a hundred people and if you come away still feeling hungry, it's your own fault.
By now we were becoming locals and people from all over the island would stop for a chat and to see how we were getting on. I have to say that although Long Island isn't very big the people have the most welcoming way, well most, the Flying Fish Marina is Clarence Town was the exception. While one or two of the staff tried to help the managment aren't interested unless you arrive in a multi million dollar sports fishing boat. Just before we were getting ready to leave Clarence Town we asked if we could come into the marina for fuel and to stock up, we only wanted 3 days and we'd be off, well so we thought but I'll get to that shortly. So to our surprise they said yes, this after weeks of no. So we moved to the marina on the Wednesday afternoon and spent Thursday and Friday loading the boat with all we thought we'd need and were getting ready to leave on Saturday morning. It was all going too well, at about 14.00 on Friday afternoon the manager can and told us we had to move right away. The marina was half empty, as usual but we had to go. It turned out that a sports fishing boat that was due in on Saturday had called and told them he MAY be coming ealry. So that was us kicked out. But by now we had the lay of the land and asked if we could tie up to the government dock for the night, of course there was no problem and Leo the dock master made us very welcome. More about Leo later too. You may see whats coming.
Anyway, after weeks of rough and very windy weather Saturday 2nd June was a lovely day, no wind forcast for the next 4 or 5 days, finally we had the window we needed for the 3 days sail to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
So at 08.30 we slipped the lines and said fair well to Leo and Long Island. We left Clarenece Town and were on our way.
Here we go again!!!!!!!!
Underway at last. Great it was so nice to be moving and on our way to our first night stop at Attwood Harbour, Acklins Island. The sea was fairly smooth with a little bit of chop but we were still able to push on at about 15 knots, we were doing great.
HELL !!!!!!!!! What's that? Alarms going off. SHUTDOWN STARBOARD ENGINE. What's happenend? I throttled back and cancelled the annoying alarm.
Want know, we've only done 10 miles. Oh hell the nearest place to stop was Little Harbour, Long Island. So we very slowly made our way there. There's nothing at Little Harbour so we were on our own. Literally, no phone or internet, nothing. Well after we dropped anchor and were safe we started to have a look at what was wrong, of course we couldn't find anything. The warning had been for a serious fuel issue but we couldn't find any leaks, and there wasn't water in the fuel either, what on earth could it be. We wondered if we had a block fuel filter, so as we had a spare we replaced it. We started the engine, no fault, we pushed the revs up, still no fault. Have we fixed it? Well by now it was too later to carry on as we'd run out of daylight, so we decided to stop the night in this lovely little gem and just enjoy it with a couple of beers.
The following morning we were up early ish. After a quick cuppa we got the anchor up and we were on our way again.
But not for long.
we'd gone about 5 miles this time before all hell broke loose again. The same issue. Well there was nothing for it but to return to Clarence Town. It took us over 3 hours to do the 10 miles. Just outside of the harbour I called the Flying Fish Marina to see if we could come in for repairs. The answer wasn't unexpected, NO we're full. So we went back to the government dock where Leo greeted us warmly and told us we could stay as long as we needed, which was just as well.
We called Jefory at Marine International Diesels in Fort Lauderdale and although it was Sunday and his day off he spent a couple of hours going through things we needed to check and test. The rest of the day was spent swapping bits and trying to narrow down the problem. On Monday morning I went and rented a car and we spent the next day and a half going to every shop on the island looking for a 27mm spanner to get the fuel sensor off. Finally on Tuesday we were told of a mechanic called Les, he was in Salt Pond about 25 miles from Clarence Town, so off we go, again. We found Les, and a nicer chap you could meet.
27mm you say? Yes or 1 1/16in, it's the same. Hold on, can you watch the workshop for me? I'll pop home and have a look. And with that he vanished. We were left looking after his workshop.
After what seemed like an age, Les reappered (like Mr Ben) and to our amazment he had the only 1 1/16in spanner on the island. Just bring it back when you're done, it's the only one I have.
So off we went, spanner in hand. We spent a couple of hours swapping over the fuel pressure sensors and putting the engine back together. All that was left was a quick run out to test it and see if the fault had swapped to the other engine. Well you can probably guess after all that nothing had changed, we still had the same issue, so we were back to square one, well not quiet.
As we were limping back John went down into the engine bay to see if he could see anything. After a couple of minutes he came back up top and told me there was a large amount of air going though the fuel filter. That's not good, so as we had nothing to loose, John went back into the engine bay to watch what happened as I put the power up. The result was more air than fuel, so we knew what the problem was.
We spent the next couple of days trying to find the air leak. We managed to buy some new fuel hose and fit it. This got rid of some of the air bubbles but by now means all. We tried everything we could think of, from resealling fiters and checking all the hose clips. We even run it from a fuel can to see if the problem was in the tank but nothing made much difference. So in a last ditch attempt to seal everything, out came the silicon sealant. Well it may not have been the best engineering solution but it seemed to do the job. (All those years as a GE in the RAF finally payed off).
Unfortunately, this work had taken so long that our weather window had slammed closed again and we weren't going anywhere soon. All our time at the government dock did give us an insight into Island life. The mail baot would come once a week and be met by most of the people on the island, or so it seemed. Other resupply boats would turn up from time to time and the things that got off loaded were amazing, everything from truck loads of wood for building, private cars, aircraft fuel, more plastic pipe that you'd ever think you'd need and a huge tracked JCB digger on a low loader. After all, as Leo explained, everything has to be brought in. Even all the fuel. Every two weeks or so a fuel barge would arrive and spend all day off loading petrol, diesel and propane. Leo told us how he had been a captain on the fuel barges for 30 years, working all the islands. He was quiet a character and a really good guy.
Another few weeks passed and we were desperate to get going. We could see a new weather window slowly opening and so we started to get ready, restocking the boat and making sure all was good.
It was right at this point our watermaker decided to pack up. NO, this can't be happening. This is our main source of water, as it makes drinking water and means we done have to carry hundreds of gallons of fresh water. So after some frantic checking we went and bought some new filters to replace the inlet units. When we took the old ones out they were full of sand? It suddenly dawned on us what had happened. Just in front of the government dock was the public slip way and all the boats trying to get back onto the trailers were kicking up a huge amount of sand and silt which had then been sucked into our filters. Well, that problem solved we were ready for the off. So on the morning of the 17th June we again said goodbye to all our friends and set off from Clarecne Town.
The end of the Bahamas
Underway at last.
So finally, after the best part of 5 weeks in Clarence Town we were off. By now we had everything crossed and praying nothing else went wrong. Well the miles ticked away and we finally lost sight of Long Island and as we cruised on things were starting to look up. The weather wasn't to bad, in fact it was fairly flat and we were able to make 15 knots so this leg wouldn't be too long after all. Onthe way we got our first sighting of Pilot whales. It was the leather flying helmets and goggles that gave it away. We arrived at our night stop in Attwood Harbour, Acklins Island at about 15.00 hours and found a nice sheltered spot to anchor up for the night. There was only one other boat there and it was so peaceful. We'd had a good day for once, so after a couple of beers and some dinner we called it a night ready for an early start the next morning.
Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana.
The following morning we were up early and after a quick cuppa we were ready to go. We're starting to get the hang of raising the anchor so it was only a short time before we sailed out of the channel and we were on our way again. Today was the 18th and our next planned stop was to be Abrahams Bay, Mayaguana, a leg of just over 55 miles. The weather was fair and conditions were good. We did have a liitle bit of bumping about as we passed of the channel between the two islands but it only lasted for about and hour and most of the rest of the trip was flatter. As we approached Mayaguana the sky was a beautiful pale blue with not a cloud in sight. Well until we had about 10 miles to run, when that damn thunder cloud came from no where and put itself right between us and the bay.
Now, I know these are called magnetic storms but why oh why are they constantly attracted to us? I must be my positive attitude.
Anyway, after a bit of cat and mouse we got passed and arrived at Abrahams Bay. It's a nice spot but it was far more exposed than we thought which lead to a bit of a rough night on the hook. Still it was another leg down and we were only one step to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Finally, The Turks and Caicos Islands.
On the morning of the 19th we again were up early and underway without any problems. The weather was quiet a bit rougherthan forecasted but we've starting to expect things like that.
This leg was going to be about 60 miles and at reduced speed would take about 7 hours. As it turned out the weather cleared and the seas flattened once we got about half way. We saw more Pilot whales, this time they were chatting up the lady whales in the bar with stories of daring do, just typical.
As we approached the Turks and Caicos Island it was a lovely day and we could just start to make out the coastline ahead. Okay, know I can take a joke as well as the next man but where on earth has that huge thunderstorm come from. It went from nothing to 10's of thousands of feet in the space of 5 minutes, and boy was it looking angry. The radar light up like the 4th of July. It was growing at a ridiculous rate and the lightening was a hell of a sight to see, well it would have been if heading for it. As they say, discretion is the better part of valour, so we turned to the north east to head away from it. It was going to put a few miles on our trip but there was no way we wanted to be anywhere near this. So for the next couple of hours we tried to get away from this monster which just chased us all over place. We even turned arond started heading North again, this was no longer funny, it damn well turned and followed us again and it was now gaining on us. We had lightening hitting the sea only 2 miles from us, so in one last ditch ed attemped to get away we turned back East and put more power on. After all the trouble we'd had with the engines we were worried they'd let us down if I push too hard. Finally we were moving away and were able to get back on course. The final hour into Blue Haven Marina was spent dodging more rain but we finally saw the channel markers and made our way into the marina. Now, I know I've said this before but we've not been doing this long and handling the boat is still a little difficult at times. So when we planned this leg of the trip the idea was to arrive at slack water as there's a very strong current which runs through the marina and thanks to all the dodging and weaving to miss the storm we were a lot later than expected, as a result there's now a 4 knot tide running and the dock master wants me to back it in. Well this didn't go too well, what with the tide and the wind and people shouting instructions at me I was getting in a bit of a panic. Finally, they let me pull in nose first, which was a lot easier but still no cake walk. We're there, safe, tied up and in one piece. What a day.
We'd done it, finally we had left the Bahamas.
As the weather wasn't looking good for a week or two we got on with a few outstanding jobs. First of which was to fix our hot water boiler. You may remember that a couple of months back while in Emerald Bay , our boiler started to leak and all the seales had rotted away. So at the time we thought we'd but in Turks and Caicos in a couple of weeks, so I'd had the parts sent to Blue Haven Marina. As it all turned out we were having cold showers for the best part of two months, it wasn't so bad really. Anyway, after clearing customs and immigration, I collected the parts and set about replacing the seals. It actually went well and it was more straight forward than getting the old bits out. Hot water again at last.
Over the next week or so, managed to fix several bits on the boat that had just had to wait for us to be able to get parts. All in all Turks and Caicos, Providenciales Island of a nice place, not very big with one main road running the length of the island and everything is on it, so you can't get lost. We found the back roads to Grace Bay and the bars and eateries. We even found a good Indian for a Friday curry, we hadn't had one of those for a long time and to be fair it was very good. We ended up back there the following Friday too.
During our short stay we made some new friends. On our last evening we met a nice couple Julie and Paul from Santa Barbara, California and as usual I talked their ears off, well so John would say. The following morning we recieved a nice email from them wishing us well on our travels.
After a couple of weeks of weather watching we had a 2 day window to get to the Dominican Republic. So off we set.
Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.
Sailing through the Turks and Caicos Islands.
So on the 2nd of July 2018 we headed out of Blue Haven Marina and set a course for Big Sand Cay, just to the south of Grand Turk. It was going to be a long leg of 90 miles so we needed fair weather and that's pretty well what we got. A lovely day with the odd bit of chop passing over undersea ridges and canyons. It was late in the afternoon when we dropped anchor just off shore from Big Sand Cay. It's a protected bird reserve, so you're not allowed to go ashore. We sat and watched all the birds as we had a beer and the sun went down. We had another early night as the following day was going to be a long one too.
We had no idea just how long!!!!!
A day to forget!!!!
On the morning of the 3rd July 2018, we were up again nice and early, as we had a little over 80 miles to cover today. We were a bit fed up as the weather, which was forecasted to be pretty much the same as the day before turned out to be quiet a bit rougher but was due to flatten out by midday. So up came the anchor and we set off. It was a bit bumpy to start with so we were only able to do about 8 knots which was going to cut it fine to arrive at Ocean World Marina by 17.00 that afternoon but they told us it wasn't a problem we could just tie up to the fuel dock over night and sort things in the morning.
so for 5 hours we bumped along but the sea did sstart to flatten out so I was able to push the speed up a little and try to make up some time. 12 knots and all was going well. We were now half way. The point of no return. As far from land as we could be. I the middle of nowhere, as you can see from the photo of the chart plotter.
Then it happened. Our worsed nightmare. As all of you who've been following us have probable noticed by now, we don't have any good luck to speak of. The only luck we have is BAD luck and today was even worse than that.
ALARM STOP ENGINES!!!!
What the hell!!!
Fuel problem Port Engine...
Starboard engine reduced power...
Port engine dies!!!!
WHAT ON EARTH HAVE WE DONE WRONG!!!!!
We went a had a look at the raycor fuel filter and it was full of crap. Now, this was one of the jobs we'd done in Blue Haven so I knew they were all clean and fresh, now thick black sludge. We had a spare so we popped the top and put in a new one hoping this was the problem. As you've probaly guessed, not a hope in hell. The engine started and shut itself down right away. Okay, we've got an engine fuel filter, we'll change that too. So John managed to squeeze into the hot engine bay and replace the filter but the primer on the filter head wouldn't pump and the damn spring inside had broken. I tried to restart the engine with the hope it would pull to fuel through but hell we're not that lucky, are we!
This had now taken a couple of hours and all the time we were just drifting. Our starboard engine was only giving us a little over 1 knot and the wind and sea state was getting worse by the minute.
We got the life jackets out and put them on, we were both starting to feel very unwell as we were rocked by the ever increasing waves.
There was nothing else we could do. We were really in deep do do.
We were really up shit creek. Only one thing to do.
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.
Before we left the UK to start this adventure we had completed a radio course and had practiced making emergency mayday called. Like every other sailor we hoped we'd never need it.
This is as bad as things can get.
For over four hours we sent automatic distress calls. No one answered. What the hell were we going to do. We knew the best thing was to stay with the boat. Our problem was that we were out of radio range and had to hope another boat heard us. The radar showed nothing within 40 miles. We really were on our own and we didn't like it.
The sea was still getting worse with waves now of about 10 feet crashing into the side of us and lifting us right up onto the side, we thought it was going over several time. I was struggling with one engine to keep up head into the waves but the wind was just turning us around everytime.
It was now 19.00 hours and starting to get dark. We were drifting towards the coast of Haiti, and this was not a good thing. By know all the fun of a retirement cruise around the Caribbean had gone out the window and not to put too finer point on it, we thought this was it. End of days. Both John and I tried to put a brave face on for the other but we were both terrified. I've been involved in some scary shit in my time but nothing close to this.
As I'm writing this, I'm shaking just at the thought of it all again.
Anyway, just as we thought we were having to spend a night of terror on the open ocean, we thought we spotted a small boat in the diistance. They didn't show on the radar and the light was fading so I got the flares out and popped one off. They looked like they turned but then I couldn't be sure. Another flair, had they seen it? Another flair. I only had one left. Then they turned and we could see that they were heading for us. I put out another MAYDAY call. By now our nerves were shot.
It was a power cat a little bigger than us. They came along side and told us they could give us a tow but only part way as they were short on fuel themselves. So just as it got dark we got a line across to them and they started to tow us. As I said, we were about 40 miles from land so this was going to take a long time as due to the rough sea they could only make 5 to 6 knots but hell we were moving and in the right direction. By know we were cold and wet and I was worried about John, he sat on the flood with his life jacket on and his coat wrapped around him. He didn't look well at all. Come to that, I probably looked the same but I was so busy concentrating on keeping the tow line straight I was just in a daze.
The hours and miles slowly ticked by. The waves were now breaking right over us and the boat sits about 18 feet out of the water. We couldn't stand up as it was so slippery with salt.
After 8 hours I could see some lights on the coast. We still weren't sure how far these good samaritans could take us but I could see we seemed to be closing in on Luperon. Finally after hours of fear they towed us into the Luperon inlet and we dropped anchor just before the main harbour. It was to dangerous for them to take us right in as we couldn't stop.
We disconnected the tow line and they left us as they went to moor in the harbour.
We had no idea who these guys were.
We were physically and mentally exhausted. The boat was a wreck. Everything had been thrown around inside but we didn't really care. The only thing was we were safe.
Luperon to Ocean World
Although it had been very late when we got to Luperon and we were completly knackered, nither of us slept well and at 07.30 there was suddenly a loud banging on the boat, followed by a lot of shouting. I got up and went outside to be met by a man from the Dominican Republic Navy. To be fair he was only there to check our papers and ask where we had come from. After a short time he left and told us he'd be back shortly with customs to inspect the boat.
While we waited I put in a call to the Ocean World Marina to explain what was happening and to see if they could arrange for a boat to tow us the last 15 miles from Luperon. They were really helpful and told me that they would sort something out for us and to call back a bit later.
After about an hour the man from the Navy returned with custom and immigrations. Again, they were all very nice towards us. We answered all their questions and they had the usual poke about looking for drugs and weapons. Just as we thought that was that, I was told to follow them in our dingy to the offices in the port to complete more paperwork and pay the fee's.
So off I go, leaving John on the boat to do a bit of tidying up.
As I approached the dock I saw the power cat that had towed us in the night before. She was the "K SERA SERA" and I bumped into her owner and crew at the Navy office a bit later. I thanked them for what they had done the night before. I asked them where they were going next? and when they told me Ocean World to refuel I offered to fill their tanks for them, hell it was the least we could do.
Some 3 hours later, after answering hundreds of question and paying all the fee's and duty. I got back to the boat. John was starting to think I'd been arrested.
Once back, I called the marina again and was told that they had found someone who would tow us from Luperon to Ocean World the following morning, and they would be there at 07.30. Now when I was at the Navy office getting my papers issued the Captain told me that I'd need to check out with them the following morning to get a transit document.
So on the morning of the 5th July we were up again early, which was just as well because the tow boat turned up at 06.30 and wanted to leave right away.
I explained that we had to go to the Navy office to get our papers sorted but the captain kept saying NO. In the end John and I both got in our dingy and went to the office. I was at this point we thought that maybe one of us should have stayed on the boat just incase he went without us, oh well too late now.
I took about and hour to get the papers sorted out and then it was back to the boat and get the dingy out of the water, this is not the most straight forward thing but within half an hour we were on our way to Ocean World.
We quickly understood why the tow captain was in a rush to go, yep the wind was getting up and so was the sea state. So again we had another 3 hours of being smashed around in a washing machine and as we still hadn't got over the day before it wasn't long before we were both feeling very unwell again.
We'd been going for about an hour when we saw the "K SERA SERA" and her crew gaining on us. Oh what it's like to have engines that work. They passed with a wave and we watched as they pulled away, they would be there in less than an hour.
So there we are plodding along, up and over, rocking and rolling when we broke one of the tow lines. I was a good job that the tow crew had put some extra lines on while we were sorting the paperwork but it didn't stop us worrying about loosing the rest of them.They held and finally we could see the markers for the marina entrance.
Now came the tricky bit. As we were pulled into the marina we were at the mercy of the wind and current. It's quiet a large marina so as it turned out there was a large clear dock which we sort of drifted sideway into with only minor bumping. We were in.
The tow boat disconnected the lines and went, while the dock master and his crew moved us to a better spot out of the wind. Again we had customs and the Navy come and inspect the boat and again they were very nice. The dock master, Eddy, had already spoken to the marina engineering staff and they come down to have a look. By now we were sure we'd have to have the fuel tanks cleaned out as that was the most likely cause of all our problems. After about half an hour the engineers came to the same conclusion. So that was that. All we had to do was get some cash to pay the tow captain and the deposit for the tank work. Friday was a bit frantice, calling banks back in the UK to try and clear enough funds. The marina operations manager, Roberto, very kindly took us to the bank and stayed to translate for us. Well , after the first try which was messed up because in all the rushing about I forgot our passports, we had to come back and have another go. Well imagine our surprise when we got back to the bank and got the money without any issues at all. We came back and settled the bills and were told the engineers would start in the morning. Roberto had told us there were a couple of rooms we could rent as we wouldn't be able to stay on board with all the floors up and the tanks open. Saturday morning the lads were there ready to go, we grabbed some cloths and moved into the nice flats.
Once settled, I just thought I'd check the latest weather as it's very windy here. Well you won't believe it,
but a hurricane it brewing in the Caribbean, it's been named Beryl, and one guess which way it's heading? There's nothing we can do about it except keep everything crossed.
Well it's currently Sunday afternoon and I've just heard that they've cleaned one tank and will start the second tomorrow. We just need to get more filters from somewhere but that's for tomorrow also.
Back in Britain........
Getting Visa's
We spent a couple of weeks in Bedford, sorting banks and other odds and sod as well as catching up with old friends. We had also decided that while back in the UK we would see if we could get a full US visa as we’d discovered that we couldn’t get back into the States on an ESTA. So, after spending a couple of days in Bedford library completing the applications and getting new photos, we arranged our appointment at the US embassy in London. Ensuring we had all the documentation that was requested in the application, off we went. We took the train from Bedford to London and then the underground to Clapham. It was a lovely sunny day and it was nice to be in the hustle and bustle of the capital. We walk the short distance from the underground to the embassy and arrived at security. As we had all our paperwork in order, we were fast tracked to the front of the que. I was here we were told we couldn’t do a combined interview as we weren’t related. Oh well, no biggy, all our paperwork was the same so there shouldn’t be a problem! We were each given a number and told to go to the waiting room until we were called. After about a 20 minute wait, I was called first. No problem, the gentleman at the window took my papers and checked them, asked me a couple of questions and then told me I’d have to go back and wait again to be called for an interview. Okay, we expected this. Just as I returned the waiting area John was called for the same process. So, there we are sitting in the waiting room in the US embassy with people from all over the world all trying to do the same thing. This time John got called first for his interview, within 5 minutes he was back and told me it all went through with no trouble. Easy really, and when he told the young lady that we were doing this adventure together she had asked why we hadn’t come to see her together. Anyway, about another 10 minutes and I’m called up. Window 13. Okay, I stood for what seemed like ages while the man at the window dealt with a Chinese lady who could speak almost no English. Finally, he accepted her application and it was my turn. With what John had just told me fresh in my mind, I passed over all my paperwork and said good morning. Well it all went downhill very quickly from there. It became very clear that this chap had a problem. I was first asked to produce financial information to prove I could fund this trip, then a detail itinerary, with dates and time of ALL ports in the Bahamas and the US that I’d be visiting and finally, if I was thinking of having work carried out on the boat while in the USA he wanted to see quotes, dates and locations when I would have it done. Obviously not a boater. How ridiculous. After about 25 minutes, he rejected my application until I provided him with ALL this information. Just what planet was this guy from? How on earth could I ever get quotes for work we didn’t know we needed, also give detailed times for cruising around the Bahamas when we didn’t even know where we were going next. I returned to the waiting room and we left, wondering what had just happened and how it could be so completely different!
Well, as we were in London on a sunny day and we couldn’t do anything about it there we went for a couple of beers and a Chinese meal, finally catching the later train back to Bedford and having a last beer before calling it a night. The next morning, I felt terrible. I hadn’t slept and all the crap of the day before wouldn’t stop going round and round in my head. How on earth was I going to get the information he’d asked for? Well a quick walk to the bank for a printout of my statement sorted one issue. I spent the rest of the day trying to work out a route for the next 12 months, but it was hopeless. We don’t know where we’re going next week never mind next month and beyond. I then rang a couple of boatyards in Florida and told them what I’d been asked to provide, well when they stopped laughing, the answer was “no way”. So, what where we going to do if I couldn’t get my visa? I was worried that this could blow the whole trip to bits.
Visit to Lincoln
After a couple of days, we decided we needed to get away from Bedford and go to visit John’s sister in Scunthorpe. Sandra has been looks after a lot of our admin for us in our absence, and it was the first time I’d met her and her husband Alan. What a lovely couple, we were made very welcome.
So, we set off to Brigg in Lincolnshire. This was John’s old stomping ground and he was keen to show me around. Unfortunately, it was a long time ago that he lived there and with time a lot had changed, but we were still able to find some great little pubs. We spent just over a week in Brigg and took time to visit a lot of the local area as it’s a part of the UK I’d not been to very much. Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Hull, we even popped to York for a couple of days to visit Freya and James Lee, along with half of James’s university department. A good night was had by all, say no more.
More Visa fun.... Not really...
The time came when we needed to return to Bedford, as we’d had an email to say that John’s visa was ready for collecting and to see if I could get any further with my visa. After more sleepless nights and a visit to the doctor to get a good telling off for drinking too much and something for my nerves, I finally sent an email to explain that apart from my bank statement I couldn’t possibly provide the other information that had been requested as it would be nothing but guess work. Also, my friend who’d come to the embassy the same day had been granted his visa with no issue at all. Well, the next day I get an email from the US embassy telling me to take my passport the delivery centre to be forwarded to the embassy for processing. Maybe I hit a nerve of my own? Anyway, we again took the train to London and had one hell of a walk to the delivery depot. Finally, we found it and got John’s passport and handed mine in. There was nothing more to do but wait!
More Miles
Trip to Plymouth
It was time to move again and nip down to Plymouth and catch up with my family. So, off we go again, this time heading to the South West. My nephew Tom was over the moon that we were coming as he’d just moved into his new house with his lovely girlfriend Layla and they were keen to show off their new home, they’ve done a good job. We had a week in Plymouth and got to visit my aunt and uncle, Cora and Derek, along with my cousin Shelly and her husband Steve. We also met up with Angela who’s the sister of my old school friend Byron, who unfortunately was taken from us far too young. And we even made time to go and visit Joan who’s Angela’s mum. She was my second mum to when I was growing up as I think I spent as much time at their house as my own. It was lovely to catch up with everyone.
Sophie's Christening
Right, back to Bedford and waiting. We only now had a couple of weeks until we were due to fly back to the Dominican Republic and still no news on my passport. This is getting too close for comfort!
Well we had one more visit to make in October. So, with yet another hotel booked we headed North to Manchester. There was no way we’d miss out on seeing Rodders and Alison and their new daughter Sophie. We’d been invited to attend the christening on the Sunday, and we weren’t going to miss it. We’d been carrying Sophie’s christening gift around everywhere as we bought it in the Punta Cana before we left DR. We had a lovely weekend with the three of them and the service went off really well.
PANIC!!!!!!!!!!
You’ve guessed it, back to Bedford. It’s now the 21st of October and were leaving on the first of November. The panic was really setting in now. Anyone who has dealt with the US embassy knows that once your document go in there is no one to contact to find out what’s happening. So, a few days passed and after a stressful birthday where everything seemed to go wrong, I was left wondering what next.
On the 26th I finally got the email I’d been waiting for. May passport was ready for collection. The following Monday we drove to London and collected my passport. As it wasn’t easy to park, I just jumped out and let John looking after the car while I nipped into the office to pick it up. I came back and we set off. John calmly said, “have you checked it’s the right passport?” PANIC!!!!! We were now on the motorway. I passed it to John and asked him to check it for me............................ “It’s okay and you’ve got your visa”. Relief.
Back To The Boat...
Back to Ocean World
On the 31st October we said fair well to Bedford again and headed off to Gatwick to hand back the hire car and fly back to the Dominican Republic on the 1st November. We arrived at Punta Cana late so stayed in a hotel and the following morning we were picked up by Frank our taxi driver. It’s a long drive from Punta Cana to Porta Plata, best part of 8 hours. Finally, we arrived at Ocean World Marina and moved into the flats again as we’d have to put the boat back together before we could live on it.
It really didn’t feel like we’d been away for 3 months. Over the next few days we put all the seats and covers back on the flying bridge and had a tidy up inside. We didn’t have to do much as Cesar, Eddy and Pedro had looked after it well for us and had even had cleaners in. It was better than it had been for a while.
A Proper Mess!!! Pt.1.
While we’d been back in the UK, we’d talked about the issue we still had with the mismatched props and how it was affecting handling and fuel consumption. So now back in the DR and living on the boat we decided to bite the bullet and try to source a replacement prop to match the one correct one we had. I spent several days looking online for props but it’s a mine field. Trying to figure out what we had to start with was a nightmare and the prices ranged from mined blowing to heart stopping. Well, we had to do something, and I remembered we’d been told of a large prop specialist in Florida, so I found a contact number and as a last resort gave them a call.
S&S Propellers in Florida turn out to be a bit of a life saver. I gave them the spec of what I needed and was told that they had one. Great. But for the same price, give or take, they had a matched pair that had been fitted to another boat but had never been in the water and therefore they were second hand. Well it looked like our luck was changing. And so we bought them. S&S dispatched them the next day with DHL Express, Door to Door service, so we’d have nothing to do but wait a couple of days for them to arrive. Brilliant, we’d have them by the first week in December, fit them, do a sea trail and as there was nice weather forecast, we could be in Turks & Caicos for Christmas.
Opps... It was all going too well. It seemed that all was going well until the props arrived at the DHL office in Santa Domingo. Things started to go wrong when the arrival date disappeared from the online tracking on the Monday morning. Then nothing. At this point I wasn’t worried as we’d paid for Door to Door service so they must have it in hand. The days passed and still nothing, then on Friday morning I receive an email from someone at DHL. This may sound a little vague and the reason for this is because it was ALL in Spanish. Now, my Spanish runs to ordering food and drink and getting the bill, so this throw me a lot. I decided that the only thing to do was pop to the marina office and see if anyone could tell me what this was saying. Roberto, the marina manager came to my rescue. It turned out that for some reason they needed more information, including a copy of my passport and a form they’d attach to the mail which I couldn’t open, along with RD$2000 customs booking in fee which had to be sent via bank transfer. Roberto was a star and dropped everything to help. Even driving me to the bank and explaining to them what I needed to do. We made the transfer and got back to his office to email the form and a copy of my passport as requested. Once it was done, he called the DHL office and they told us that everything was good, and they had the money. Brilliant.
Or so we thought!
Monday morning, I get an email from DHL in Florida where the props had been sent from, to tell me I had to contact Santa Domingo and pay RD$2000 and send them a copy of my passport and this form. Done it already. Okay. An hour later I get another email from DHL Santa Domingo, telling me that as I’d gone over the time limit for the book into customs I had a penalty to pay. ROBERTO!!!!! Roberto got right on the phone to find out what was happening. This just beggers belief. We had 9 days to pay the booking in fee to customs from when the items arrived in the country. As I was completely unaware of any payment requirement until the Friday, as DHL never bothered to tell me, and it turned out that Friday was day 7, and they never transferred it to customs on the Friday, by Monday morning when the transfer was made customs had already slapped a penalty on me for a further RD$8000. We tried to argue that this wasn’t my fault, but it just fell on Spanish deaf ears. I contacted DHL in Florida and explained what was happening and the fact we were now being stone walled. The chap in Florida told me he’d find out what was happening. Tuesday, I get another email in Spanish, even asking for all mails to be sent in English. It went on and on, finally Roberto figured out that DHL were now going to start to charge me storage as they’d not been able to pass the goods to customs. I called Florida again. He told me they can’t do that! So, I sent him the mail. Which turned out to be no help as he couldn’t speak Spanish, but he asked for them to send it in English and was told they didn’t have English speakers. We all knew this was rubbish. Wednesday passed with no more news. Thursday, I called Florida again and the chap there told me that they weren’t answering his mails or calls either.
Now, who likes a challenge? If you have a couple of spare hours or days, you fancy wasting. Just go on to the DHL World Wide Express website and try to find the contact information for complaints. Good luck, you’ll need it..... As there isn’t any... Such a great company that they never get it wrong or they just don’t want to know once they have your money. You decide. I know what I think.
Anyway, Friday morning first thing Roberto took me to the bank again and I paid the extra money as it was clear we were being held to ransom over their incompetence. We called to make sure had received the money and that it would be transferred right away! Monday was the 17th December, a week before Christmas. I spent all week sending emails into a “Blackhole” no answers at all. I just wanted to know what was happening and would I get the props before Christmas? By Wednesday I’d had enough and emailed Florida and ask who I could call at DHL head office to complain. I got a phone number. Right let’s see if this has any effect. But just before I called, I thought I’d send one last mail to DHL Santa Domingo to let them know what I was about to do. I penned my email with care, making sure they understood who I was going to complain to and why. As I said, I don’t speak Spanish and try as I might it appeared, they spoke no English. I was about to see. In under 3 minutes of me sending my mail I received a reply, in perfect English asking me not to do that and they would investigate what was happening. The whole thing was a joke. They spoke English alright, hell, of course they did. So, with my new information I contacted DHL head office and registered a complaint. I was told I’d have a reply within two hours to let me know what was happening. Well, I know DHL is a big company and I’m only a drop in their ocean, it was a couple of days before Christmas and they must have been busy but as you can guess I never got a call back that day or the next. Well, everyone would be shut down until after the holiday now so there was nothing else to do, for now.
Christmas Cheer..
Christmas eve we invited friends from the marina for a few drinks and nibbles. Kelly and Alf came with loads of snacks and it turned into a really nice little party. We all ended up singing all the daft Christmas songs and listening to the Christmas story. As usual, we all drank too much but a good time was had by all.
So, Christmas morning was a lovely bright sunny day and we had some work to do. Kelly and Alf had arranged with the locals to have a BBQ at the beach with the food being provided by people in the marina and a few expats. Alf bought a pig for the BBQ, Kelly made enough food to feed an army, which turned out to be what happened. We made about 60 pounds of potato salad. All in all there was one hell of a spread. BBQ’s turned up from everywhere and a couple of the locals set too cooking all the pork and god knows how many chickens. Wine, Rum and beer were flowing like rivers. There is a small supermarket opposite the beach and the owner was going to close for Christmas day. Oh boy, was Juan pleased he opened up. I think it’s the best days trading he’s ever had.
We ended up feeding over 200 people, what a day. It’s what Christmas is all about. And not one bit of trouble or crossed word. We were all knackered by the end.
Not Again!!!!
What Next? Where Next?
After a lot of thought, we’ve decided to head further south and continue with the next part of the adventure. So, all we have to do is just wait on the weather, then we’ll do it in a couple of short legs until we get confidence back with the boat. So, we’re looking at a hundred and twenty mile run to Samana and then on to Punta Cana on the East end of the Dominican Republic before we break out the brave pills and make the jump across the Mona Passage.
Finally, on the move again.
We’ve been at Ocean World Marina for the last 8 months and now the weather is looking a little better it’s time to move on. We’ve made a lot of good friends here and it took quiet a time to say farewell to them all. Everyone was sad to see us go and hoped we’d be back again soon. Little did we know how soon! We settled all our bills and got our papers in order with customs and the Navy. And at 07.30 on the 6th February 2019, we slipped the lines from the dock at Ocean World and set a course to Samana, a distance of 120 miles. Although it was a bit gray, the wind was very light and the sea fairly flat. As a result, we were able to make good time, cruising at a comfortable 18 knots. The miles were ticking down quickly. But that ticking suddenly changed to a boom!!!
Now, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve use this next statement...
NOT AGAIN!!! HOW MUCH BAD LUCK CAN TWO PEOPLE HAVE!!!!
We’d covered 60 miles of the 120 when then boat suddenly lost drive to the starboard side. This can’t be happening again? Quickly throttling back both engines we drifted to a stop. Although the starboard engine was still running fine, we had no drive. Our first thought was we’ve lost the prop. After a quick check of the charts we back tracked 15 miles to Rio San Juan, a small town with a very shallow bay that we could get into. As we motored on the port engine, the bilge pump alarm started going off. What Now!
We dropped anchor and I jumped in to see what had happened to the prop. Well, it’s still there. Now we have a bigger problem. The engine seems fine but no drive. Blown transmission! This really can’t be happening again. Well, there’s nothing we could do at Rio San Juan so we decided the only thing was to head back to Ocean World in the morning. The bilge alarm started going off again, that’s odd. Well, it was until we looked into the port engine bay and found water pouring in passed the shaft seal. WHAT! Luckily, when we’d had the seals replaced, we had spares placed in the shaft so you can remove the old one and simply slide the new one in place. Really? We finally got the old one out but the new one wouldn’t sit properly and although the leak was down to a fast drip, we couldn’t get it to stop completely. We’ll just have to live with it for now. It was no late and we’d been up since 05.00 that morning. We called it a night and planned to set off at first light in the more. The weather was starting to turn, with the wind getting up along with the swell. I’d just got in bed when the anchor alarm goes off. I quickly got to the helm and saw we were dragging we anchor as the swell was a lot bigger. I called to John and started our only good engine. As I came out the rear door to get to the bridge, I could just make out how close to shore we were. After a struggle with the current and only having the one engine we got the anchor up and tried to reposition to drop it again but in the dark and pouring rain we couldn’t find sand to drop it onto. We’ve only got a foot of water under us and the swell is getting worse, then BANG! We hit the bottom, luckily, the swell picked us up again as we were just waiting to be slammed down again but I got a bit of power on and we moved away to a clearer bit of water. We tried another 4 times to set the anchor but every time we only found flat rock. I said to John, we only have one choice and that was just what we didn’t what to do. We had to leave and leave now.
Another Nightmare!
And so into the unknown....
So, at 23.30 on the 6th February 2019 I very carefully moved us out of Rio San Juan and back up along the coast as I remembered seeing a large sand bank about half a mile off shore. Finally, in the dark and pouring rain we made it into deep water, and I set a course for Ocean World. We were both soaked and freezing. John went down below and got changed and bought me up my jacket and a blanket. Once into clear water I was able to slowly bring the speed up until we were doing 6.5 knots. For the next nine hours, I concentrated on a bit of water 50 yards in front of us. The last thing we needed was to hit something in the dark or get tangled in crab pots or fishing lines. The wind got stronger and the rain got harder. I thought about going down below and taking the helm from there but I couldn’t see very much and so I stayed up top. The swell was throwing us all over the place. Every time John went to below to get more blankets, he was slammed into the table and door and has the bruises to show for it.
You just can’t make this shit up!!!!!!! Or just how much worse can it get!!!!
Finally, daylight started to break through the black and we could make out the coast and Ocean World Marina ahead. I called Eddy the dock master and told him the good news and asked for extra help as I was coming in on one engine with limited manoeuvring. He gave us the okay and I started the run into the marina. As we had the swell pushing us from behind, I needed to keep the speed up to have steering to get around the corner at the marina entrance. Everything was going well, I started the turn, but we were being pushed along to fast. I put the port engine into reverse and the bow responded and turned left. Bit of throttle to get us moving forward and into the lee of the marina wall. A little more reverse to bring us further around. Now power to get some forward speed and get the steering back............... Everything went quiet............ The port engine stopped........ WHAT THE HELL!!!!!!!!! We’re now being turned side on, right in the entrance of the marina between the outer wall and the Navy watch tower. John quickly dropped the anchor and it was just holding. Now we need some help. With that a small fishing boat came across the marina at speed. I thought he was coming to help but no.... He cut right across the front of us and his big wake lifted our anchor and were drifting again. The engine just wouldn’t start. The fishing boat went to the dock to pick up his customers to take them fishing. Eddy was screaming at the captain to come back and help us, but he wasn’t interested. So, the Navy said something to him, and he came back at speed. We throw a line to his crew and as soon as it was tied on, he gave it full power, yanking us around so fast that we were slammed into the dock wall and cracked the front of our boat. His crew through the line to Eddy and he was off, what an arse. We got more lines over to the Navy lads and between them they all pulled us along the dock and tied us off safely. John and I were exhausted and speechless (which for me is some event). I found out later that the Navy had a word with the captain and I’m not sure it went well. Anyway, the boat was a mess. Everything all over the place, but well were past the point of caring. We’d been up for 28 hours with not much to eat or drink, so, after a quick cuppa we called it time and went to get our heads down for a couple of hours.
What’s the damage?
First thing the next morning we had to move from the fuel dock and back to our old dock. As we still had no engines our friends in the Navy kindly offered to use their small assault craft to pull us around and they had a lot of their men there to take the ropes and pull us into the slip. Once we were tied up, Arturo and his team of mechanics came aboard and started to look into our problems. Well, the port engine didn’t take long, as the fuel filter was almost completely empty. We’ve got another air leak in the fuel system. Well it’ll take a bit of finding but shouldn’t be too expensive.
The starboard engine was a different matter. After removing the transmission hydraulic pump, we found a lot of particles in the pump and a lot of bad scoring and wear, so that’s going to have to be replaced. Damn.... Then they pulled the transmission out as it’s going to have to have a full flush and clean. Oh hell, as the transmission came away from the engine block, lots of lumps of black hard rubber material feel out. This was what was left of the clutch. So, Arturo and his team cleaned and checked everything else on the drive and its all good. So, the transmission was taken away and stripped down and cleaned. The lads have done a fantastic job and have even given it a new coat of paint. It looks brand new. Luckily, the parts for the clutch were all readily available so that was also an easy fix. But the hydraulic pump has to be ordered from the States and will take about 6 days to get here. Still, it’s not quiet as much as we thought but that’s just relative.
Repairs are coming along slowly as the pump hasn’t turned up yet and Arturo has to get some new seals for the fuel shut off valve on the port fuel tank. We’re thinking about getting Arturo to take a look at the port clutch just to be on the safe side. The engines have only done 3000 hours total but as this boat had been used as a charter boat for all of it’s life before we bought it, there’s no telling how it’s been treated. From what we keep finding, it’s been treated badly. And then we’ve got a bit of gel coat repair to be carried out on the front, after being smashed into the dock. So, still looking at being here in Ocean World for another couple of weeks. There’s worse places to be but we do need a change.
Since we’ve owned Cat Escape, it’s cost us a huge amount in repairs over the last year and a half, far more than we ever expected to have to pay out. In the sailing / cruising world they have an acronym for BOAT (Break Out Another Thousand) in our case it should be Ten Thousand. We’re reaching the point were we’ve almost replaced or repaired all the major parts. It would be really nice to set off and not have a nightmare. Although that wouldn’t be so interesting for all of you. We’ve even thought of renaming the boat to CAN’T ESCAPE! But we were told that’s bad luck.... REALLY, is that going to make any difference to us? Well, to be on the safe side we’ll leave it for now.
So what next?
A word to the wise.
Anyone out there who is thinking of buying a boat, whether sail or power, just be aware that there are a lot of people who will tell you that they are experts in their fields. Whether sales, surveyor, boat yards or captains. Most are not!
Sales: They just want to get shot of boats as fast as possible to get their cut and will promise anything and everything. Forget any after sales service, you’ll be lucky if their even answer the phone once the sale has gone through. And you have to remember that they work for the seller so will not always give you the whole story.
Surveyors: Anyone can set them self up as a surveyor. You don’t need any qualifications or experience. It’s very hard to find someone who actually knows what they’re doing. We’ve dealt with two over the years. The first chap was from Southampton in the UK. We met him before he did any work for us and it became clear he really knew what was what. And the report he did was very detailed and unbiased. Unfortunately, the survey we had carried out in Florida was the complete opposite. As we couldn’t be the Florida for the survey, we had to rely on this chap totally. I talked with him on the phone before hand and he seemed to know what needed doing. The report we received was not very good but it was difficult to question. He’d also gone on the sea trail (which we now feel was a farce) and didn’t happen as we were told. Again after we bought the boat he became highly evasive and even threatening when we questioned some of the findings. So when you have a survey carried out BE THERE!!!!
Boat Yards and maintenance: Okay, you get good ones and bad ones. All you can do is find someone with a similar craft to you and see how they got on. Big isn’t always best. Again we found out the hard way. Once they get you out of the water you’re at their mercy. The longer they can drag a simple job out the more you pay in storage and there’s nothing you can do about it. On a plus, we’ve now got good, trusted backup, mostly in the shape of Jeffery Burke, of Marine International Diesels, Florida. Without his help we’d still be stuck in Grand Bahama. Also, further south in the Dominican Republic. Ocean World Marina have a very proficient engineering department and can generally fix or repair most things on your boat. Arturo and his team are outstanding for engine and transmission work, while Tommy is very good at all things trim.
Captains: Again, good and bad. If you can, go with someone recommended by a friend. If you can’t do that then go to your local marina and start asking other boaters. You’ll soon figure out who is genuine and who are the Walt’s!
Lucky Puppy....
While we’ve been here in Ocean World, we’ve been walking each evening to the engines bar, other wise known as Juan’s supermarket. Where you can buy beer, wine and rum and sit either outside the shop or cross the road to the beach / park and have a couple of beers with our friends Bob and Irene (from Canada), Jerry (from Holland/ Canada) and Kelly and Alf (before they moved up to Luperon) (from Australia). We would sit around and all put the world to rights. Then all our other little friends would come to join us. These are the stray dogs which live at the beach. There are 6 or 7 who regularly come around. They’re all very friendly and just want to odd treat and a belly scratch.
There’s Lucy (small light brown and white and very loving), Nagrita (skinny black and very nervous), The big brown one (bully), little blacky (very small jet black and fluffy, also very nervous) and Scruffy(Striky) (a short legged, grey / black barrel with big soft eyes and the gentlest nature of all of them) to name a few. All the wild dogs in the area are looked after by the vet who visits Ocean World to take care of the dolphins and seal. So although they run wild, they are all jabbed up and spade.
Kelly and Alf have their own boat dog to called Seeka (lovely natured, Australian cattle dog) along with their cat, Mars. Slowly Seeka and Scruffy hit it off and would play together, if was funny to watch, as Scruffy just found everything too much trouble but he would follow Seeka. Gradually, he started to follow Kelly when she was walking Seeka, and he’d started to follow her back to the marina. So one evening Kelly carried him back to their boat with Seeka. He got a proper feed and Kelly washed and brushed him. WOW, what a difference. Then Kelly found out from the vet and Ocean World that Scruffy was actually called Striky. So Striky, now found himself being looked after like never before. He got on with Mars and Seeka, and even started to stop on the boat over night. This went on for week after week and gradually he became part of the family. Kelly and Alf asked Ocean World if they could adopt Striky? Well, everyone was happy. Seeka and Mars got a new brother, Kelly and Alf got a new family member and one Scruffy little pup won the lottery. A couple of weeks ago, Kelly and Alf took their boat 15 miles up the coast to Luperon, and yes, Striky went too. He’s now a proper little boat dog and he’s loving his new life.
We still all go to the park and make a fuss of the rest of them. The locals look after them too, so they get lots of loving and titbits.
Hurry up and wait!!!
It’s been another month since our last mishap and although we’ve been able to get work started to repair the starboard transmission and the port engine fuel leak, things have ground to a halt as we’re still having to wait for customs to release our new pump and filters. We got talking about what had happen to the starboard clutch and decided it maybe a good idea to have the port transmission pulled, as both motors have done 3000 hours and as the boat had been used for charters for most of it’s life we had no idea how it’s been treated. What a good idea that turned out to be. The port clutch unit wasn’t much better than the starboard one. It was starting to break up and would have probably failed within 50 hours. So we had it replaced, at least we have peace of mind that it’s all good.
Down time....
Carnival..
As we’ve had time on our hands, we took the opportunity to go to the Porta Plata carnival last Sunday. It was pretty well full on, and very load. Now, you may think I’m a boring old fart, but why oh why do the Dominicans have to play music at a level about 100 times higher than a Lightening fighter jet on full reheat!!!! It doesn’t matter whether it’s carnival, the bar or their cars. You don’t hear the music as much as FEEL it. When all your internal organs are being pounded and you can’t hear yourself think, you know you’re getting old. Still, it was quiet a spectacle and I think most of Porta Plata had turned out, if not to take part but to watch. It was a lot of fun to see all the effort people had put into making costumes and getting all their dancing together. If you ever find yourself here in February, then it’s worth taking the time to visit it.Say something interesting about your business here.
What next?
It also looks like the weather maybe starting to settle down a little, so as soon as we’re fixed and have done a good sea trail, we’ll be looking to carry on and with any luck we’ll get further than the last attempt. We’re still planning to get to Punta Cana before making the crossing to Porta Rico and then onward to the BVI’s, but that’s all for another time.
Yet again we spoke too soon!
Finally, the new hydraulic pump and the filters arrived and it didn’t take Arturo long to get everything back together and filled with oil. Brilliant, ok quick leak check and make sure it drives. So we fired up the starboard engine, great, no leaks and it’s going into drive without any trouble, wonderful.
Okay, lets check the port engine. Am, where has all this water come from. After all the other issues we now have a blown seal on the main water pump and it’s filling the engine bay. Right, that’s put pay to the testing. We got the water pump off and could see the split seal. Arturo told us this wasn’t a big problem and he could get a new seal fitted the following day. So, off it went, along with more money. Two days later we got the water pump back complete with new seal. It didn’t take long to refit it and connect the hoses. Right, lets start it and check for leaks. So I turned the key, everything is dead. WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW? There’s plenty of power in the batteries but we got no indications at all. After and hour of trying to figure out what was happening we got the engine started and we were able to do the leak checks but we couldn’t get it into gear. This just isn’t fair. So we decided to call it a day but then we couldn’t turn the engine off. The last resort was to climb in over the engine and press the emergency stop on the engine. It worked, but we still had no indications and then we noticed that the fire warning light and the fuel lights were flickering, so we decided to pull the power to the port engine. We’ll have a look tomorrow.
In the early hours of the next morning some odd things started to happen! From my bunk I could here beeping. By the time I got up to investigate it had stopped, so I went back to bed. Moments later the beeping started again. This time I was a bit quicker and found that the Nav plotter had turned itself on and then off again. Am I bloody well dreaming this? NO.... I tried to switch it off but it just came back on a minute later. After a couple of restarts and shutdowns I’d had enough so I killed it at the circuit breaker, I’ll worry about that tomorrow at a reasonable hour.
A bit later after getting up and having a cuppa and a think we decided that we’d have to put in a call to our old friend Jeff Burke at “Marine International Diesels” in Florida or as we now know him “International Rescue”. He couldn’t believe we were still having all these problems. Anyway, he gave me a list of tests to carry out. So, after removing the instrument panel and the lower kick panel I set about Jeff’s tests. First we put the main engine power back on just to check the fault hadn’t vanished over night. No, still nothing working, right check the connectors and the diode packs on the ignition switch by swapping it with the starboard one. Okay, done, no change. Next swap the connections on the HCU’s. So after plugging the port HCU into the starboard system, I again turned the key and all the starboard gauges came to life. Few, the HCU works, that’s good new as that would be very expensive indeed. Right, put everything back to where it should be. SHIT, my hand. One of the leads was so hot it scorched my hand. Quick kill the power. But the lead’s not connected, oh no wait. It’s still connected to the HCU at the upper helm. So with a throbbing paw I gave Jeff another call and told him what I’d found. He told me where I needed to disconnect the cables and that we needed to carry out continuity checks on each lead to check for short circuits. So, as this involved ripping the upper helm to bits and pulling lumps out of the engine bay, to get access to the connector we decide to start afresh the next morning.
The following morning we made a start. The first thing was to remove the upper helm binnacle to get to the upper HCU. As with everything on this boat, it wasn’t a two minute job. Finally, we were in and able to get to the HCU cables and remove the data link. After checking the cable and finding no problem we had to do the same with the cable to the engine. After fighting with the fireproofing in the top of the engine bay, I managed to get to the connector on the PCU. Again, after checking the lead was fine. Well, is isn’t looking good. It’s either the PCU in the engine bay or the HCU at the upper helm. Another quick call to Jeff, and we hatched a plan to prove it one way or the other. As the main helm HCU was proved to be working, all I have to do is reconnect it and the PCU. If it still didn’t work and the cable got hot then it’s the PCU causing the fault. So, after getting it all put back together we reset the power and the cable stayed cold and when I turned the ignition key all the instruments came on. Great. Actually not, as this means the upper HCU has failed. So after turning off the power I reconnected the upper HCU and turned the power on, everything was dead, so I reached in a pulled the connection, quickly as it was already getting hot. As soon as I pulled it the instruments all came back on. I got in touch with Jeff and told him the good news. Anyway he had one in stock so it only needs to be programmed for our engine, but its another big bill at over $2000. As it takes so long to get things shipped I’m going to jump on a cheap flight to Florida and go and collect it on Wednesday.
I’ll let you know how it all goes next time.
Florida trip
Spares run to Florida.
So, in the early hours of Wednesday March the 20th, I got a flight from Santiago to Fort Lauderdale and arrived at 07.30 in the morning. It was freezing as Florida had a lot of rain over the previous few days but it soon warmed up. I made my way to the car rental section of the airport and caught the bus to the car depot. Everything went smoothly, and I was doubly pleased to find the “Boat Owner Warehouse” was right next door to the car rental office, that’s one part of my shopping hunt sorted. Picking up my wheels for the next couple of days, I decided coffee was in order, there was a Wendy’s just down the road I made a quick pit stop. Next stop, Marine International Diesels. Again, I was in luck, as it was only 4 miles down the road very easy to find, well thanks to GPS. As it turned out I just missed Jeff by a couple of minutes, which was unfortunate as I’d have liked to have caught up with him after everything he’s done for us over the last year. Still, the HCU was waiting for me and after short time I was on my way and a couple of thousand dollars lighter.
Next task was to try and find somewhere to buy a fuel shutoff valve. MID had given me an address for Lewis Marine, I popped it into the satnav and was surprised to find it was about half a mile from the car rental office. Okay, today was going to be a breeze and to make things even better I passed the hotel I’d booked in the way back. Lewis marine had a valve, it’s not quiet the same but it’ll do the job. When I was at MID, I’d asked if they had any Racor filter, and was told that I wouldn’t get any as Racor had supply issues and everywhere was on back order. So, I wasn’t surprised when the chap at Lewis Marine told me the same thing. Well, with new valve in hand I thought I’d go and have a look in Boat Owners Warehouse. This is like a sweet shop for anyone with a boat. So, as I walked around thinking “want that” and that, oh and some of them, I was having a great time. One of the assistances came to ask if he could help. I jokingly asked if he had any Racor filters. To my surprise he took me to the aisle where the filters were, and I was amazed to find two filters of the type I required. Brilliant, I mentioned that I would have liked a few more but I understood there was a supply problem, to which he ask me just how many did I want? 10 would be good. He asked me to wait as he disappeared off into the back of the store. A couple of minutes later, only to emerge with a box full of filters. “Here you go, we’ve got loads”, I thought it was my birthday. Right then, I paid up and left with bags of goodies and it was only 11 in the morning, it was turning out to be a productive day for sure.
As I still had hours to wait until I could check into the hotel, I decided to take a drive around and see how things had changed in Fort Lauderdale since we were last there. I was soon back on familiar ground as I drove up highway 1. I went and had a look in Best Buy, just to see what I wouldn’t be able to get into my case, although I was thinking about popping to Sears for another case. It was lovely just to drive around and see all the new building. Finally, I made my way to the hotel and checked in. It was a very nice place with a pool and Tiki bar. I got changed and went for a quick swim and lay in the sun for an hour before getting cleaned up for dinner. I’d now been up for over 20 hours and I was starting to flag a big, so after a couple of beers and some food I called it a night and went to my room and collapsed into bed, knackered.
The following morning was a lovely Florida day. So, I decided that as I’d had a good day shopping yesterday, that I’d drive up the coast and visit our friends in Port St Lucie. It only took a little over two hours. I called into Wal-Mart and got a couple of boxes of doughnuts, after all who doesn’t like doughnuts? I pulled into the car park at the Holiday Inn and armed with the doughnuts made my way to reception. As the automatic doors opened Karin was at the desk teaching new staff the ropes. She looked up and did a double take. The look on her face was a picture. She dropped her pen and ran around, leaving her trainees wondering what was happening. I got a massive hug and I thought she was going to cry for a moment, then she ran off (I have that effect on women) to get Lynn from the office, more hugs. I was so lovely to see them again. It had been over a year so there was a lot of catching up to do. Then Steve (Lynn’s husband) and Brian the maintenance guys appeared, so more catching up. The staff on reception were still a little confused as to what was going on and it only got worse when Sonia came out of a meeting and joined in. Finally, it was time for me to go but not before getting some photos and more hugs. It was so lovely to see them all again after so long. We’ll try not to leave it so long next time. The drive back to Fort Lauderdale was uneventful.
Back at the hotel, I got cleaned up and went to the Tiki bar for a couple of beers, Jenn was again working like a one armed paper hanger, running the bar and waiting tables, and keeping all the customers happy. She’s off to London for a holiday in a couple of weeks, so we got chatting about places for her to visit. Unusually for me, I got chatting to two ladies who were on holiday. Diane and Wendy were waiting for their friends who were going on a cruise the following day. Diane is a post lady and had just finished work and Wendy had flown in up north to get away from the cold. They’re old school friends and hadn’t seen each other for years.
The following morning I was up early, not by choice but the cleaner was kicking the door in at just after 8. We’ll, after checking out, I had the rest of the day to waste as my flight wasn’t until midnight. Now, the trouble with long drives is you have lots of thinking time and that’s not always a good thing. I’d thought up a lot of other things I needed to buy. So, off I went, first to Sears for a large socket, then back to Boat Owners Warehouse. I still had space in my suit case. After getting a few more bits in BOW, I headed to the Bass Pro Shop for a bit more retail therapy, and came away with new fishing lures and a GPS tracker. Enough.
As it was only about 16.00, I drove to Dania Beach and had a nice walk on the sand and along the sea front. It was a nice afternoon and a lot of people were turning up with BBQ’s. Well, I better start thinking about taking the car back and getting to the airport to check in. First, some dinner. I found a nice little Thai place just around the corner from the car rental office, so by the time I’d finished there, it was time to return the car and get the transfer to the airport. Check in and security all went well and it was just as well I’d eaten as most of the bars and shops were closed. Bit off for a 24 hour airport. Anyway, the flight was delayed for an hour, so by the time I finally got back to Santiago it was nearly 03.00 on Saturday morning. Frank was there to meet me and I finally got back to the boat just before 5am. I was knackered and it took me about 2 seconds to fall asleep.
Going Dutch
The rest of Saturday and most of Sunday were a bit of a blur, and we didn’t get much done. So, as we had dinner on Sunday evening we’d planned to crack on with fitting the HCU on Monday. We finished dinner and the rum and headed back to the boat for an earlyish night. Just as we got to the dock, we were met by a young lady who seemed very troubled. She was off one the boats in the marina and explained that they had no gas to cook with and would be let her boil some eggs for their trip the next morning. Now, were gentlemen and couldn’t leave a young lady in distress could we. As we all walked to the boat she explained that she was Dutch, to which our mate Jerry nearly exploded as he’s Dutch. OMG. So John and I headed to our boat to put some water on while Jerry went to help with the eggs. A few minutes later and they turned up with the eggs, all 3 dozen of them. Good job we had a large pot, and you wouldn’t want to be on a boat with 6 people for 24 hours eating only hard boiled eggs. As we waited for the eggs to boil we opened a bottle of wine and found out her name was Myrthe, and she was actually from Canada. She was on holiday with her twin sister and three old school friends and a Dutch captain called Jaap. Anyway, it turned out that they were planning to leave early and sail during the day as they had no generator to top their batteries up and couldn’t run their nav gear or auto pilot. It was now that John volunteered me to have a look at their electrical problem the following morning before they left. So with the eggs boiled Myrthe and Jaap went back to their boat.
We were up early to make a start on their boat issue. First we met the rest of the crew, Guendolin (Myrthe twin sister and Jaap’s partner) and Jordi, the other lady on the boat, also from Holland, then there were the other two lads, David and Felix, both from the UK. It turned out they all went to school together in the UK and have kept in touch ever since. So, after the introductions I set to trying to fix their power problem. Felix was also an aircraft engineer, that was very helpful. It turned out the alternator had been replaced in Cuba and had never worked on the boat, although they’d seen it running in a workshop. After trying to figure out where wires went. I was able to prove the diode pack had failed and needed to be replaced. By this time Jerry and Arturo had turned up and offered to take the alternator to town and get it fixed. As Jaap still had the old unit, they took that as well. While we waited for them to come back, the girls asked if they could do some more cooking on our boat. Well, how could we say no!. Jaap had gone to tell the Navy that they wouldn’t bee leaving until later. After a couple of hours Jerry and Arturo returned with the alternators and Felix and I set too refitting it. Well, we got it connected and started the engine. NOTHING! Jerry told us he’d seen it running but there was no output at all, so after a bit more checking we decided to fit the old unit which had also been repaired that morning. Well, of course all the fixings were different. So John had to go and hunt don new nuts and bolts so we could at least hang the thing on. Finally it was on and all connected. We started the engine and success!!!! But now it was too late for them to leave so we planned to meet at the Terrace Bar for some dinner a bit later. Arturo took the other alternator back the workshop and sent us a video of it working, I have no idea why it wouldn’t work on the boat and I’m still scratching my head about it. We met up and had a lovely evening with them all at the Terrace. They were now planning to leave early the next morning and as they now had power and could run their nav kit and auto pilot, they’d do a 24 hour sail to Samana. So the following morning we got up early to see them off, and make sure the power still worked! Off they went a bunch of happy sailors. We heard from them the next morning that everything had worked well and they arrived safely in Samana.
Moment of truth!!!
As we were up we decided to crack on and fit our new HCU. Everything went well and we got the unit in and connected. We put the helm back together and did a double check to make sure I’d not let anything off. The moment of truth!!!!!! Well, you could see this coming. I turn it on and tried to do the auto configuration but with no luck. I had more fault codes then enough. Have I left something disconnected? Is there another problem? Have I put it in right? What am I missing? This is supposed to be plug and play. Have we got a duff unit? What am I doing wrong?
Well, after pulling everything apart again and checking and double checking I had another go...... Still nothing. It was now coming up with fault codes we’d never seen before. What’s happening? Finally, in desperation, I called Jeff in Florida. I told him everything I’d done and after a think he told me to turn it on and clear all the faults and then try again. Well, that seemed to help and got part of the system working so I tried again and managed to clear the rest of the fault codes... WOOHOO!!! Finally, I was able to carry out the auto configuration and the throttle alignment. It worked. We bolted everything back together and called it a day. Just the fuel leak to go and we’ll be ready to go.