AquaFennatic Great Loop Blog: In the Bahamas! - Key Largo FL to Bimini Bahamas

Mar 10^th – It was a warm and sunny day with a quick rain storm. We got up early this morning to run 88 miles from our Key Largo Florida anchorage to Browns Marina in Bimini Bahamas. We actually ran directly for Cat Cay to fish and on the way we were hit by a heavy rain storm also known as a free boat wash! Just before we started fishing I heard the bilge pump go off multiple times and went down below and found that a hose from the exhaust elbow to the transmission cooler on our Port engine broke thus salt water was running directly into our bilge. I quickly shut down the engine and closed the seacock. I tried to repair the hose with some rescue tape that Steve (a friend of ours from Keswick) gave to me before we left. Unfortunately it ruptured again thus we limped to the marina in Bimini on 1 engine. On a positive note the water color here is absolutely Exxxcellent! You can see the bottom in water that’s 50 feet deep! When we arrived at the marina Maria walked up to the Customs office while I started to clean the bilge by draining the salt water and I tightened our shaft logs since they were leaking. Tomorrow I’ll rinse my bilge with fresh water and find a replacement hose or I’ll McGyver the old hose by cutting out the bad portion and insert a piece of PVC pipe since I’ve been told that it may be difficult to find a replacement hose in the Bahamas.

Mar 11^th – It was a hot and sunny day. We went for a walk today in Bimini to find a replacement hose for our cooling system. We first went to the hardware store and they told us to go to the automotive parts store. When we arrived at the parts store they told us to go to see a fellow named Pastor Chris across from the Health Clinic. Pastor Chris wasn’t home when we arrived thus we went to 3 Daughters restaurant who tried to call Pastor Chris unsuccessfully. They told us to talk to a mechanic out back who could help however he said we should go to an automotive garage a few blocks down. When we arrived a gentlemen said he might be able to help and drove us all around town and wouldn’t stop until he found a solution. He then took us to Pastor Chris’ house and we said we’ve been here before and he told us that he is Pastor Chris … what a small world. We checked through his shop and found a used heavy duty marine hose that would do the job. Believe me that this is the short version of the story … I could give the full blown version over a few beers! When we got back to the boat I installed the hose and tested it successfully. I then washed out the bilge with fresh water and then off to the shower I went. Fellow Canadians Lee and Janice invited us to their boat “Relax Now” for a fresh coconut frozen drink that Lee made with his silver bullet. Lee harvested fresh coconuts from a tree at the marina. These drinks were amazing … maybe a little heavy on the booze! Afterwards we had a community pot luck dinner followed by a birthday cake for Judy from “Regalita”. All the others enjoyed an action packed day at the beach while I fixed my issue, however it’s great to have it fixed … knock on wood! I’m going to buy another section of hose from Pastor Chris tomorrow to keep as a spare for the other side … just in case.

Mar 12^th – It started out raining and transitioned to a hot day with a mix of sun and cloud. We decided to walk to Pastor Chris’ house in the morning to get another hose as a backup for the other engine. We walked along the beach route and we were both amazed at the color of the water. You’ve got to see it in person since the photos that we’ve taken doesn’t do it justice. When we returned to the boat I checked the engine fluids since we plan to travel almost 100 miles tomorrow to the Berry Islands. I expect that the next time that we’ll have internet access will be in Nassau in a couple days. I plan to post the blog early today since I’m sure we’ll be busy this evening with all the Loopers planning our next move.