Congratulations!

"Congratulations, you have won a trip to the Bahamas!" So said the nice (albeit pre-recorded) lady just before I hung up on her. Ha! I don't need a free trip to the Bahamas. I have a special arrangement with a very savvy captain who will take me there for free. Well, almost for free.

Multiple trips to Costco, West Marine, Walgreen's, etc., etc. and our holds are filling up. The fridge, sporting only adult beverages when we arrived in Florida just after Christmas, is now full of semi-healthy options like eggs and pimento cheese and strawberry jam. The pantries, which are conveniently located not only in the obvious place (the galley!), but under or behind most seat cushions in the salon, are layered with staples and treats. Cheerios, peanut butter, crackers, pasta and rice compete for space with brownie mixes and Oreos. Oh, and coffee beans. We have all our favorites on board.

 
For Christmas, Bill gave me a shiny red "frother" and it shares valuable real estate with the rice cooker and coffee bean grinder on the galley countertop. Apples, oranges and bananas are abundant, as are potatoes, onions, celery and carrots. Since shopping in the islands is hit or miss, we have also stocked up on large quantities of chicken, hamburger, edamame, limas and green beans in the freezers. Well, at least as much as we could squeeze in around the ice cream. 

Stashed under the bed in the master stateroom are 36 Chromebooks which will be distributed to kids at the all-ages schools on Great Exuma island as phase two of Bill's education project in the Bahamas. Little Farmers Cay students are receiving headsets this season to help with their individualized lesson plans. They are thriving and super enthusiastic about learning with computers. Yeah, Captain Bill!

So, food-wise and computer-wise we are good to go. And, as usual, Let's Dance and the Love Me Tender have not been idle in our absence but have been checked and polished and updated - electronically and mechanically. We're ready. The boat is in fine shape; the Love Me Tender has fully inflated pontoons and a well-oiled engine; the crew is capable, confident and enthusiastic. What could go wrong? 

Now it's New Year's Eve. We cast off our lines from the cleats at slip #28 and sidle over to the marina's fuel dock. 850 gallons of diesel tops off the tanks and we head south for the first leg of the journey. It is a breezy and clear Florida afternoon. We anchor about 45 minutes later at the edge of a familiar turning basin just inside the channel to the Atlantic. We have done this dozens of times -- positioned ourselves for an early departure to take best advantage of the sea state and winter daylight hours for the crossing. 

New Year's Day. The captain doesn't give me a wake-up call, but I smell the coffee and toddle up to the salon. Hmmm. He is not happy. Apparently all systems are Not Go. One system in particular is problematic -- leaking fuel and, as it is the generator, mission critical. We're not going anywhere today!

As part of his captain routine, Bill checks a raft of components and systems every morning before even thinking of starting up the engine. This is how he discovered the errant fuel injector pump on the generator. Good thing, too, as repair in mid-ocean, or even in the Bahamas would be practically impossible. So, it's good news, bad news. And it's New Year's Day, a Friday. Perfect! No one will be available to even look at the problem for at least three days.

So, leisurely, we watch less complicated sailboats and cruisers leave the anchorage to take advantage of the calm seas and light southerly winds for their Atlantic crossings. Drat! We raise the anchor and re-trace our route back to the marina. The imaginary 'road' passes by Peanut Island, a party island usually frequented by waterborne teenagers; but today it is empty and forlorn. As are we. It is quiet in the pilot house as we contemplate the upcoming holiday weekend, the loss of a great weather window for the crossing and the repair of the fuel injector pump. Then Bill turns to me and says, "Did we just run aground?" 

Well, actually, yes. Can you believe it? We must have drifted just over the curb of the navigational street and run into a submerged sandbank. Can it get any better? The captain is calm, as captains should be, and puts the big Lugger engine in reverse. We stir up a cloud of sandy water but go nowhere. He puts her in forward; again we go nowhere. Nothing left to do but check the tide chart on the computer and have another coffee. And remain calm, of course. We do. Luckily, we have run amuck on a rising tide and within 15 minutes we are underway with only a smidge of hurt pride.
It was a very quiet weekend back in slip #28 at the marina. 

Finally, on Monday, all-round fixit man Robert showed up to remove the offending fuel injector pump. That accomplished, there was nothing to do but wait for its repair and monitor the changing weather conditions. It became apparent almost immediately that by the time we could re-start the trip there would be squalls off the coast and a crossing would be ill-advised for several more days. We got out the calendar. By our calculations, we could not possibly now make it to Georgetown in the Exumas in time for my flight back to South Carolina. What to do?
As luck would have it, our friend Anne Stanton lives in Florida, so we rented a car and drove to Orlando to see her. Perfect! We had a great visit and then rented yet another car so that I could drive north to Charleston as Bill motored back south to West Palm and the wounded Let's Dance. Not exactly the January we had planned, but, hey, it's boating!
Maybe the next time my phone rings and some chirpy lady's voice says, "Congratulations, you have won a trip to the Bahamas!", I won't be so quick to hang up.
Let's Dance......Carol and Bill