How much was that pump?

Our parts finally came in from the US and I knew we were going to be paying a premium, and we did. Maybe even more than a premium. Looking back, it would have been cheaper to sail to Florida, buy my stuff, sail back, and re-pay to check in again. It would have been cheaper to put Sue on a plane, fly back to Ft. Lauderdale, stay in a nice hotel, and then fly back to George Town the next day. I’d give you the numbers, but I’m too embarrassed.

For those planning on coming down to The Bahamas to cruise, I have a few recommendations: Bring plenty of spare parts. On the daily cruise net, there is an entire section dedicated to folks looking to trade for parts. The second option is to have a “parts mule” on standby. Many of the cruisers have children or grandchildren lined up, ready to hop on an airplane with needed boat parts, and fly down to the George Town or one of the other islands easily accessible from the US.

Funny story; on our previous trip to The Bahamas, we had a buddy who needed a heat exchange for their motor. They had their parts mule fly down with a replacement he’d purchased on eBay. The heat exchange is a cylinder roughly 18 inches long by 3 inches in diameter, with many smaller tubes running along the inside. The “mule” had no idea what it was nor did the customs agent. Security was called because it looked “suspicious”. After being taken to the back room for “extra” questioning, a supervisor was called that knew exactly what it was, and more importantly, what it wasn’t. So, make sure your “mule” has a little background on the parts they are carrying.

What’s important is I now have “the” pump. Not an emergency backup, but the real deal. Water maker is working great. As a matter of fact, I made a big batch yesterday on our sail to the marina.

While waiting for parts in George Town, we were able to complete much of the wood work refinishing. Scraped down to bare wood and then applied 3 coats of Cetol. Hopefully, this will last a long time. There are still some areas that need to be done but we finished most of the “needy” areas.

The weather has turned warm and humid. Humidity has been in the 90% range and with the evening cool downs, everything is wet. After a while, everything inside the boat starts to feel wet. The rugs, towels, even the bedding. If you don’t keep an eye on it, mold will start to grow as well. Our strategy is to get a slip in the marina, hook up to shore power and run our air conditioner to dry out the boat. While we’re on power, it also gives us an opportunity to run our second freezer so that we can defrost our main freezer. With the high humidity, freezers ice up quickly.

The marina we’re staying at also includes free laundry, which we’re taking full advantage of. A 2 night splurge at the marina and then it’s off to Long Island to ride out an up coming blow from the North.

More to come.