Retreat from George Town, Part I

What a difference a crippled motor makes! Yes, Jan and I know how to sail. We know which way the wind blows and how fast it blows without instruments. We can read the water depth without a depth sounder. White Pepper has a big, muscular rig, and we know how to use it. Indeed, sailing free and fast on the open ocean or vast expanse of the Bahamas Banks is a wonderful feeling. However, having to sail through intricate channels and cuts, in and out of anchorages and harbors, or dodging storms without a motor is a completely different thing altogether!

The miraculous efforts to deglaze the transmission described in the previous post seems to have been successful in restoring about 50% of power which was minimal to start with. How long the fix would last was unpredictable. We had to consider the prospect of sailing without motor all the way back to Florida.

The first leg and the hardest was leaving George Town. After endless waiting, a seven day weather window of benign conditions opened up. (It did not last, but that is another post.) More importantly, the tide was changing so that low tide was beginning in the early afternoon. On Monday April 14 low tide was at 2 pm. Therefore, after 2 pm the current would be flooding and White Pepper would be sucked into the banks from the Exuma Sound, rather than spit out in a “rage.” All this made me more appreciative of the old captains that sailed these waters for hundreds of years before motors first became available during the Prohibition Era.

After several days of preparation White Pepper was ready to leave Monday. Best plans called for a predawn start, but White Pepper was half asleep at 7 am. We were able to clear Conch Cut by 8:45 am, something of a miracle in itself. The day was crisp and the wind bracing, perfectly positioned to carry us up 36 n. miles of the Exuma Sound to Galliot Cut by 2 pm. Of course the wind died about 11 am. At these speeds we would not even make Galliot Cut by dark. Reluctantly, I turned on the motor and it worked! With a motor assist we made it about 4 pm, 2 hours into the flood. With motor and full sails we cleared the cut and swirling waters without problems. Now on the Bahamas Banks the wind picked up and clocked East. I suspect that this was a late sea breeze. We roared along at 7+ knots which is hull speed for White Pepper.

By 6:30 pm we had made it all the way to Little Harbor behind Great Guana Cay, Exuma. (There are several Great Guana Cays elsewhere in the Bahamas.) We anchored with our friends, Graham and Valerie from Bonnie Lass, in ideal conditions. These did not last as the wind shifted South against predictions and sent small rollers into the anchorage after midnight. I suppose this is why Black Point just to the North with good southerly protection is popular and Little Harbor is not. One point of gratitude was that the rolling woke up the cat, who woke me up to complain. I got up to look around and was able to see the total eclipse of the moon just before dawn. I have to admit that I would have missed it otherwise.

The next moment was decision time. I checked the weather. Bonnie Lass had more weather from Chris Parker which they shared, but the clincher was that the transmission had failed again during the anchor drill. Bonnie Lass set out for Eleuthra and White Pepper elected to go north up the Exuma chain staying in the relative safety of the Bahamas Banks. We had a sparkling sail gybing down wind in 20 knots of southerly breeze on the Banks arriving at Exuma Park, the Emerald Rock Anchorage at 2 pm. By coincidence or not we were quite close to where the transmission had failed 2 months earlier.

I added 60 cc of ATF fluid and the transmission seemed to return to life. The next morning White Pepper set out for Highbourne Cay. The wind was predicted to go light which is another reason we chose not to cross Exuma Sound to Rock Sound. Eleuthra. It did go to near zero. Again it was crunch time for the motor. It started and engaged. We made an agonizing 15 miles to Highbourne at 3 knots in absolutely flat water and zero wind. This time the anchor drill went well. The next morning I added 30 cc of ATF.

By Thursday 3 days into our ideal 7 day weather window the forecast had turned ominous. A cold front at least was coming. Chris Parker , weather forecaster, was predicting very dire storms. He was even calling for 10% chance of a NAMED tropical storm on Easter Sunday—an almost unbelievable scenario. A slip in Nassau suddenly looked very cool. Typically this is the worst bunk in the Bahamas, but how we wanted it now! I checked the transmission. It was full for a change but the dip stick was loose—not for the first time. I gave it a good twist. Also the engine needed a half quart of motor oil after all of the effort it gave in the past three days.

Wing and wing across the Yellow Banks

The trip across the Banks and the Yellow Banks from Highbourne to Nassau was idyllic. We ran wing and wing with gentle 15 knots winds from the SE pushing us along at 4 to 5 knots. I want to remember this day for the rest of my life! Jan got some great pictures of the coral heads that make these waters so treacherous. But in the perfect conditions, such as we had today, they are easily seen and avoided.

White Pepper took a slip at Nassau Harbor Club Marina just feet from where we were several months previously and next to Quartet with whom we shared a number of adventures this Spring.

It is hard to describe the relief that Jan and I feel at being here regardless of whether the storm develops into the killer Chris Parker predicts. We have made a difficult trip with the potential for disaster more apparent than usual during cruising. Aphrodite, cat, is enjoying her first touch of dry land since she was here several months ago.

Part II will cover the trip to Florida.