Sailing, Sailing....to Nassau

We left Great Harbour Cay expecting 18-20 knot winds.  This is about the most wind we like to sail with and still feel safe and comfortable.  Well, we were not expecting the kind of waves we were getting - about 6 feet waves at most.  We sailed with a reef line in the mainsail and the jib reefed in as well.  We bumped and rolled the whole day.  The boat and the crew got a hard work out.  All of us had our life jackets on and the crew, who had to go on the deck to put the sails up, were tethered to the life lines to make sure to stay with the boat!  We managed the day, but Bill ended up not feeling very well with all the wave action.  Our destination was to anchor off of Chub Cay.  We found a wonderfully sheltered anchoring site - very calm and quiet - and slept very well that night!

Rough seas!

The next day was so calm with the opposite kind of wind that all we could do was motor.  We tried to motor sail but the wind was not right for it.  Our next port was Nassau.  We arrived on Tuesday afternoon.

Here's Nassau

The entrance way lighthouse

 The cruise ships were also arriving in Nassau.  The Disney Ship looked like a lot of fun.  There was an enclosed tube ride on the top deck with people going through the tube on a yellow raft.

On our left, as we were motoring in, was this huge complex located on Paradise Island.  It's a resort with a hotel, a casino, a beach and lots of activities around dolphins and stingrays.  We didn't get over to the island.  I understand it's beautiful there, but the activities were only for those who stayed at the hotel.  It cost $700.00 a night!  Bill looked it up for curiosity. 

 

 We docked our boat a bit aways from there and on the opposite side at a marina called Nassau Harbor Club.  It was pleasant here for the most part.  I'll describe more later.

After we arrived, we made two discoveries.  1st - we had a water leak in the V-berth where Ed and I sleep and our foam cushions and the mattress were soaked in a couple of areas.  2nd and most disastrous - the Y valve in the head was broken.  When boats are in the States, the Y valve is to be locked so that all waste goes into the holding tanks.  There are pump out stations all along the ICW.  Our tank is only 10 gallons so we had to get pump outs every other day. It fills up fast!  Once you get 3 miles outside the States, the Y valve gets unlocked so that the waste materials go into the water rather than the holding tank.  There are no pump out stations anywhere in the Bahamas. It was crucial for us to have this valve work and have the waste go overboard! Well, as luck would have it, this Y valve never opened properly so the waste material, which should have gone overboard, overfilled the holding tank.  There was s_ _ t (sorry, no other word will suffice!) all over the outside of the holding tank and into the bilge.  Needless to say, the smell was nauseating!  We were so thankful that Bill was still with us to manage this problem.  

To get to the source of the problem, the whole V-berth area had to be taken apart.  Our nice fairly tidy boat now looked like this.......!

Ed and Bill took the holding tank area apart, took out the faulty valve and went shopping to find another one just like it.  They were fortunate and found the part, got new pipe, rearranged some of the pipes to make it fit properly, and voila, a working valve - hence - a working head!!!   I bleached the whole V-berth area, Ed bleached the holding tank and I cleaned and bleached the bilge.  The bedding on the bed got washed and all the hatches were kept opened to air out the boat.  I sprayed Lysol everywhere.  It all worked out fine.  We were actually able to sleep in the V-berth without any tale tell signs of any odor. 

Whew! 

  3 exhausted sailors slept well that night!