Passage part 2

March 10, Tuesday
Attempted to get watermaker working for first time. Its brand new, but we were unable to even start it at dock in G'town due to water quality...so we all break out the book, turn it on manually, get a taste of some great water, hook it up to the tank and look forward to having plenty of drinking water aboard when we enter Luperon. The saline being pumped overboard stops, Dave and I go back to the book and the unit, cannot get it to work for more than afew minutes. The instructions are very vague, and I feel badly I did not investigate before leaving ...Luckily we have plenty of water on board, and coca cola for Dave, bad bottled ice tea for us. No one even mentions a beer or liquor, although I did sneak a beer yesterday afternoon, sipping cold beer on the stern watch the water go by, totally enjoying the clear horizon.
The dogs have finally done their business on the bow, I had pee pads all over the boat we were all tripping over, but they stayed dry. I watched Max and he ventures out on his own, more so when the engine slows, and Alma follows. I am still glad I strung netting along the stern, although Rock insists they have a better center of gravity and more contact with the deck. Well, someone has to worry.
More lamb pastitio for dinner(still no fish!)
We have passed out of the Sargasso Sea, still in The Triangle, and actually about 250 miles due East of Cape Canaveral. Not far from the Bahamas. Nothing in sight, calm seas, and no ships on radar. Dave and Rock pull in the outriggers, although they do not seem to decrease our speed as much as we thought, maybe a half knot. Course remains unchanged at 146 degrees/East,Southeast on a straight line to the Turks & Caicos, which we plan to round with a short southwest passage to Luperon.
Bad news for our tiny amazing passenger Sparrow, Dave found him dead on the flybridge...it was too sad it had found the perfect refuge to get to land, eventually....
March 11 Wednesday
3 am awakened by a can of artichokes bouncing down the steps...Rock is hunting the bag of tiny heath bars in the pantry and has caused a total imbalance in the pyramids of cans. I am up for my watch, shower, and duck tape the pantry shut(damnit) The wind is around 11 knots and rising and we begin to get more pronounced rolls. Tried to make a cup of tea, gave up. Want to put the outriggers back out, will wait for first light and muscle.We are 70 +/- miles from San Salvador and Dave has us positioned to arrive at the pass around the Turks & Caicos by Friday 2 am.It will then be a days trip to Luperon, with the wind.
The roll increases, the dogs skuttle around the salon like nervous pancakes. At first light we put out the outriggers, which help alittle, but we are in a very beam sea. Dave wants breakfast, and is unhappy I am not cooking, asks for souse meat...that did it for Rock who was quietly working on not being seasick....Poor Dave got an english muffin, cereal and a yogurt(no Yankees were mentioned but I am sure he though it.) Rock is sleeping or in a coma on the settee, Dave is in the pilot house, I am hearing noises again, more banging and clanging. Off we go to investigate, on the flybridge the board with cleats holding all the lines to the port outrigger, flag halliards etc... is flying around the flybridge wheeee! Grabbed the long boat hook and Dave was able to snag the loose lines to outrigger, all lines resecured, and we are back in the salon in a flash like it was nothing. I am amazed at what we do together. The dogs are especially clingy with the new added motion, Max decides to puke again for good measure. Rock is paler than pale with the dry heaves. Maybe his scopolamine patch as worn off.
I struggle to heat up white bean and chicken chili, the microwave has become a salad spinner of all I put into it. I dare not try a pot and lid. Dave and I eat in silence, Rock comes to for his watch like clockwork looking like a ghoul.
March 12, Thursday
Happy Birthday Matty and Adam!! You are having a better day, where ever you are and whatever you are doing!
Wind above 20 knots, the seas continue to beat us as we motor along right on course.
Dave suffers silently with english muffins for breakfast, happily eats Rock's. Rock is not starting out well today, continues to be seasick. I am down for my nap with the dogs panting away beside me when the engine dies ....oh such a bad sound after I felt my head would explode with the sound of the engine coming from all directions, silencing all the sea, wind and rock and roll noises.....Dave had been changing/cleaning the racor filter, and the fuel stopped to the engine. Rock too sick to tolerate the sauna, I go with Dave and watch as he repeats all the steps in bleeding the injectors and cussing the fuel delivery system. Still cannot figure out why the second filter does not take over, but the many valves and ports some labeled, most not, leave alot of room for leaving a line open or closed....but like magic, the Gardner starts back with a rumble and we are back to the rock and roll of the evil beam seas.
Dave changes course to cut through the pass between Mayaguana and Provo, hoping to decrease the seas, worries it will add time to our travels. Some change in motion, although we continue to roll. Sandwiches for lunch, without Rock's famous touch, Dave and I put lines out as we pass weedlines that have to be feeding those schools of fish I cannot catch or see. Rock is back to bed, no better.
Still not interested in cooking or food, make Dave a baked potato( at last some 'normal' food!) and a cup of chili, Rock declines to dine.
I try for a nap at dark, after watching for the lights of Provo, the incredible full moon, stars...and now the noise of the boat is so loud I cannot be still. Its in my head, and outside my head at the same crashing decibel. I am more than just restless, pillows over my head. I go to Dave, and tell him somethings wrong, but I do not know what. He rolls his eyes and checks the engine room like a sweet frustrated babysitter. Nothing amiss ...I join Rock and try to sleep but can't. An alarm I do not know goes off, I am in the salon, and Dave is searching for the source. We hear it strongest at the forward stairs, and then the aha! moment , its the Carbon Monoxide alarm. We reset it, and Dave looks at me like I am crazy, why do I have a carbon monoxide alarm when diesel engines do not produce it. Well, I had lost my mind and blubbered I couldn't remember but I did it for a reason. He shakes his head, I slink back to bed. The alarm goes off again, and this time Dave looks under his bunk, and finds the house batteries burbling over, and giving off, yes, carbon monoxide! Aha! Turns out the alternator had been progressively overcharging them, and Dave then admits to hearing the alarm give off an occasional beep, and oh by the way, maybe thats why I've had this headache..... So he aired out his bunk, stayed in the salon, and me and my women's intuition went back to bed and slept. Nothing like a happy ending to another of our almost daily events.
March 13, Friday
No one will comment on the day, but we are on course, passing land in the distance, slowing up a tad as we do not want to enter Luperon until it is light. It is an unevenful day as we get closer to our destination, the seas continue to be rough. Rock is feeling better, and it is PB&J for all, and it tastes great. We are all up in the salon/pilot house doors open and by 2:30 am Saturday morning we are idling along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. It is a long wait for daylight.
March 14, Saturday
6:30 am we are anxious to start our navigation of the channel into Bahia Luperon. The steep cliffs of the north coast look ominous, we watch the waves crash, blow holes popping up here and there. We are on the flybridge to pull in the outriggers and there is no fish on the port side. No one is sure when or where it escaped, but outriggers came up easily on this day. We have the chart and a great description and chartlet from Passages South, thank you Bruce, and we find out way right into the harbor with Rock's perfect piloting. We have agreed to see if we can get dock space at one of the two marinas as we can drop the anchor, but pulling it in with out the windlass...and then with our batteries unable to take a full load, well I did the girl thing and begged for a dock, but who knew what was available. We were on the radio to the Luperon Yacht Club, and then we ran aground right slap in the center of the harbor. Rock backed us off and our savior Lynn, from Shaggy's came over in her dinghy and guided us to the only spot available and said we would just call this an emergency landing....we attempted to pull in to the dock, but at dead low tide remained off , grounded, with our kind future neighbors catching our line while we waited for the tide. What we didn't know was we had a tremendous port list, and looked quite the emergency coming in limping. We didn't see it or notice it until we were docked. Poor Magpie, all that sympathy when we simply couldn't get the fuel transfer pump to even your tanks out. But that project was another day. Saturday came with Dave and Rock warping us over to the dock, the marina boys moving us to an outer dock, a fine breakfast was made with real bacon and eggs and toast....and showers, naps, walk the dogs and by happy hour we were all together in the marina open air restaurant overlooking the harbor, experiencing a brisk trade wind that felt marvelous and cool, viewing Magpie directly to starboard so her list was not detected, and giant El Presidente beers for all(except Max and Alma who were enjoying a still moment on the cool tile floor and introduction to the marina dogs). Following happy hour and meeting the neighbors we retreated to Magpie for grilled bison rib eyes, baked potatoes and green beans and wine. Exhausted and happy. It was a successful passage to a paradise , with enough adventure and challenge, a great friend with us, and great friends waiting to hear the tales.