F is for Frustration

This is the before and after picture of our pullman berth while the captain is trouble shooting our water maker Sir Anthony. As you might have guessed the water maker is under the berth forward and beside our 100 gallon water tank. In order to work on the system we have to remove everything from the berth...covers, mattress, mattress cover and that which is stored at the foot of the berth. These things then spend the day in the salon. Things are never easy on a sailboat?!?

Once Sir Anthony was up and running it was time for the captain to turn his attention to Harry the Honda generator. Harry had an operation at the end of last season so we aren't sure why he seems to still be in recovery. We are going to talk to the Honda dealer in Marsh Harbour and see if they can offer any suggestions or better still take a look at him.

While Rob was working on the water maker I took a paddle around the anchorage and area outside of Marsh Harbour. After three days of trouble shooting, hours of frustration and working on Sir Anthony we have had success. The problem seems to have occured as a result of the pickling solution not keeping things clear in the lines. It is like Anthony had atherosclerosis and needed a good arterial cleaning. The captain made a solution of lye and salt water and pumped it through the system and Sir Anthony has never run better. It couldn't have come at a better time as we were scraping the bottom of our one hundred gallons purchased at Abaco Yacht Services. With a little help from Mother Nature just in the nick of time in the form of a rain shower we were able to keep from dipping into our emergency supply. We carry three 6 gallon jugs on board for emergencies; however we managed to get up and running before having to empty our jugs Such are the joys of being your own public utilities. We are happy to say that the wind generator Harold the Happy Hummer is working fabulously and we are pumping out an average of 15 amps in good trade winds which is more than enough to keep our fridge and other electrical systems running. Of course the other great thing about wind power is that it runs over night, unlike solar which can only generate power during the daylight hours. As for our sewerage system we are glad to say that our macerator in the bilge which had been submerged in brine water during the hurricane is still working. This was a great surprise and a tribute to pumps made by Whale. So as of today....Monday January 30th we can report that the hydro, water and sewerage systems are up and running.

The Hopetown lighthouse at sunrise from our anchorage near Marsh Harbour. We are anchored back across at Man O War for this next cold front of 20-25 knot winds from the north and east. The previous three days we spent outside of Marsh Harbour in an anchorage that Peter and Lynn introduced us to. In fact it seemed strange to be there without First Edition. We miss them but we know that they will be enjoying their new retirement home on Chesapeake Bay. While the captain was working on the water maker I went for a little paddle around the area. There are quite the homes built on the peninsula. We prefer to stay away from Marsh Harbour until we have to do specific jobs. The harbour gets particularly busy when there are fronts forecast and people feel the need to be surrounded by protection on several sides. We will go into the harbour if the front is going to clock rapidly; however our preference is to move around the Sea of Abaco finding anchorages that protect us from the prevailing wind. Thus for the most part we are often the only boat around; however even if another boat joins us in the anchorage there is lots of room.

A break from boat jobs and a paddle around Man O War....one home even had a zip line for entertainment. Before the wind piped up yesterday we had a chance to go paddling and take a breather from boat jobs. That didn't last long and today the captain is busy trouble shooting Little Harry, our Honda generator. Harry is not as critical a crew member now that we have Hal, but we do need him as a standby crew member. We are hoping that he will be easier to fix than Sir Anthony. Our plan is to return to Marsh Harbour after this front, do our top up shopping, laundry, internet and be off to Lynyard Cay staging for our ocean passage to Eleuthera on the weekend. As you know this can change daily but one has to have a hopeful plan. Even though the job list has had its frustrations we can now feel ready for the next adventure.

E is for Electricity

E is for Electricity

The newest crew member of Celebrian is Harold(Hal the Happy Hummer)who has been a most welcome addition!

The painting of the post for the wind generator took place on shore in Marsh Harbour. The captain took the opportunity to spruce up our cowl vents as well. Cowl vents allow breeze into the cabin through the deck but not water.

Of course once the painting is done you have to find some place to let it dry?!?

After the pole was erected it was time to fit the braces of stainless steel. Most people put wind generators on their boats before they go cruising and we can understand why.

After everything was put together it was time for the wiring and sending the captain up in the bosun's chair to assemble the tail and the wings. we picked a day when the wind wasn't blowing too hard as you might imagine it was quite the procss. We were all by ourselves in an anchorage on Elbow Cay so we didn't raise too many eyebrowsc

The Hopetowm lighthouse is a real landmark in The Abacos. The first year that we cruised in Abaco we climbed to the top.

While the captain was wiring the wind generator I took the opportunity to kayak around White Sound and check out how some of the ex pats live. The beach has been bull dozed up on quite a grade for ocean protection. we see signs of Hurricane Irene wherever we go.

If I was looking for a place to holiday I must say I could be happy staying at this spot....The Abaco Inn. Guests stay in little cabins right on the ocean beach complete with your own hammock. We had wanted to celebrate Rob's birthday here; however we had to move anchorages because of the weather and it was back to the Marsh Harbour area. We hiked down to CJs Welding to pick up the stainless steel struts for the wind generator. These struts will brace the now, white and beautifully painted post hanging across Celebrians'bow drying. We decided that we needed a break from busy Marsh harbour and headed over to Man O War for a change of venue. The winds are settled trade winds of 10-15 knots so the protection over at Man O War is perfect. I did some stainless steel polishing while Rob worked away at the logistics of the generator and its new braces. We got it assembled and ready for the next step. We spent a quiet and lovely evening in one of our favourite hub area anchorages. Today we decided to head over to Hope Town, famous for its candy striped lighthouse. Once again we picked an anchorage with good protection from the easterlies. There are large beach houses along the coast of Elbow Cay, but few seem to be occupied. We often find this the case. People must be too busy making the money to own these places and have little time to spend here. Once again we feel blessed that we are here and have the time to cruise. Today's challenge is to get the post with the generator up and braced. For the time being we are busy with getting all systems up and running. As is often the case we find ourselves with problems to solve. Little Harry, our Honda Generator had major surgery at the end of last season and is refusing to start. The captain has not had time to trouble shoot with Harry so for now we are relying on the engine to charge our new batteries. Of course the wind generator will help our cause once it is up and running and that project for the time being is upper most in the job list. We tried to run our water maker today and Sir Anthony Watermaker the Third is giving us grief so he has been shut down and put on the captain's list. You will recall the definition of cruising that I have written about before..."Cruising is fixing things in exotic places." We are not sure what is wrong with Anthony; however he too is on the captain's list. It is times like this that I get off easy; however as head computer technician I have my trials and tribulations?? Until all our systems are up and running we can not leave for Eleuthera. We were hoping for a weather window this coming weekend but time will tell.

We will be back in Marsh Harbour later this week to do our final provisioning, laundry and any other jobs that need doing. I will hook up to Bahama Wimax to send out my blog entries, check email and make phone calls. Then it may be a couple of weeks before you hear from us again as we will be on our way to Eleuthera and The Exumas. As is always the case when cruising the best laid plans are subject to change. The weather is not cooperating and we are likely to be another week before leaving The Abacos for Eleuthera which will make our departure early February. The good news is that our wind generator is up and spinning. For entertainment we can watch how many amps are going into the batteies. It should get very exciting over the weekend as we are expecting a cold front with winds of 25-30 knots. It was very satisfying to get the wind generator going and now the captain has to turn his attention to Sir Anthony. This means tearing apart the pullman berth and moving everything to the salon area while he trouble shoots the system. We also have to run several gallons of water through the system to clear all the pickling solution. The pickling solution is done to keep the system purified over the summer. If all goes well we hope to make water while we motor over to our next anchorage. The next blog entry tells the story....F is for Frustration.

And through it all the capain keeps smiling as he celebrates his birthday!