Our Travels

In a way, we are retracing our steps on the way home; next step Orange Creek, as we really wanted to stop in and see Margaret and her daughter Shari. Wanted to, notice the past tense. Upon arrival, we attempted to start the generator (as usual) to power our crane (davit) to put the dinghy in the water. The gen started and then stopped. Four hours of changing fuel filters (there are two), cleaning injectors (three), and trying various other things were not successful. No visiting allowed – we can’t even get the dinghy in the water. Our captain exclaimed (among other things), “We need a diesel guy.” Given our path was to include Spanish Wells to take on fuel (remember? big fishing fleet, therefore, lots of fuel), we called ahead to inquire about diesel service. Yep, come on. Great! We are on the way!

Captain plotted two days of travel. All sightseeing is suspended until we get there. Oh, and we have to pretend like we are defrosting the main freezer (cause it can’t run w/o the gen) and move everything into the smaller cooler/freezer on the flybridge. (Thankfully, we’ve been eating for months, so it’s not as full as when we came over.) All planned stops will be saved for “next time,” as the Mare’s gotta get to the barn!

Given the wind and swell present in Orange Creek the night before, the SaltyMare swayed quite a bit through the night. Unbeknownst to us, during that process, she managed to get free of one side of the anchor bridle by losing a shackle bolt. (For our non-boating followers, I kid you not, it’s called a bridle.) Uh-oh. We both peer down into the clear, now calm water. Hey, is that it right there?

So, speaking of swimming, Todd goes in to hopefully retrieve it.

No luck. That bolt has been sacrificed to the sea. Dry off the captain, rinse the gear, and get moving. Got a 12-hour cruise ahead of us, during which the captain/chief mechanic will replace rusted locking wires on all the shackle bolts. My man!

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Fortunately, the weather was fantastic for cruising – light and variable easterly winds, calm seas. The six miles we were “in the open” crossing from Cat Island to Eleuthera were smooth.

Along the way, we passed a couple of cruise ships. They’re BIG.

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You know what happens when we’re in deep water. That’s right, time for the next installment of “Todd vs. Fish.”

Fish on! Again.

Captain shouted, “It’s a big one, Mahi”! Unfortunately, trying to photograph an unpredictably jumping fish while gathering supplies is darn near impossible.

After one final struggle, Tada! The streak is broken! 42″ and (guessing) more than 15 pounds! Good one!

Every cloud does have a silver lining. This one ends with 6 pounds of Mahi filets (NOT, possibly toxic reef fish!) in the freezer, fresh fish tacos for dinner, and a fantastic sunset!