Leaving the Abacos 2017
3-25-17 Today is the day weather forecasts said should best for crossing. The forecast was even more important due to the fact that Fracas had an exhaust mixing elbow issue and we were unsure how long the tin can and duct tape repair would last. The thought was to make the trip almost exclusively under sail to minimize engine use. Entering into Fort Pierce would require at least an hour worth of motoring so we knew that would be required. Greg does have unlimited towing but who wants to be known as the boat that got towed in.
I don’t think Karen or I slept particularly good the night before. I was excited to be back on the road again sailing and loving the thought of sailing the whole way. Karen being apprehensive and excited at the thought of being back in the states with unlimited phone and internet. The plan was to have anchors up and leave by 5 PM sailing at roughly a 5.5 knot pace. This would put us arriving at the entrance to Fort Pierce channel at a slack to rising tide. This was important due to the fact east winds that would be blowing into the channel and entering on a lowering tide could make for an interesting sea state.
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| Sailing into the setting sun on the Bahama Banks. Winds ESE 20+ knots |
Shortly after leaving the anchorage we realized the direction we needed to sail was almost directly downwind, this is not the best point of sail for Fracas and makes it hard to maintain the sails full of air. The good thing was that wind was plentiful consistently in the high teens and 20’s. I didn’t want to use the whisker pole for fear of having to remove it in the middle of the dark night in high winds and an unknown sea state. As it turns out the sea state was not an unknown, it was crappy. Following waves on the stern quarters making it very important to hold on or wedge yourself in somewhere tightly. Mango bounced around like a cork and I knew it would probably get worse before it got better because we had 50 miles to go before we were off the Bahama Banks. I was hoping that once exiting the Banks the slight change in direction would calm Mango’s motion. The other issue that didn’t help was the fact that darkness had set in with no moon and partial cloud cover. All of these issues led to Karen’s case of mal de mar with resulting chumming the waters of the Bahamian Banks. I felt bad for her but there was not much I could do other than keep Mango going hoping for better waters in the gulf stream. There was really nothing good about the situation other than we were sailing and the fact that Mango and Fracas weren't the only boats out here. Shortly after leaving Great Sale Cay two boats we met in Marsh Harbor, sailing vessels “Passages” and “Kismet” called us on the radio and stated they were also heading to Fort Pierce today.
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| Karen at the Helm trying to stay warm as a windy night settles upon Last Mango. |
We exited the Bahama Banks with me counting out the depth to Karen over the howling wind and screaming surf. We went from 9 feet of water to 30’s, 50’s 60’s 90’s the last depth I saw before the gauge couldn’t read was 631 feet. I’m sure Karen could’ve cared less but it kept my mind busy. I had hoped that the slight change in direction would help ease Mango’s motion and it did a slight amount. Throughout the night we bounced away hanging on Karen wedging herself in the forward area of the cockpit arms wrapped around the stainless posts of the dodger. Thinking back at it the overnight passage from 11:30 PM to 5:00 AM went fairly quickly for me. After 5 AM I kept telling Karen it would be getting light soon. Light from the eastern horizon started about 6:30 AM and was very welcome by both of us. I was hoping Karen could take over the helm for a bit as throughout the night the autopilot went on the fritz and wouldn’t hold a course, we had to hand steer the whole way. The sun rose and the with it so did Karen’s well being. She was able to take over the helm so I went below and got 45 minutes of needed sleep.
I was awaken by the sound of Mango’s contents clanging into each other and carefully climbed into the cockpit to check things out. Karen said she was sorry to wake me but wind and waves were preventing her from keeping the needed course. I scanned the seas and noticed strange that the waves looked strange. It appeared we had the easterly waves on top of a northerly swell which made for strange sailing. There were times Mango seemed to come off of one wave and drop in a hole just to be hit by another wave from a different direction. As much as I didn’t want to I needed to go on deck and deploy the whisker pole to hold out the jib. I strapped on the jack line and carefully went forward and after much work we had the jib poled out and our speed increased to the 6 knot range and Mango’s motion settled slightly. We sailed like this for several hours. In fact we sailed until about 30 miles outside Fort Pierce when the wind started dying and we began to motor sail. At this point I was just looking to make landfall as quickly as possible, sad but true.
Wind and waves continued to batter our moral as we watched flying fish scoot past our bow. Moral improved about 22 miles out we spotted buildings in the distance which was a welcome sight. Ten miles out Karen received cell phone service and was able to text Sam and Hannah to say were back in the USA. I took down the whisker pole about 7 miles out and we motored the remainder of the way. Greg’s make shift repair held up well as he started motor sailing much earlier under low RPM’s and the watchful eye of his security cameras he mounted in his engine room.
We entered Fort Pierce channel and laid down anchors outside Harbor Town Marina, called Customs to check in. Tomorrow we will need to get a ride to the airport to appear in person and clear in. Karen and I took much needed showers and I hopped in the dinghy to go to the marina and buy ice. Three things I wanted tonight, shower (done), a cold drink and sleep. Oddly enough after a cherry Dr. Pepper I felt wonderful and no longer tired. Karen fell asleep on the starboard settee and I listened to the radio and surfed the net on my phone looking for Marine Refrigerator Repairmen in the area. I can’t remember what it was like boating without a frig/freezer and I don’t want to go back. When I did make it to bed I slept great aside from a switch in tides that caused the anchor bridal to make a loud thump on the hull sometime predawn.
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| Screen Shot of Mango swinging at anchor Great Sale Cay 20 to 33 knot ENE winds. |
Morning came and after an orange and an apple we were on our way to clear customs and have lunch. While tying the dinghy to the restaurant dock to meet with Mr. Uber for a ride Karen and ML were able to secure 2 slips at Harbor Town Marina for the next week. This will be great, hot showers with plenty of water and a freshwater pool, a Publix grocery within easy walking distance and a West Marine within bicycle distance.
Clearing in was the easiest and the fastest experience we’ve had with Customs. I don’t know if it’s because not a lot of people came across yesterday or we were just lucky but it’s nice to have that done. Upon returning to Mango we ate lunch at the bar and grille at the marina and met another boater who came across at from the Abacos yesterday. Their experience was miserable just like ours,
it’s nice to know we weren't the only ones.
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| Mango track from Great Sale Cay to Fort Pierce Florida. Just less than 22 hours, all but 30 miles sailed. |
3-31-17 The past few days have passed by quickly, Karen and I being busy trying to line up our steps for the next couple of weeks. First item, we had a marine refrigerator repairmen come aboard and fix our issue, it’s so nice to have the frig/freezer back. The repairmen evacuated the system and flushed with nitrogen twice, all is well, knock wood. I found a blown fuse on the Garmin autopilot, I replaced it and it seems to be working well, sea trials Sunday. I have several ways to fix our leaking water tank thanks to the Island Packet email list and fellow Island Packet owners we’ve met here in Fort Pierce. Karen has the stainless all waxed and I’m more than half way done with Mango’s topsides. I hope to finish up the waxing tomorrow but may need to cut things short due to the fact that tomorrow (April Fools Day) is Greg from Fracas birthday.
We were listening to a radio station out of Miami when the talk show hosts started ranting about how Canadian’s are against the affordable care act. They stated that Canadian’s hate their healthcare and are upset because the ACA is making it harder for them to get care here in the states. They also stated Canadian’s come down to the states and get their medical procedures taken care of because of the long delays in Canada. We just happen to be with several Canadian’s who rebutted several of the facts that these radio hosts spoke as gospel. Yes, Canadian’s do come down to the states to have procedures. From what they tell me it’s usually elective procedures that they would have here because in Canada they may have to wait. They stated that any major operation they would have in Canada. Most importantly they stated that they would not give up their healthcare system for anything, they like their system. The system is not perfect but they look at our system and scratch their heads. I guess these radio hosts were spouting “Fake News”. Hopefully our system will get fixed sometime soon because it’s certainly far from perfect.
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