We Stayed for a Quickie – Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas, March 16, 2022

We were required by the dock master to stay on board in Little San Salvador, which was fine by us.  We had to be up early and out before first light to beat the cruise ship and we could see it coming s we departed.  It was not an option for us to stay anchored at the island at all, so we didn’t even check the weather.  Unfortunately, the 25 knot winds we encountered were not forecasted anyway.  It was the worst weather we had sailed in yet and Ron and I were both schooled.  The only positive thing about the ride was Buddy, Biscuit, and Daisy brought more friends and we had an entire pod of dolphins’ sail with us for about ½ and hour.  This is why we do this! 

We landed at Tarpum Bay and the anchorage could not have been more perfect.  It was calm, clear turquoise water and I immediately jumped in the water, dove the anchor, and swam to shore.  The nice part was when I got tired, I could just stand up as it was so shallow! 

We had another long day planned tomorrow and sadly; we have identified a major issue with our port engine.  It may have a slow seawater leak in the sail drive from the rough seas we sailed today.  This means we will not be using this issue the rest of the trip which is very bad.  We have the option to haul the boat out in Spanish Wells (which we are eerily close to), however, we just booked airline tickets for our daughter to fly in and stay with us in Marsh Harbor.  Um uh oh!  Ron is going to call the mechanic which we met last time we were through the marina, so we do have some options, but I know how good a mechanic Sailing Hubby is and he is likely right on this issue.  We took off to get through current cut this morning, hobbling engine or not.  Our other option to get it hauled and fixed is Marsh harbor, which is close to where we checked into the Bahamas.

There is this interesting thing called “the cruiser’s highway.”  We were unaware of this when we started but it is the most travelled route in the Bahamas.  Most boats stop at Georgetown to spend the season, which is why it is called “chicken bay.”  Anything after Georgetown going south or the eastern Caribbean requires open ocean that most folks don’t want to or are afraid to do.  Spanish Wells is on the Cruiser’s highway which is why they have a solid marina and good diesel mechanics.  Ron said this is something we cannot ignore since if this starts leaking badly, the boat will sink in about ½ an hour if the bilge pumps can not keep up.    Never a dull moment.