Abaco to Eleuthera

The Abacos were a blast - frankly better than some had said they would be.  The impression people gave was that it was more touristy and less natural than the Southern Bahamas.  I really did not find that to be the case.  The people were very friendly, authentic and rustic all at once.  Yes the services were geared towards tourists, but clearly within the context of what the Bahamas can offer and we thought that was great.

All that said, it's time to move on to the Exumas, and our first stop was to take a run from "Near Pete's Pub" across the North West Atlantic Passage to Eleuthera.  We ran from Marsh Harbour to an anchorage near the Atlantic to get a quick get away in the morning.  The problem was there was a 2-3 foot swell that was rolling across our anchorage and after rocking and rolling for 3 hours on the way down, we then rocked and rolled all night - not restful!!!!!!  I say Near Pet's Pub because 3 miles away was a calm anchorage, with a nice restaurant that would have been a much better choice!  We continue to live and learn every day.

When we set out the forecast was for 3 foot Significant Wave Heights.  SWH is defined as the average hight of the top 30% of the waves.  That said, every 100 waves or so you will see one that is about 4-5 feet and every thousand or so you will come across a 6-7 footer.  The predictions were accurate.  However, we had a 3 foot swell coming from the NE and a 3 foot wave riding on top of that coming from the SE.  It created confused seas that built up and dropped off quickly.

The video does not convey the lumpiness as much due to the shock absorbing nature of my holding the camera - but you get the idea.  Remember the anchor pulpit on the bow of my boat is 7 feet off the water line.

Sue continues to be a trooper and we ran 9 hours that day to arrive safely at Spanish Wells in George Cay at the top of the Eleuthera Islands.

The CATs ran strong the whole day and did not miss a beat.  However, when I arrived at the dock and got off the boat I could smell something electrical/rubber/resin burning.  I quickly traced it to my engine room, and then to the Port side, and then finally to the NEW alternator - CRAP!  She was 300F and all the paint on the fan had burned off!  The STBD side was running a normal 150F - so I had found the source of the smell.

It turns out the front bearing let go and the armature was hitting the windings - throwing off a fine dust of metal that looked like snow!  Not Good.  However, ever prepared - I had a spare and after a couple of hours of swearing I had swapped it out and we are good to go again.  I'm anxious to see how I made out and if the replacement alternator holds up.

We don't plan to stay long and will be heading out for the Exumas in an hour - another 6 hour run, but this time on the Bahama Bank - so the conditions should be much better!

I better sign off and get under way - more to come!