January 4, 2020
Today we are anchored off of Black Point in the Exumas which is just south of Staniel Cay. Over the past two days, the weather has been good to great, but we really haven’t done much off the boat.
On the 2nd, we did depart Highbourne Cay and headed to Wardrick Wells Cay. Amongst the crew, there was no interest in swimming with the rays or walking on the beaches, so we dropped anchor, hung out and did very little but read and eat. It was all very relaxing.
The weather on the third was exceptional. The winds had died down to just 10-15 knots and the waves were minimal. The anchor was lifted by 7:30 and the boat started moving south.
About an hour in, the engine shutdown and an alarm alerted us to a problem. Our fuel pump was not interested in pumping fuel . . . here we go. The main engine was shut down, the wing engine was started and we continued along. The weather was perfect, so there was no stress or strain on my part. It took some time to convince Jinhee that this just doubled our time enjoying the scenery, but since we didn’t have a schedule, the only concern was whether we needed parts or we could just mosey on down to Georgetown.
I reached out to the ever appreciated Lugger Bob (not his real name) who supports Nordhavn owners from a private message board. Since Bob is on the west coast, it took some time to get his advice, but it worked like magic (like always) and I found that my problem was based on neglect, not a failure in a component of the engine. I literally had to tighten one little nut, by one turn and all was well again. (Okay, the diagnosis and remediation was a lot more time consuming, but that one turn of one nut fixed the problem).
By this time we had anchored just north of Staniel Cay, visited the pigs on Big Major (also known as Pig Beach) and discovered that none of the crew was even mildly interested in pigs. In fact Megan wanted to get back in the dinghy instantly and Jinhee was okay until a pig nipped her leg . . . that was it for her she was over the pigs as well.
We ambled south (engine repair was underway at this time) to Black Point and dropped anchor in the nicest (maybe calmest would be a more apt description) bay we have visited so far. It is close to a small town, there are only three boats (and one of those, Calypso, we have been meeting up with since our arrival in the Exumas). The weather is quite calm, with almost no waves. This anchorage doesn’t have any currents from the tides and therefore we are just floating aimlessly. It is a very nice spot.
The town itself was mostly closed (Sunday!), but we did get some bread and a short walk before returning to the boat for a wonderful swim.
With the light winds it is finally (!) possible to get the drone up and a few pictures were taken from the air. I will get some online soon. Another photos only post will be forthcoming.
Today, Megan returns to work; Jinhee and I will practice being tourists and relaxing but we will also start moving south slowly as Megan needs to get to Georgetown for her PCR test by Wednesday . . . baby steps though, no long journeys for the next week or so! Georgetown is only 40-45nm away, although we have to travel out on the ocean, not ‘inside’ on the Exuma bank.
More later with photos!