Captain Bill and I have been cruisers for almost two years now and we have absorbed quite a lot of information: about seamanship, navigation, meteorology, mechanics, etc. Most of our new-found knowledge is elementary, some graduate level, some very arcane. This we know for certain: travel aboard the trawler Let's Dance consists of
a) endless weeks of soothing, seductive sailing through awesomely beautiful scenery,
b) frequent moments of exhilarating glee, and c) rare spikes of brain numbing terror.
We've shared with you the scenery and some of the childlike joy that comes from flying fish and glow worms and green flashes. We've even let you in on the lengths to which we will go to entertain ourselves on long, boring passages. Now for part three of the equation to trawler life!
We are on the way home!! We succeeded in reaching the Turks and Caicos. We have had a wonderful run of great weather and good fishing. Guests have come and gone, a fine time had by all. Let's Dance is in prime shape and we are well provisioned for the trip back to the States. It should take about 10 days. Days one, two and three are almost flawless as we retrace our route back past Mayaguana, the Acklins and the Crookeds. On day four, however, leaving our Landrail Settlement anchorage at the north end of Crooked Island, the forecast is for higher wind and sea conditions. 0830 hours and the anchor is up...we're off! Two foot seas and winds at 10 knots from the southeast. Not a bad start to the day. By 0930 hours the seas have jumped to about 6 feet high with a 7 or 8 second interval. Still not too rough...it is a Nordhavn after all! The cabin is secured, with all drawers and cabinets and the fridge locked securely. At the helm, Bill tests the Clinometer app on the iphone to check the degree of our side to side roll -- 5 to 7 degrees each way. Interesting to note.
Let's Dance is equipped with state of the art Trac stabilizers whose sole responsibility it is to keep our ride smooth and pleasant in any kind of seas. These "fins" are like giant, flat paddles on either side of the keel and they push water to and fro to add stability to the potentially unpleasant side to side motion that power boats can experience. Hydraulic fluid is pumped through the hearty Lugger engine into a loop with the fins. They can be adjusted to varying sea conditions and they are a joy to experience. They are, in my opinion, mission critical.
At noon on day four, during the routine hourly engine room check, the Captain discovers a small leak of hydraulic fluid from the port stabilizer. Not good, but manageable. Fifteen minutes later he returns to the engine room for a quick look to discover that the seal on the port stabilizer has failed completely and the starboard one is leaking. Five gallons of blue hydraulic fluid now coats the bases of the mechanisms that keep us, literally, on an even keel and is running into the bilge below. Oh, no! He yells up to me to kill the electrical breaker for the stabilizers and I do, pronto. This is (expletive deleted) bad and the sea state is now closer to eight feet than the earlier six.
With the fins deactivated, the open ocean is free to have her way with us. And she does. We are immediately impacted by the 8 foot beam seas and Let's Dance starts moving to a playlist of rock 'n roll standards.....Twist and Shout, The Swim, The Jerk, Rockin' Robin.....Even the locked cabinets are feeling the impact of loose dishes, pots and pans and utensils. Nothing breaks loose, but the clatter is unnerving. Spice jars click against each other, magazines slide from port to starboard, wooden blinds slap against the windows. Bill is calm at the helm but I am quivering behind him on the settee, clutching the table in front of me with a death grip.
The trusty Clinometer confirms that we are all atilt as it registers a 38 degree roll to port, back to zero and over to 30 degrees to starboard. Do not try this at home! We are half way to nowhere and there is only one thing to do -- phone a friend!
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| Friend James Knight |
Bill gets on the sat phone and dials Nordhavn expert James Knight in Florida, explains the situation and learns that we can still run the main engine for an hour or two without hydraulic fluid. He comforts me with the fact that there is no way we can turn over. Good to know, James. So we muddle on for 14 miles to the Clarence Town settlement on Long Island in the lower Bahamas, and shut her down. We begin to breathe again after almost two hours of rockin' to the oldies. Whew!!!
Day five consists of a quick dinghy ride into 'town' for cell phone minutes and 32 weight hydraulic fluid. Minutes are easy, fluid not so much. There is none on the island and the nearest source is Nassau. OK, then. That's what we'll do...order it from Nassau. But no, actually, the ferry from Nassau comes five days from now, on Wednesdays (or Thursdays) usually, but lately it hasn't been coming at all. Hmmmmm. Let the phone calls begin!
James contacts the Trac stabilizer folks and learns that we can substitute the 68 weight fluid that we have on board for the 32 but it will slow down the fins action. OK, slow fins are better than no fins. First, however, the errant port stabilizer must be taken apart and rebuilt. We have the manual but it is full of phrases like "slide the locking plate tongue into the yoke clevis and align the Locking Plate Flange with its dowel pins and mounting holes." Help!
Captain Bill dons his virtual coveralls and jumps into his new role as Chief Engineer. A pattern quickly develops....call to James for step one, follow instructions to the letter, report back. Call to James for step two, etc. Fourteen short phone calls and 8 long hours later, the offending stabilizer has been dismantled and the root of the problem uncovered. In between, terms like bushing, actuator, flange, punch, torque, allen wrench, top plate, and a whole raft of unmentionables, are uttered. Bill and I take turns crawling into the tight space that houses the mechanism, and with the help of a tiny flashlight and a mirror on a long handle, are able to finally make the adjustments that James has ordered.
We are greasy and smelly and tired, but have achieved success in tightening the loose joint that allowed the hydraulic fluid to spew out. Now to replace the fluid. We do, with a 5 gallon drum of 68 weight hydraulic fluid, two funnels, a plastic kitchen pitcher and a lot of paper towels. Time for a break for the crew.
We still have a lot of miles and days to travel before we reach Florida, so our fingers are tightly crossed and the sea gods intoned as we anchor up on day six. Hourly engine room checks become quarter hourly and only a tiny bit of fluid leaks out. The seas are calmer each day and we are encouraged to motor on. Days seven through nine see us anchoring in familiar bays as we travel north and west....Calabash, Big Majors, Highbourne...and still the stabilizers purr along quietly and efficiently. I think Bill shows a lot of potential, mechanically speaking.
Night ten finds us back at the Tongue of the Ocean -- we put the hook down in 20 feet of water about two miles off the established "route" to avoid any possible overnight traffic. It was, as anticipated, a study in serenity. Another gorgeous sunset and, with stabilizers brought back up to snuff, we are confident of a smooth, uneventful ride across the Gulf Stream and home. All is well aboard
Let's Dance.....Carol and Bill
