Sue and I made it back to Nassau. She flew home for a week to take care of a few things. While she was gone, my friend Bruce flew down to visit and sail in The Bahamas.
I’d been watching the weather all week and heading to the Exumas was the best option. Then the wind would shift and we’d make our way to Rock Sound. We could spend a day exploring, then start working our way back to Nassau.
The first day we made it to Normans Cay as planned. As we were leaving Normans Cay we had mechanical issues. I had lost steerage and propulsion at the same time. We got the sails down and were able to anchor so I could investigate.
My initial thought was the control cable for putting the boat in gear got caught up in the steering gears, disabling both. I took the binnacle apart and the cable and gears were fine.
Next, I decided to check the other end of the shifting cable and the transmission. That’s when I found the real issue. I didn’t see a prop shaft connected to the transmission. The prop shaft had disconnected from the transmission, slid back and jammed into the rudder!
I got the mask, snorkel, and fins on. I jumped in the water and was able to push the shaft back up. Bruce was waiting by the transmission and held the prop shaft once I pushed it in. I found the 4 bolts that fell out and was able to put it all back together and get us running again.
Unfortunately, it was too late to try and make it to Rock Sound. I also didn’t feel comfortable crossing the sound, which is over 5,000 feet deep, to get to Eleuthera, after a major failure like that.
Instead, we headed south hoping to get to Staniel Cay. But the wind started to shift and waves were building so we couldn’t sail south anymore. We decided to call it quits at Warderick Wells in the national park.
We picked up a mooring ball, took the dingy to shore and climbed Boo Boo hill then headed back for a much needed beer.
The next day, the weather forecast changed and a cold front with strong north winds was going to pass through early Thursday morning, so we decided to head back early.
We left Wardrick Wells early and got to Normans Cay around lunch time. We anchored and took the dingy to shore and to have lunch at MacDuffs. Probably the best burger in the Bahamas. After lunch, we sailed up to Highborne Cay were we spent the night.
The next day, we sailed back to Nassau and the marina. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and as predicted, the cold front came through Thursday morning. It brought strong winds out of the north and we were both happy to be safe in a marina.
Bruce flies home on Friday and Sue comes back on Saturday. Once she gets here, we’ll need a few days to sort everything out and then we’ll continue our adventure.
Kurt & Sue Sail 