Chillin' in Guana

Serenity on her mooring in Settlement Harbor - Guana Cay

That's not Guano - it's Guana :)

Because of our adventure of getting towed into Guana, we had not cleared customs. There's no customs office on this island and so we had to take care of that. We were actually - by law - a bit out of compliance, so I gingerly asked around about the best way to take care of it.

Troy at Dive Guana - who knows EVERYTHING there is to know about the Abacos, told me to call over to customs in Marsh Harbor and tell them the story and ask them what to do. They just said bring the documents for the boat and our passports and come over to the Airport.

So at 11:30, we hopped on the ferry and rode a half hour over to Marsh Harbor. A 10 minute cab ride later we were talking to the customs folks and going through the process of clearing in. After that, we had our cabbie take us by the only auto parts store open on saturday and I spent about 30 wasted minutes trying to get them to see if they had an alternator. There's a NAPA in town and I'll have the alternator guy back in Palm Beach find out what NAPA alternator will work - on monday morning, then I'll take the ferry back over and try to get one.

This is the townspeople on Guana Cay - all turning out on this saturday morning to decorate their town Christmas Tree in the Town Square (the fig tree).

Our ferry back to Guana left at 3:30 and since we were done with customs and stuff by 1:30, we went to Snappas - a bar/restaurant on the harbor and had lunch. Then we walked around and looked at boats and walked to a resort on the NE end of the island.

We got back to Guana a little after 4 and I got on the internet and booked our flights home so we can both be home by Christmas.

Tomorrow - we have absolutely nothing to do, so if the weather's good we'll do some exploring.

The longest day....2

This morning we got up and got the boat ready to tow it to Guana Cay. During the night, I had an idea to tow it to Guana where I could put it on a mooring ball instead of anchoring in Marsh Harbour. The advantage is that you don't have to worry about the anchor dragging if the wind pipes up to 30 + knots. I called Troy at Dive Guana and got a monthly rate for a mooring ball that was a good deal and so we towed to Guana Cay.

We left from Spanish Cay at 11:15 under tow. The conditions were not lovely. We saw winds over 25 knots and seas of 4 or more feet. This is not so bad when under sail, but it was kinda sucky while being towed without an sail up. We towed for 4 hours - sometimes at speeds of 8 knots. Our tow guides brought us through the back way - Don't rock passage - instead of us having to risk going out through the Whale Cay passage which would have been treacherous. We arrive before 4pm and tied up to a mooring.

We sent to Nippers - on the beach for a very strong drink and then to Grabbers for another strong drink and dinner.

Tonight, it is blowing 15 - 20 knots, but I will sleep very well with earplugs in. I will also sleep late - at least until 7 am or so.

It's all good....

Crossing the gulfstream at 7+ knots with a reefed main and genoa.

Approaching the Bahama Bank near sunset.

Serenity tied to the dock in Spanish Cay

Spanish Cay in the early morning.

After a day of uncertainty of what we will be doing regarding the boat's alternator and getting to somewhere safe and affordable, all (most of) the questions were answered this morning in a manner to my liking.

We are currently sitting at the northern end of the Sea of Abaco in an exclusive resort marina. Now, that itself doesn't seem so bad, but this is the kinda place where you can have your cruising budget eaten up pretty quickly. TowBoatUS is on the way here now and will be towing us to Great Guana Cay (my favorite) where I have just reserved a mooring ball for a month for a very affordable price. A mooring is a permanently installed anchor that has a float on top of it. You can sail into a mooring field and attach yourself to it and not worry about dragging an anchor when the wind pipes up. This arrangement allows for sleep at nights without worrying about waking up aground at the shoreline. It's the best of all worlds in that you're still your own 'island' in the water - not being tied to a dock, but you have security. This will allow for me to not worry about the boat while home for Christmas as well.

We will then arrange for alternator by ferry to Marsh Harbor. Marsh Harbor is a great place, but not as great as Guana, so I'm glad our base will be Guana. Also, there's no moorings in Marsh Harbor for rent, so when the wind hits 30 knots tomorrow night, I'll be sleeping like a baby instead of being on anchor watch.

Another good bit of news: To cross between the northern end of the Sea of Abaco and the southern end, you have to cross the Whale Cut passage. When the wind is strong North or Northeast, this is a treacherous passage - even being only a mile or so wide. Recently, a passage known as the 'Don't Rock' passage (it goes past Don't Rock) has deepened allowing for boaters with local knowledge to pass inside the lee of the Whale passage. Since we will be towed, the tow boat operator will be taking us through there - allowing us to get to Guana - which we otherwise would not be able to do in these weather conditions.

See - things are looking up.

I'll update after the big move.

Adventure defined

A very fun 2 day period - accented by frustration.

Wednesday morning, we left the inlet at 3 am, got into the ocean and the alternator on the boat quit working. We turned around and headed back into the anchorage, slept for about 3 hours, took the alternator out and I dinghied over to Riviera Marina, paid $10 park the dingy, called a cab that didn't come, hailed one that was going by, went to a marine alternator shop where the 2 guys quickly rebuilt the alternator and then drove me back to the marina. Dinghied back out to the boat, installed alternator, waited to hear from Jan about her doctor appointment, then headed out across the gulfstream.

Sailed all the way across to the Bahama Bank and more than half the way to Great Sale Cay. Started up the engine after the wind died back to 10 knots. After 5 hours or so of motorsailing, the shaft bearing on the alternator went out. We sailed the rest of the way to Great Sale Cay, anchored in the lee of the cay, got 4 hours of sleep and then sailed out of the anchorage - very slowly in light winds. We saw several periods underway of almost 7 knots today, but sometimes it was as slow as 2.5 knots. We tried all day to contact TowBoatUS (which I have towing insurance with) to meet us in the sea of abaco and tow us to Marsh Harbour, but could only get them just before dark - and they wouldn't come out that late. We sailed to just outside of Spanish Cay marina where the staff came out and towed us into a slip. The dock hand 'crashed ' us into the pier by locking down on the bow line instead of slowing us. Damaged the teak on my boat. Will have to fix it in the next few days.

We're supposed to be towed to Marsh Harbor tomorrow morning if weather permits a crossing of the Whale Cay channel. Marsh Harbor is the only place that we have a chance of getting a new alternator - or a replacement flown in.

Other than all the hassle, the sail was tremendous. Having a good time.