We awoke to strong southwesterly breeze (15, higher gusts). This was kicking up a lot of chop in our anchorage, causing My Weigh to “hobby horse” a bit – nothing the boat (or we) couldn’t handle but problematic because we needed to get the engine off the dinghy and it (the dinghy) was jumping around like bucking Broncho in the chop.
Our normal procedure for engine lifting is for Sue to get in the dinghy, pull it over and hold it to the side of the boat, hook up the lifting line, loosen the clamps that hold it to the dinghy and for me to pull up the engine (it weighs 85 lbs.), lower it down onto its “pad” on the boat (with some guiding help from Sue) and tighten its clamps. To say the least, a bucking dinghy next to a hobby horsing boat makes this process a bit more difficult.
After discussing a number of options, including perhaps even towing the dinghy with the engine still attached (not advisable because of the need to go out on the Atlantic for a short time as you will see below), we decided to stick to our normal routine. So we pulled the dinghy over to the swim platform, Sue pluckily leaped on, manhandled it over to the boat, and while it was bucking, managed to simultaneously hold it there, put on the lifting line and loosen the clamps; I quickly pulled it up, got it down on its pad and clamped it – yeah team, we did it -- with Sue being the MVP!!!
The dinghy did have the last word, however – it bucked hard and away from the boat at our moment of triumph, Sue lost her balance and found herself spread-eagled with two hands on the rail of the boat and two feet hooked over the dinghy’s tubes as it moved away from the boat, desperately trying to pull it back before either her feet or hands let go and she found herself in the water or hanging from the boat. Fortunately, she was able to pull the dinghy back and stabilize the situation although she did “feel the effort” in her back for the next few days. Make that two MVP awards !!!
Now, the weather forecast for the next few days is problematic – the winds are brisk, out of the west and there will be frequent, sometimes strong (20-30 knots) squalls. This means we’ll need a well-protected anchorage to hang out and wait it out – White Sound, on Green Turtle Cay, has all the right characteristics, so that’s our next stop.
To get to Green Turtle Cay (about 20 miles away), we have to go through the Don’t Rock (Whale Cay) pass – this is an area of the banks exposed to the Atlantic that, under the right conditions, can build massive waves that are downright dangerous for small boats. Fortunately, we didn’t have to contend with any of that, with the wind out of the Southwest and no significant storm activity on the nearby Atlantic, the pass was bumpy, but manageable. Indeed, the rest of the trip to Green Turtle was uneventful.
Our friends, Bob and Mary Ann, joined us in the anchorage a couple of hours after we arrived – they had been further North, but backtracked so they could also take advantage of the shelter from the West Winds. We spent the next three and half day in White Sound, waiting out the weather. Here are some of the highlights of our stay:
1. Dinner out at a local restaurant (The Bluff House) with Bob and MaryAnn and a family of four (Russ, Lisa (parents), Colleen and Patrick (teenage children)). They were “brand new” cruisers that Bob had befriended, providing advice and help as needed. Bob is very outgoing and generous this way and they were very grateful.
2. A 1.5-mile dinghy ride (all 8 of us in 3 dinghies) to the main town (New Plymouth) to have ice cream and do a little shopping – squalls kept us in town for an extra hour while we waited for things to settle down for the dinghy ride back. We ended up sending MaryAnn, Lisa, Patrick and Colleen home by cab and towing one of the dinghy’s back to minimize any potential drama if a another squall hit on the way back (it didn’t).
3. The generator – the batteries on My Weigh, while relatively new, are not being fully recharged by the combination of the solar panels and the engine. This hasn’t been much of a problem because when we are on shore power (we stayed at slips in Nassau and Staniel Cay), they automatically get topped off (fully charged). However, we didn’t take a slip in Green Turtle and the batteries were overdue for being topped off. Fortunately, Bob had a portable generator on board that we used to solve the problem (got to get one of these babies – handy thing to have out here).
4. Insurance -- even with the generator, it seemed that the batteries were not behaving as they should – they just didn’t have much capacity after being fully charged. After making some exotic measurements using a hydrometer (Bob just happened to have one on board), doing some research and much hemming and hawing, I decided to get a spare set of batteries on board for the trip home (which involves multiple days in remote places with no access to marine stores.) After a phone call or two, Bob and I took a dinghy ride back to town to fetch two (much more expensive than in the US) batteries to act as insurance.
5. A second dinner out, on the house – Bob and Maryann had picked the Bluff House for our dinner out – they had always gotten good meals there in the past. This time, however, the food was disappointing – small portions, overcooked conch (an oxymoron?), late serving, etc. They complained to the management and were awarded a second free meal for all of us (which was only marginally better).
Our normal procedure for engine lifting is for Sue to get in the dinghy, pull it over and hold it to the side of the boat, hook up the lifting line, loosen the clamps that hold it to the dinghy and for me to pull up the engine (it weighs 85 lbs.), lower it down onto its “pad” on the boat (with some guiding help from Sue) and tighten its clamps. To say the least, a bucking dinghy next to a hobby horsing boat makes this process a bit more difficult.
After discussing a number of options, including perhaps even towing the dinghy with the engine still attached (not advisable because of the need to go out on the Atlantic for a short time as you will see below), we decided to stick to our normal routine. So we pulled the dinghy over to the swim platform, Sue pluckily leaped on, manhandled it over to the boat, and while it was bucking, managed to simultaneously hold it there, put on the lifting line and loosen the clamps; I quickly pulled it up, got it down on its pad and clamped it – yeah team, we did it -- with Sue being the MVP!!!
The dinghy did have the last word, however – it bucked hard and away from the boat at our moment of triumph, Sue lost her balance and found herself spread-eagled with two hands on the rail of the boat and two feet hooked over the dinghy’s tubes as it moved away from the boat, desperately trying to pull it back before either her feet or hands let go and she found herself in the water or hanging from the boat. Fortunately, she was able to pull the dinghy back and stabilize the situation although she did “feel the effort” in her back for the next few days. Make that two MVP awards !!!
Now, the weather forecast for the next few days is problematic – the winds are brisk, out of the west and there will be frequent, sometimes strong (20-30 knots) squalls. This means we’ll need a well-protected anchorage to hang out and wait it out – White Sound, on Green Turtle Cay, has all the right characteristics, so that’s our next stop.
To get to Green Turtle Cay (about 20 miles away), we have to go through the Don’t Rock (Whale Cay) pass – this is an area of the banks exposed to the Atlantic that, under the right conditions, can build massive waves that are downright dangerous for small boats. Fortunately, we didn’t have to contend with any of that, with the wind out of the Southwest and no significant storm activity on the nearby Atlantic, the pass was bumpy, but manageable. Indeed, the rest of the trip to Green Turtle was uneventful.
Our friends, Bob and Mary Ann, joined us in the anchorage a couple of hours after we arrived – they had been further North, but backtracked so they could also take advantage of the shelter from the West Winds. We spent the next three and half day in White Sound, waiting out the weather. Here are some of the highlights of our stay:
1. Dinner out at a local restaurant (The Bluff House) with Bob and MaryAnn and a family of four (Russ, Lisa (parents), Colleen and Patrick (teenage children)). They were “brand new” cruisers that Bob had befriended, providing advice and help as needed. Bob is very outgoing and generous this way and they were very grateful.
2. A 1.5-mile dinghy ride (all 8 of us in 3 dinghies) to the main town (New Plymouth) to have ice cream and do a little shopping – squalls kept us in town for an extra hour while we waited for things to settle down for the dinghy ride back. We ended up sending MaryAnn, Lisa, Patrick and Colleen home by cab and towing one of the dinghy’s back to minimize any potential drama if a another squall hit on the way back (it didn’t).
3. The generator – the batteries on My Weigh, while relatively new, are not being fully recharged by the combination of the solar panels and the engine. This hasn’t been much of a problem because when we are on shore power (we stayed at slips in Nassau and Staniel Cay), they automatically get topped off (fully charged). However, we didn’t take a slip in Green Turtle and the batteries were overdue for being topped off. Fortunately, Bob had a portable generator on board that we used to solve the problem (got to get one of these babies – handy thing to have out here).
4. Insurance -- even with the generator, it seemed that the batteries were not behaving as they should – they just didn’t have much capacity after being fully charged. After making some exotic measurements using a hydrometer (Bob just happened to have one on board), doing some research and much hemming and hawing, I decided to get a spare set of batteries on board for the trip home (which involves multiple days in remote places with no access to marine stores.) After a phone call or two, Bob and I took a dinghy ride back to town to fetch two (much more expensive than in the US) batteries to act as insurance.
5. A second dinner out, on the house – Bob and Maryann had picked the Bluff House for our dinner out – they had always gotten good meals there in the past. This time, however, the food was disappointing – small portions, overcooked conch (an oxymoron?), late serving, etc. They complained to the management and were awarded a second free meal for all of us (which was only marginally better).
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| Reunion with Bob and MaryAnn |
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| Everyone is intent on ordering dinner |
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| Bob towing Russ and Lisa’s dinghy back to the boat at the end of our ice cream adventure |
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| A dinghy selfie on the way back from our ice cream adventure |
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| Meet Sue’s newest best friend, Mr. Generator |
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| White Sound from the Bluff House – very sheltered harbor |
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