Wednesday Dec 9 7:30 pm
We made it over !! We
are anchored off Bimini's Paradise Point. We didn't get over early enough to
try to get into the channel and to the marina, but we will tomorrow morning.
We might have made it
earlier but...yeah here it comes...motor problems!! Likely bad fuel but a
couple of times the engine cut out completely and it was running really smoky a
few times during the crossing. The night before we left, Rick put in some fuel
from an old diesel jug. It probably had something in it. We never had any
issues all the way down from Fort Pierce. I think we'll throw THAT jug away. I
think he thinks we're going over the edge of the universe and he has to have as
much backup as possible. !
Of course the key to
fixing this is to change the fuel filter of which we purchased a whole box. Did
we bring them with us? "We"
don't remember. "We" will check in the morning.
Where we are sitting
really isn't an anchorage...just the beach, but it is shallow and good holding.
We are on the same spot as we were on last year when we came over, only because
he can't remember how to erase our GPS marks, lol
So Quentin had a great
ride. In the morning, he sat on the front getting soaked by the waves. Later on
in the morning we saw a Man-O-War jelly fish...just one. We figured it's either
a scout or it jumped the starting pistol. Last time we crossed the ocean was
covered with them but that was end of February.
In the afternoon, a pod of
dolphins chased some flying fish across our path. They weren't much interested
in us. They were feeding.
The crossing in the morning
was choppy. NOAA called for east winds 5-10 and 2-4 foot seas with a 7 second
period. But the seas were very confused and sloppy. IT was a shorter period
when you could actually calculate it.
The waves ranged from nothing to 6 feet. If what we had was 2-4 feet, tomorrow should
be glass. The conditions were nothing like predicted on either the weather
radio or Passage weather.
Of all the boats
anchored in No Name Harbour, none of them came out to cross over. One of the boats,
Dos Libros was one we met last year. We gave them some old lifejackets for
their dinghy. They remembered us.
Actually she said, "Are you the same OtherGoose..?" Seriously???How many have you met?
There are some boats
that have common names...we know of 3 Kokopelli's ...well, 2 now. One was
destroyed last year. Dos Libros is another, although you'd not expect it to be
common. We have even seen 2 more Amazing Grace's but OtherGoose??? Anyway they
are waiting for another couple to meet up with them before they come over.
We had snacks all day
long, so at supper I made bacon and eggs, or tried to. Quentin had the last two
eggs from the first carton and when I opened the second carton it was full of
maggots. I had just noticed a small n the pantry that afternoon but it was too
rough to try tracking it down. This
carton of eggs was the double wrapped plastic carton called "Cage
Free" from Publix...so be warned you shoppers of Publix. If they are free range, the eggs aren't being
checked properly!!
Rick tossed them
overboard and I'm sure that's what brought all the little fish to the
boat...yummy juicy maggots... And the conch and crabs will make short work of
the eggs. We ended up with bacon and
salad.
We were all in bed by
8:30 last night and asleep by 9:00 or so.
This morning the sky is
streaked with clouds and apparently a thunderstorm passed to the north of us
this morning. We are going into the dock at Brown's Marina. There we can change
the fuel filter and have a shower , go to Customs and check in and then get
this phone activated so I can send this.
So if you got this, all is well!
