A retired couple from the midwest set off sailing the Loop in June 2016. They travel about 2400 miles on a 1999 Hunter 260 sailboat, "GH3". Beginning Jan. 2017, they continue the journey on their newly purchased 2008 Catalina 320 MK II sailboat.
We successfully transited all 208 miles of the Trent Severn Waterway. Once through the Big Chute Railway - we were quickly in Lake Huron / Georgian Bay.
"I say goodbye to all my sorrows And by tomorrow I'll be on my way. I guess the Lord must be in New York City." Lyrics to The Lord must live in New York City, Harry Nilsson
"Jay: Well, this is fate! She's divorced, we don't want to redo the cabinets, and you need a wife. What do they call it when everything intersects? Sam Baldwin: The Bermuda Triangle." Sleepless in Seattle - 1993
Somedays in a lifetime naturally standout in memory. Friday, March 10, 2017, was one of those days for us. This is the story of that day on Bucket List.
On Thursday we were relaxed and comfortable enjoying our final day in The Bahamas.
Tracy at Old Bahama Bay
Tom Relaxing at Old Bahama Bay
Tracy enjoying a Hammock at OBB ...
At 3 am on Friday, everything was in place to cross 84 nautical miles of open Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf Stream from The Bahamas to Ft. Pierce, FL. At an average speed of 7 knots, it would take about 12 hours to reach our destination. Arriving safely in daylight was our goal. The weather forecast, after days of waiting, showed favorable wind and waves. We were fully provisioned and boat was in excellent condition. We were in excellent spirits, every reason to be confident. At 3:00 am on the dot, we started the engine in the slip at Old Bahama Bay Marina in West End, Grand Bahama Island. We had a buddy boat, a 42 foot sailboat named Gale Rider, to cross over with. Her engine was warming up also.
Gale Rider
In the early morning darkness, Gale Ride backed out of her slip followed by Bucket List. The two sailboats motored slowly out of the marina relying on moonlight from an almost full moon, spotlights, and chart plotters. They maneuvered carefully between the rock walls at the entrance of the marina, and between shoals outside the rock walls. Outside the marina, the depth finder showed water of 30 feet deep which gradually increased.
Here is what it looks like motoring a sailboat at 3:00 am.
Without warning, at about 4 am, a loud beeping and red light came from the dashboard warning that the engine was overheating. Tom shut down the engine and we radioed our buddy boat telling them that we had a problem.
Tom went below to check the engine while Tracy stood at the helm and watched the horizon and their powerless sailboat which bobbed and drifted in the waves and current. A few minutes later, Tom returned to the helm after finding a possible cause and re-started the engine. The result was the same alarm. The engine was stopped again.
In a quick radio conversation with our buddy boat, it was determined that, if necessary, we could limp back to the marina alone. They headed toward the Atlantic horizon in darkness so they could arrive at Ft. Pierce in daylight.
Tom has had experience with gasoline outboards over many years. This new sailboat has a diesel inboard engine which they had owned for only 2 months. He headed down the stairs to the engine compartment as Tracy stood at the helm. At the bottom of the stairs, he turned and said, "Just give me some time." Her response was "Take all the time you need."
Time. As Tracy's throat started to choke from the stressful situation, she remembered the book that she is currently reading, Ocean of Insight by Heather Lyn Mann. We had heard her speak at the Miami Boat show just a few weeks before. Her topic was handling crisis at sea with resilience. She recommended a three step approach.
Step One: Assessment of Reality. We were in the Atlantic with an overheating engine. The lights of West End were still visible less than 5 miles away. We were in 150 feet of water. Two anchors on the bow but neither one could reach the bottom at that depth to hold us in place. The current from the incoming tide was about 2 knots pushing us toward the marina. The east wind on our stern was pushing us away from the marine at about 3 knots. The waves were about 1 foot. We were bobbing gently in the waves and drifting slowly away from the marina into deeper water. Tom had onboard a collection of tools, spare parts, and manuals. We were on a sailboat which could be moved without an engine. Sailing would not be adequate to get us to Florida in an acceptable time frame, nor would it get us between the rock walls and all the way back into the slip at the marina.
Step Two: Envision a positive outcome. The primary positive desired outcome was that Tom would fix the engine while Tracy maintained the sailboat in a safe location and then they would travel to Florida arriving in daylight. Another positive but less desirable outcome, would be that Tom would attempt to fix the engine while Tracy positioned the sailboat closer to West End and later in the day they would be towed back to Old Bahama Bay Marina.
Step Three: Take action to make even a small step toward that positive outcome. Tom was already below working on the engine. Tracy controlled the direction of the boat by sailing it.
Tracy unfurled the jib and turned the boat within 60 degrees of the wind and somewhat toward West End. The depth finder and chart plotter then showed that we were in water 300 feet deep with no hazards nearby. An hour went by, she tacked the boat 7 times moving slowly toward West End. The reflection of the moon on the water, the lights of West End and the sound of the sail guided her more than the compass.
Moonlight Compass at 3:00 AM
Meanwhile, Tom was downstairs reviewing the Yanmar engine manual's trouble shooting section and searching for the cause of the engine problem. He is known to be a calm, persistent problem solver. The problem with the cooling might have been due to: partially closed stop cock, blocked cooling strainer, lack of cooling liquid, bad cooling water impeller, or a loose fan belt. These were all checked sequentially.
In checking the impeller some water started coming in to the boat, necessitating a new seal. "Good thing we purchased a spare O-Ring in Miami" Tom said. Suddenly it became obvious that the culprit was a loose V-Belt. He called up to Tracy, "15 minutes, give me 15 more minutes."
The solution however wasn't as easy as it had originally seemed; the bolt holding the alternator in position had sheared off, leaving a stud in the threaded hole in the alternator. There was no way to secure the alternator to its bracket.
Tracy tacked the boat 6 more times. They sailed closer to West End. Now they were in water only 30 feet deep. As the sky started to lighten up in the east with approaching sunrise, the engine turned over and started to run. No indication of overheating. However the fan belt was squeaking loudly and the voltmeter was reading a paltry 4 volts. Despite Tom's attempts to tighten the belt, it was still slipping. We were 12 hours from sunset in Florida. Time was running out on that positive desired outcome. Tom said suddenly, "I have an idea!" He turned off the engine and bounded down the stairs.
Just before sunrise, Tom came back upstairs and started the engine again. There was no overheating alarm, there was no squeal of a fan belt, and the voltmeter was reading in the normal range. Tom said matter of factly, "I held the generator in place with a vice grip so the fan belt would be tight. If it holds for 10 minutes, it will hold for 10 hours." That man must be a genius!
Yanmar Fix - aka A Wench in the Works
With the temporary repair in place and engine working properly, we headed with appropriate speed of 6 to 6.5 knots toward Florida. We knew that as we entered the Gulf Stream, our speed would increase. But it was possible but not a certainty that it would increase enough to get us to Florida before sunset. As we headed west, Tracy snapped the photo below of the 6:30 am sunrise over The Bahamas behind them.
At 8:51 am, they were they were about 18 miles from The Bahamas and 66 miles from Florida. A stern voice came over the VHF radio, "This is the U S Coast Guard, come to a halt immediately." We put the throttle in neutral and waited as a Coast Guard cutter approached our sailboat. The voice said over the radio, "We are launching a small craft and will board your boat."
They asked if we have any arms on board, any hand grenades or rocket launchers. Two armed coast guard personnel then boarded our boat and started asking more questions. They wanted to see if there is any water in our bilge; they wanted to see proof that we own the boat; and they checked the inside of Tom's life jacket to see that it was indeed for offshore use. They checked expiration dates on our flares and fire extinguishers. They checked the closure of the macerator pump.
With each question that we correctly passed, they became friendlier. In the end they gave us a document and told us that we had passed the safety inspection to the gold standard. They gave us a coast guard phone number to call if we have any problems.
The delay due to the unforseen Coast Guard inspection made it less likely that we would reach Ft. Pierce in daylight. However, we were way too far to consider returning to the Bahamas.
The Gulf Stream is about 20 miles wide and flows north at a speed of about 3 knots. We would be cutting across at about a 45 degree angle for about 30 miles. When we entered the Gulf Stream the waves became rougher. Our nimble Bucket List felt like she was leaping from the top of one wave to the next. Our speed increased to 8 or sometimes 8.5 knots.
When we left the Gulf Stream closer to Ft. Pierce, our speed dropped to 6 knots and the water was very flat. The math was simple but sobering, we would not have enough time to arrive in Ft. Pierce in daylight. Our only option was to navigate the unfamiliar Ft. Pierce Inlet and approach to the City Marina with the added challenge of darkness.
As we watched the sunset over Florida, we were calm and ready to work together to get to the marina safely. We studied the charts and iPad in detail. Tracy went with a spotlight to the bow to act as spotter, Tom stood attentively at the helm studying the instruments.
Sunset Approaching Florida
We had made a phone call to U S Customs to notify them that we were returning from The Bahamas. Because we participated in the LBO program (Local Boater Option) we could get back into the country with one phone call. Because our boat was documents with an appropriate sticker, the boat cleared easily also.
Getting through US Customs was easier than getting through the Ft. Pierce Inlet by moonlight. Because we arrived at the tie of a maximum flood tide, the current pushed us into the inlet at a rapid speed. Then we navigated the smaller difficult channel into the marina after dark with a strong cross current.
It felt so good to finally tie to the dock in the marina and embrace our friends, Don and Peg on Endeavor, who were there to greet us and had a fajita dinner ready to share with us. We were exhausted after a long but successful day.
Sunday we went to the First Methodist Church in Fort Pierce. We were NOT alone!