What a perfect morning. We have flat, calm, water with very light winds. I'm loving every minute of the Abacos. After the Net, I talked to Eileen about our plans for the day. The weather predicts strong winds, 20-30 by 3:00, so we have time to stop at Fowl Cay and play around. None of us have been there yet! ...and we still will have time to get settled back at the dock before the blow. Our motor sail was going along smoothly when all of a sudden I heard the boat making a funny noise...and it was coming out of the engine room!! That's not good. Chuck went down to investigate while I backed the engine down. He shouted for me to shut off the engine. Oh boy!! The bolt on the alternator that he just replaced broke again. Chuck's thinking we only have about 8 hours on that bolt. So, he jerry-rigged something and we now are by-passing Fowl Cay and heading very slowly to Marsh Harbour. Billy noticed we were having problems and called on the VHF. He is staying with us just in case.......This is not what we need to happen since we're leaving in a few days to make our journey north. Maybe it's better to happen here than out in the Gulf Stream!! Billy and crew are still hanging tight but sailing behind and beside us. It's great to have friends that are will to change their plans and watch out for us.
We are getting near the day markers at the mouth of Marsh Harbour. The winds are picking up earlier than what was predicted. I just hope the worst waits until we are docked! Everyone is passing us on their way into the harbor and looking at us like we're nuts were motoring so slow. Oh well. I just hope nothing happens while we're passing through the mooring field....which is more crowded than normal because of the weather. Jason was waiting for us with our lines but it was gusty and coming out of our least favorable direction. Spring line...on, bow line....on, aft line.....oops the gust pushed us over to the stern piling. That's okay because it made it easier for Chuck to grab that port stern line hanging on the hook on the piling!! We made it and all is well.
We all decided(Circe, HHII, and Whisper) to eat ribs at the Jib Room. This will be our last chance to partake of their delicious food! Billy and Eileen wanted Paula and Bobby to not only experience the food but the party out back...dancing, rake n scrape, and Desmond's limboing. We had a blast and the ribs were excellent. Chuck's half of a chicken was excellent too!
Circe went snorkeling after lunch, which was our original plan. We had to opt out to go in search of a case-hardened bolt. We were directed this time to AID(NAPA). They had the right size but they weren't hardened but Chuck bought two anyway. On our way back to the dinghy dock, we decided to try the Marine Store....nope. The guy there directed us to the Marsh Harbour Boatyard which he said was 15 minutes away.....I have to laugh. He knew we were walking. I think the 15 minutes was by car and it turned out to be 1 hour in the heat and high humidity...up past Maxwell's, left at the first intersection, and then follow that road down to the Boatyard on the Sea of Abaco! After walking all that way, they didn't have the bolt we needed but one of the mechanics went back to look through his odds and ends and found a bolt. It was too long but it was case-hardened and Chuck is going to cut it to the proper length. The guy wouldn't take any money for his bolt....very nice!
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| sv/Mar-A-Lago Jane & Brian |
Once finally back to our dinghy, we motored over to Mango's Marina to see if we could spot Brian and Jane on sv/Mar-A-Lago. It's been since sometime in December that our paths crossed....at Vero Beach. We did find them and went aboard to visit for awhile. It was great seeing them and hearing about their travels to Bimini, Nassau, Eleuthra, and the Exuma's. It was soon approaching time for us to go back to the Jib Room and get ready to meet the gang for Rib Night. We had 12 people sitting at our table for dinner. After we ate, we all went out back to party..,it was the best party yet. Jason must have played 10 'last songs' to get everyone to leave. No one wanted to go! LOL What an experience for Paula and Bobby. It's time for bed.....
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| Bobby playing the harmonica! |
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| Boy could he dance! |
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