One More Trip To The Big City

New Bight to George Town |  7.5 Hours  |  52 Miles  

We were both up before the sun this morning, preparing Crossroads for departure. I was outside removing the window shades when the sun finally rose above Como Hill and The Hermitage. There was not even a hint of breeze in the anchorage and the water was as smooth and clear as glass. The sandy bottom was easily visible ten feet down. We took a bag of trash ashore at 7:00. The sun was still low in the sky and casting long shadows. Peering out into the anchorage the word for the day was STILL. 

I cannot recall more than a couple of days like this in our previous three visits to The Bahamas. The reflectivity and clarity of the water were off the charts. 

We raised the dinghy and anchor and were off by 8:00. While the generator worked last evening, we were not confident that we had solved the issue. We could head north and not reach the next parts store for six weeks (in Spanish Wells), or we could head west and find a parts store tomorrow. We chose to head west and back to George Town. For much of today's trip there was no wind or worse yet, no apparent wind. Even I found it a little warm in the sun and retreated to the shade of the pilothouse. I kept busy by reading and fidgeting. I gave the captain a break for a few hours and took the helm from the flybridge. Open water navigation involves staying on course and not hitting anything. On our entire straight-line crossing of Exuma Sound, I saw one boat and one strange marker with an attached radar reflector. We followed previous tracks into Elizabeth Harbour, but this time anchored at the north end near Starfish Beach. Da Sand Bar was a busy spot. I finished another book (I've lost track of what number), this one suggested by Dana on Tumbleweed. This anthology of poems by the late poet Mary Oliver=, centered on the beauty and complexity of nature and was a nice change from what I have been reading.

The one poem that struck me the most, is entitled The Sun. I have not found "a word billowing enough" to describe these daily light shows that we are privileged to witness. Once darkness fell and the anchor lights from 350 boats lit up the harbor, we returned to face anew our generator issues. Turns our our gut instincts were right: we had treated a symptom last night, but not the cause. Tonight we believe we have tracked down the cause of our overheating issues. The radiator overflow connection was plugged. It is now unplugged and everything seems to be OK. We will still head into NAPA tomorrow to pick up some replacement parts. Fingers crossed, this issue will now be behind us and we'll be cruising to our favorite spots in the Exumas soon.

Note: We had a couple of folks ask about the green flash. I doubt I'll ever be able to capture one with my limited camera equipment. Click on this link for some photos and more information.