Breeze On

Last week we were afraid our time at Cat Island would be short. As it turns out we expect to be here almost two weeks. With no W wind in the forecast we decided New Bight would be a good place to be during the strong E winds we are experiencing. Mt. Alvernia provides great protection, keeping the harbor calm enough for excursions to shore without getting too wet in the chop. Yesterday we ventured ashore with Dee and Ron and walked to Olive’s Bakery. Chris, who was manning the shop, gave us free samples of freshly baked tarts—a pineapple tart as well as a coconut tart. They were delicious and we bought two of each.  Today we plan to go ashore for the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. It is supposed to go from 3-11 pm. We certainly don’t plan to stay until the end and are not sure how much we will actually see. We have enjoyed listening to the Junkanoo band practicing Christmas music each day—it sounds like a marching band. We are not as fond of the thumping electric base we hear eac...

The weather forecast changed—and changed, and changed again—so we decided to stay at Cat Island through the weekend when we are expecting windy conditions. Yesterday we raised the anchor and moved 4 miles S to Old Bight. This anchorage offers better protection from the SE winds that we had last night and early today. After getting settled we walked on what we consider to be the nicest beach in the Bahamas. It is long, clean, and beautiful—with firm sand that is good for walking. In the late afternoon we went to dinner at the Rollezz Resort. They don’t have a lot of guests right now and we were the only customers in their dining room. The four course lobster dinner—prepared and served by Beverly!—was outstanding. After dinner we chatted for a while with Beverly and the owner, Carl, before returning to Breeze On. This morning we took another walk on the beach with Dee and Ron, clocking over four miles.  Beach at Old Bight.  Rollezz Beach Resort. These are just some of the colorf...

We love Cat Island and we love the settlement of New Bight. It is beautiful, unique, and has a friendly, laid back vibe. We had hoped to be able stay in the area for about a week, moving between here, Old Bight, and Fernandez Bay. The forecast for early next week keeps changing and, at times, shows wind directions which would not be good for this area. If we do leave we hope we can return later in the winter.  Yesterday we hiked up Mt. Alvernia—the highest point in the Bahamas—to the Hermitage with Dee and Ron for a stunning view of the harbor. It is a steep and challenging walk but well worth it. Afterwards we walked around the “Fish Fry” cultural area and then down a newly cleared road. In the afternoon we returned to shore for some of Duke’s delicious tropical conch salad.  Today we did laundry at Gilly’s Laundry Depot, our favorite laundromat in the Bahamas or the US. Although our new clothes spinner makes doing laundry on board more efficient, when we are in New Bight we ...

This morning—well before dawn—we raised the anchor and set sail to New Bight, Cat Island, a trip of 77 nm. The conditions for sailing were quite nice and we used the engine only at the beginning and end of the trip. The dreaded overheating alarm did not sound today, nor did it sound the three times we used the engine on our way to Rock Sound (I was too superstitious to mention it then.) Dare we hope that the problem is fixed? Stay tuned… Yesterday we walked to the grocery store and, on the way there, detoured a short distance to see the new art studio in town. I couldn’t resist the invitation for a photo op.  We came within a half mile of the Carnival Sunrise ship as its passengers were being loaded on tenders for a trip to shore.  A great day of sailing. 

We raised the anchor yesterday morning to sail S to Rock Sound, stopping briefly along the way so that we could walk to Eleuthera Island Farm. As we were nearing Rock Sound we heard from Dee and Ron that they were meeting Michael from Desiderata II at Louis Delights and we were welcome to join them. We dropped the anchor, dinghied ashore and joined them for a good meal and great conversation. George was so happy with the milkshake he had that we went back today for another.  This morning George spent some time sanding the engine block where the negative battery terminal attaches. One possible reason for the overheating alarm sounding even when the engine is cold is a bad ground connection. Cleaning up the area where the negative battery terminal connects to the engine could take care of that. While he was working on that I was adding insulation to the inside of the cockpit cubbies. We recently discovered that we are almost at the end of our ship logbook and don’t have another blank...

As I mentioned a few days ago, I washed a few bucket-loads of laundry on the boat and hung the clothes on the lifelines to dry. I used a clothes spinner to spin the clothes as dry as possible before hanging them on the lifelines. I had heard another cruiser rave about her clothes spinner a few a years ago. She said the clothes were practically dry when they came out of the spinner. I toyed with the idea of purchasing one since then but held back when I thought of all of the precious room it would take up. This year George assured me we could make room, so we bought one and put it on board.  When I used the spinner a few days ago I was amazing by how many clothes it could spin and also how much water was removed, making the time to dry clothes much shorter. I am officially a fan.  We have spent the past two days anchored behind Levi Island, near Governor’s Harbour, hiding from strong NNW winds. We have stayed onboard and worked on chores and plan to move further S tomorrow....

Glass Window—just 30 feet wide—is the narrowest part of the island of Eleuthera. It used to be a natural land bridge but, after a hurricane broke through, it was made into a one-way man-made bridge. The contrast of the deep blue water of the Atlantic Ocean on one side with the shallow turquoise water of Eleuthera Bight on the other make it a popular place for tourists to visit. We last saw it eight years ago during our first trip to the Bahamas. Yesterday we had the right conditions for a delightful sail from Spanish Wells to Glass Window.  The bridge is so narrow that pedestrians take their lives in their hands to get there. It is worth it, though. On our walk there we stopped to see a blow hole and later walked further S to see a series of shallow pools known as the Queen’s Baths.  After visiting those sights we raised the anchor again and had another delightful sail to Rainbow Cay, where we stayed for the night. This morning we motored S to Governor’s Harbour where we had l...

We were fortunate to find a restaurant in Spanish Wells that was serving a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner— turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, and mashed sweet potatoes. We were also fortunate to be able to share dinner at the Shipyard with our friends, Dee and Ron. The food was good and the view, with so many colors of water, was absolutely stunning.  Today we did some laundry on the boat (more on that in another post), bought eggs and produce, fuel, and a new power socket to charge our phones, iPads, etc. Then we moved to a quieter location that is not on the path of the many tour boats and fishermen that came racing by us outside Spanish Wells.  I thought it might be time for an update on the various problems we have experienced since leaving home.  Water in the bilge— we have found just a tiny amount of water in the bilge. It could have migrated from other parts of the bilge where it was hiding. The true test will be when we are s...

Our passage from West End, Grand Bahama to Spanish Wells, Eleuthera went well as far as passages go. We traveled 144 nautical miles overnight and arrived at Spanish Wells at 11 am. We had enough wind to sail most of the trip and the seas were relatively calm. Not long after we left West End we were hailed on the VHF radio by ZoZo, another sailboat. They wanted us to take a picture of their boat and email it to them. We did and they returned the favor.  There were numerous ships coming and going in our route but none that we had to evade. Just before midnight—as George was preparing to come on watch and I was preparing to go off watch—I noticed what looked like a large comet streaking across the sky. I called for George to come up and see it before it disappeared. It was too fast to be a comet and we assume it was a meteorite. The tail was so wide and long, I have never seen anything like it.  Photo of Breeze On taken by the crew of ZoZo.  ZoZo and her crew. 

Who said we would never make it here? It certainly seemed like it to us many times over the past month. We are relieved to be here but also feel like we are waiting for the other shoe to drop.  We ran the engine for most of the trip. There was no evidence of a fuel leak nor did the overheating alarm sound again. The engine has stalled twice, which is a new problem. We hope it is one that can be easily fixed, perhaps by tightening all of the fuel connections that were loosened when we were working on the fuel leak.  We checked in at Old Bahama Bay in West End, Grand Bahama. The immigration officer gave us each 120 days in the Bahamas which is what we wanted. There has been a new controversy in the Bahamas over length of stay for tourists. It has always been a bit unpredictable but since September they are requiring each person requesting an extension to pay $200. Since we received the length of time we wanted we won’t have to pay the extra $400. In addition to the extra money i...

We are just about half way to the Bahamas and the engine seems to be running without any problems. George has frequently checked the fuel system for leaks and has not found any. We had a bit of a scare, though, when we left at 4:00 am yesterday morning. The day before—Friday—we left Brunswick Landing to motor and anchor 6 miles closer the inlet. After we pulled the anchor up yesterday morning,  shortly after revving up the engine to exit the inlet, the engine overheating alarm sounded. What!?!?!? George checked the temperatures using the infrared gun and found that the thermostat was around 170° and the sensor was around 188°. I thought that considering the cold air temperature—44°—perhaps the engine needed more time at low speed to warm the engine to enable the thermostat to open and send coolant through the system. So, we shut the engine off, turned it back on, and very slowly increased the speed while monitoring the temperatures. Once the thermostat reached 180° we increased the...

Today George reassembled the fuel system of our engine. Before starting we had to resolve the confusion regarding the order in which the parts should be reassembled. The diagram in the Volvo parts list didn’t make sense and didn’t agree with videos we had watched. Nor did it agree with the order the parts were in before George took them apart.  After verifying the correct assembly with an experienced Volvo mechanic, George completed the reassembly with the new gaskets and we nervously started the engine. No leaks! We ran the engine in the slip for an hour and still no leaks. We might have felt overjoyed but are still puzzled by what caused the leaks in the first place. The leaks appeared to be coming from the area between the nut on the fuel pipe and the retaining nut.  Normally a leak from that location would be due to the fuel pipe nut being too loose. One of the first things George did was to loosen, then tighten a fuel pipe nut but it made the leak worse.  Needless to...

We have spent the past two days ordering parts, studying diagrams and videos, walking to the hardware and auto parts stores, taking an Uber to other parts stores, testing the engine, and taking the fuel system apart. We are at the point of reassembling the engine but have decided to stop for the day. It is dark, we are tired and we want to make sure that we get it right.  Setting up the toilet paper test to determine where the leak originates.     All ready to test.  This is the gasket that was on the engine. We believe it is aluminum.  The replacement Volvo gasket is copper. 

We used to enjoy playing the game Whack-a-Mole with our kids at Ryan’s Arcade in Newport, RI. We don’t enjoy playing it with Breeze On’s engine problems. The good news is that we made the entire trip from Beaufort to Brunswick without the overheating engine alarm sounding once. The bad news is that we now have a new engine problem. Yesterday afternoon we noticed the odor of diesel fuel in our cockpit. It was definitely the smell of fuel and not exhaust. George looked around the areas of the engine that are most likely to have a fuel leak and found three out of four of the injectors were leaking fuel. The reason the odor was so strong in the cockpit—instead of the cabin—is because the blower moves air from the engine compartment to the cockpit.  After arriving at Brunswick Landing this afternoon we spoke to the manager of the boatyard at the far end of the marina. He gave us a few ideas but said he is scheduling work two months out. We then looked into what parts we might need so th...

We left our slip this morning at 6:37 am, hoping that the engine was truly fixed. Less than ten minutes from Homer Smith Docks and Marina, though, the engine overheating alarm sounded. We were motoring at 1000 rpm. George checked the engine temperature using the infrared thermometer and found that it was lower than 181°, the temperature at which the thermostat opens and allows coolant to flow. We increased the rpms, the temperature went up, but the alarm still sounded. We were confident that the new thermostat was functioning and should have opened so we turned around. Breeze On was back in her slip within a half hour.  With a new water pump, new thermostat, new sensor, and new hose reducer, we both wondered if the problem could be due to a poor electrical connection. The sensor connects to an engine computer—called an MDI, Marine Diesel Interface. The primary function of the MDI is to collect information from sensors and send it out to the engine display. We have been carrying a s...

Caleb came yesterday afternoon and installed the new sensor. While he was at it, he installed our spare thermostat. After Caleb finished we ran the engine again and found that it was running at lower temperatures than it did before he completed the work.  We believe everything is now fixed but won’t feel sure until we leave the marina. Speaking of leaving the marina—we negotiated one extra night and had planned to leave tomorrow and motor a few hours to the anchorage at Cape Lookout. That way we would be able to test the engine without going too far from Beaufort. We planned to stay at Cape Lookout until Saturday then sail to Brunswick, GA. However, there is a very strong area of low pressure coming our way on Friday and the forecast is worse with every update. The last forecast predicted sustained winds in the mid-forties with gusts near 60. So we extended our stay until Sunday and may leave sometime on Saturday if the winds calm down. It is disappointing but seems like the sensib...

The good news is the inverter is working. It does not communicate well with the new monitor and controller—Victron Cerbo GX—we had installed this summer. The lack of communication caused the inverter to shut down. It has been rebooted and is now working. We may have to disconnect the inverter from the Cerbo to keep it from shutting down again but that is a minor issue.  The bad news is the engine is not fixed. The new part arrived just before noon yesterday. Coincidentally, the mechanic who was scheduled to come to Breeze On Friday was available yesterday. George installed the new hose reducer and the mechanic, Caleb, arrived a short time later. Caleb checked everything, said it looked fine, and we fired up the engine. We ran it for about 45 minutes while Caleb continued to check the engine. Everything looked good so Caleb left. Wouldn’t you know it, high coolant temperature alarm sounded before Caleb even got off of the dock. George called him, he came back and said he suspected a...