Cruising: Fixing your boat in exotic places.

The motor sail from Royal Harbour was an eight-hour trip, not long out of sight of land. Florrie entertained herself by starting what may be a series of essays “for the landlubber” (the boat was rolling too much to try to paint) and Lew read “A Walk in the Woods”, commenting about the similarities between long distance hiking and sailing. We used the starboard engine and the jib. The 15-20 knot winds and the waves were on our stern the whole trip, which was uneventful though the rollers were probably 5-6’ high. As we navigated the cut from the blue-water Northeast Providence Channel into the turquoise waters of the northern part of the Exuma Banks the seas calmed considerably. All was not well within the boat, however. Once again we had a “water issue”. Somehow the toilet in the forward head had overflowed in the night (clean water) and filled the floor up to the 6” door sill. Simultaneously it seems there was a leak somewhere and the starboard bilge was filled with what was left of our fresh water! We have enough bottled water on board to last at least two or three days so decided to press on anyway, looking forward to getting our tanks fixed (if they need it) and filled in Staniel Cay, a day trip south of Allen Cay. As we approached Allen Cay, needing both motors for a smoother anchoring, the port engine would not start. So instead of “decompressing” from a long trip, Lew had to descend into the bowels of the engine room and try to fix whatever was amiss. He emerged later, dotted with motor oil (yes - there is another “issue” to deal with) but the motor now runs.