Blackpoint, Great Guana Cay

Today we decided it was time to leave this beautiful place and get outside the park where we could fish.  We headed south, destination Black Point on Great Guana Cay.  Our batteries needed a good charge so we motor-sailed for the couple hour trip.  When we got to Black Point, it was packed.  Larry counted over 40 boats!  We zigzagged in and out of the pack and into the shallower water close to shore.  It seems no one ever wants to anchor close to shore.  We find it so much more convenient, with a much shorter dinghy ride into town.  But every anchorage we go to, we seem to end up closer to shore than any other boat … even catamarans with their shallow draft!

Since we got such a good charge and our batteries were full, we were able to reset the AMP Hours on the control panel.  Over time, it slips and even with full batteries, the gauge reflects negative 70 amps or so.  It will be nice to have a more realistic idea of the state of charge on the batteries.

Larry got domestic and made his famous English Muffins from scratch!  Yum!!!  They turned out awesome!  He made 8 so they should last for a bit.

Okay, here’s a little side note.  Mom … don’t be worried.  All is fine now.  BUT … we did have a little scare a few days ago on our trip from Shroud to Wardrick Wells.  We’d checked the bilge often since we left Miami as we’re supposed to and was surprised it was almost dry every time we checked.  Usually, there is minimal water in it and “minimal” water is normal.  However, on our sail between Shroud and Wardrick Wells, our bilge came on many times.  Larry checked and it was almost full!  He searched the boat trying to find out what had changed and where the water was coming from.  Finally, he found it!  On this leg of our journey, we were heeled to starboard about 15 degrees.  For you landlubbers, that means the boat was “tipped” to the right, probably at an uncomfortable “tip” for most of you.  We didn’t mind it … until Larry found our water problem.  On this heel, there was water coming in one of our thru-hulls that normally sits high and dry.  Larry said the water was just pouring in and the bilge pumps were working fast and fiece to keep us from sinking.  Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic but when your captain tells you that water is “pouring” into the boat and you’re out in open water, away from land … you’re allowed a little drama … aren’t you?  It turns out, the thru-hull that drains water from the cockpit (the area where we drive from) was poorly installed.  It was a threaded, plastic thru-hull (most thru-hulls are bonze) and instead of having the proper fitting to connect the smooth plastic hose to the threaded thru-hull, it was just pushed on as far as it would go.  Water was seeping thru the threads at a quick pace (on this heel).  Larry monitored it A LOT as we continued into Wardrick Wells.  As soon the boat was sitting upright (not heeled anymore), the leaking stopped.  Larry has spent the last several days trying to repair the problem.  We don’t have the fittings needed to do it properly and have no idea when/where we might be able to get them.  So … Larry did what Larry does best … he found a way to repair the problem with the supplies on hand.  He used JB Water-Weld … some gooey crap that seals areas even if they’re wet.  He put on many coats over the last couple of days.  He finally declared the job finished and assures me … there’s no way in hell that will leak again!  With this problem averted, I now feel safe in sharing our experience.  Didn’t want to scare Mom by writing this when we still had a sinking ship!