Cruising – Affixing boat repairs in exotic locations while having fun.
And, this has been the winter of doing that! Over Christmas we realized that our batteries were not charging as they should. It only gets worse as we play our way into January. In the middle of January, after being in the marina for one of the many westerlies, we thankfully return to the anchorage. But the minute the compressor for the freezer comes on; the batteries show only a minimal charge. We pull back into the marina to keep a charge on dead batteries!
We then have to figure out how to get batteries to Sampson Cay in the middle of the beautiful though relatively remote Exuma Cays. Do we have them brought in from the states? How do we get them transported? Can’t be flown because they are lead acid. Shipping on a freighter from the States could take as long as two weeks and the marina is $120/night!?!? We actually learn how to get them shipped from Nassau on one of the inner-island freight boats and they will “reach” i n 3 days!
We have been living out of an ice box. We have been living out of an ice box. So we spend the next few days playing. One day we snorkeled some really pretty reefs in the morning, finding Conch along the way. So we cleaned conch after lunch and dined on succulent sautéed tenderized conch and a salad for dinner. Another day, we dinghied down to Staniel for lunch and on the way back we spied “Smashy”, one of the Bahamian racing sloops, knocking about off of Sampson. Mac drove the dinghy over and I was granted permission to climb aboard for a fun sail.
Mac & Vic are assisted by Ralph’s from Five Islands in removing old, pregnant, batteries and installing new. (Actually, Ralph’s young back provided the assistance our boys needed.) We’re up and runnin’ so it’s time to play once again! We take the “Mother Boat” down to Staniel Cay for a change of scenery. We watch the last of the playoff games at Staniel Cay Yacht Club.
In the middle of February, the 11 year old freezer compressor gave up the ghost at Sampson Cay. For the next month we live out of an ice box. Kathy & Mike, the managers of Sampsom, let us put our frozen stuff in their freezer and they also let us make ice. We called the guy who installed the cold plate system 11 years ago and he sent us a compressor to Staniel. It didn't make it on the first plane, so the next day we ran all the way to Nassau so as not to lose our weather window.
We get to Nassau on Sunday. Monday it is raining and Ken, the refrigeration guy, says he will be here when the rain stops!?!? He finally shows up at 5:30 in the rain!?!? Tells us that the compressor won't work! We take pictures of the compressor and e-mails fly the next two days. Finally find a compressor that we think will work.
Peter, here at Harbor Club in Nassau, has been wonderful. He also has let us freeze Rubbermaid containers to make large blocks of ice.
It took the compressor five days to reach Nassau from Miami (too many Bahamian delays to talk about!?!?), after we had paid $270 to have it over-nighted from Michigan to Miami. (To reliably get things brought into Nassau they have to be brought in by a broker.) But, the next day the new compressor is installed and purring like a kitten. Our refrigeration guy was more reliable than the broker, obviously, and with a total bill of $400, much cheaper than having it done stateside even with our shipping cost!
With the fronts coming as rapidly as they have we are glad to be in Nassau for the past two weeks; it's cheaper than marinas in the Exumas. We have been staying busy with Vic & Gigi of Oconee. Saw the marching flamingos; ridden jitneys all over the island; had lunch at Potter's Cay; wandered downtown looking at really expensive jewelry. We've also seen Rita-Kay and Clay off of Carleigh several times while we’ve been in Nassau.
