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Friday, December 19, 2008

Nassau to Staniel

Wild winds seemed to be the order of the day and we saw better than 20 knots for 3 days in Chub.  Tom had a chance to chat with our friend Frank Cassidy and our son Brendan,  engineers both, about our  engine problems .  What a great bonus it was to bounce ideas and concerns around .  I hope they know how much we appreciate their time and advice.  We ruled out  one thing after another but nothing definate ruled in! Nassau is a city and has many goods and services lots of tourist  pleasers and a lot of bad stuff that seems everywhere.  The working waterfront is a bit depressed but there is a lot to explore. 
 We were a bit worried about setting off for Nassau without being sure of the engine but there was one day with predicted winds of less than 20knots and it looked like we could put those winds behind us.  So deep breath for me and off we went.  We sailed until we got to the harbor and hoped that the protection in there would keep us from engine trouble. the engine really only acts up in big seas.   Great sail, big seas but broad reach to run the whole way.  Then, we sat in Nassau with 25-30 knot winds for a few days. Wild weather!  More discussion with our consultants.  It is difficult to solve a problem when you can't seem to figure out what the problem is.  Finally, Tom put in a small fuel pump between the Racor and the engine. Marine Diesel the Yanmar mechanics in Nassau have done this before.   It is switched so it runs when the engine is running.   Left Nassau with another short window and  headed for the Exumas. Our course was just about 25 degrees off the wind . We think that we should be able to sail that but we need to tack too much to make any time.  We  decided to motorsail to make either Normans or Shroud and that would be a good test  for our engine solution.  It worked! As we sailed closer and closer to the protection of the islands everything got better.  The water here even on a cloudy day is spectacular. We are thrilled to be here .  We are meeting pat and Michelle , Brendan and Lexi here and there is no better Christmas gift.  We are anchored off the beach with the swimming pigs and can't wait to show everyone the places we so enjoyed.   

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear that the engine is working again! You are really missing things here. Had a wet snow storm last night that dumped about 6-8 inches in Falmouth, and we are expecting another 2-3 inches today. They are talking about rain tomorrow but I don't think it will be warm enough to melt it all away. Soak up some sunshine for us. Merry Christmas to you and all your family. Love, Kate and Rich

Rita said...

Wishing all the Maddigans a Happy New Year and a balmy winter. We had 10" of snow last night, high winds today and outside temp. of 10 degrees this morning. You are definitely in the right place.