The Trip to Hope Town

 As to how this trip stands up against those past, generally speaking we had an excellent ride weather wise. We chose to move the boat with the weather and ignore some maintenance until we arrived in our slip at the Hope Town Inn and Marina. This meant a quick departure from North Fort Myers on 10/16 when we saw a Gulf Stream crossing opportunity approaching on the upcoming weekend. We hustled out and made our way across Lake Okeechobee only to discover a raw water pump failed on the port engine. This was a God send because it forced us to skip the opportunity to cross the Gulf Stream in very favorable conditions. While the crossing would have been very calm, staying in the Bahamas during a hurricane like Sandy leaves a little to be desired.
 Fortunately, we did not have to wait long for another opportunity to cross the Gulf Stream  and the folks at Sunset Bay were their usually great hosts allowing us to take advantage of the monthly dockage rate. In spite of being stuck there for hurricane Sandy and being stuck on the boat for an extended time, it all worked out very well. With the wind blowing 30 to 40 knots we were constantly being blown off the dock which stretched the lines and prevented us from keeping the stairs installed. Since I have long legs I could get onto the dock and bicycle for supplies but Deb was stuck aboard rocking around 24/7 for at least three days. Cabin fever was evident and constant. The lines had to be tweaked regularly and chafe guards had to be re-installed as well.
 But we caught another great weather window on  11/3 and left Sunset Bay for the North Palm Beach marina where we spent the night in anticipation of leaving for West End early the next day. We had been kicking around whether or not to leave on Monday or Tuesday but once again the threat of bad weather closing the window left us no option but to pick Sunday as the departure day and so it was. Out on the water early we had the sun right into our faces and it was warm. We were glad when the sun rose enough to be blocked by the hard top over the helm. Initially as we looked out at the horizon we saw calm water and continued on. Instead of the 1-2 feet of waves at 12 seconds which would have been very calm we had 2 feet at about 4-6 seconds, on the beam, and we rolled. Not terribly but enough to make walking around aboard Freedom challenging.
 However once we were in the Gulf Stream several miles off shore, things settled down and the ride was comfortable. Moving around on Freedom became much easier so the monotony of sitting in one spot for 8 hours was not required. In fact, I was able to leave the helm for a break once in a while. When the water is rough Dan has to stay put since the Admiralty does not enjoy driving the boat in those conditions.
 Arriving at West End we fueled up and cleared customs. I have to admit customs at West End seems to be one of the better experiences. Even on a Sunday. No extra "charges" were incurred and we were in our slip at a 25% discount thanks to our membership in the Royal Marsh Harbour Yacht Club. http://www.rmhyc.com/ If you boat in the Abacos joining up is a very good idea. Plenty of good folks and activities at Boat Harbour. We didn't walk around Old Bahama Bay much because we intended to stay one night and take advantage of the good weather to cross Little Bahama Bank to the East Side. Having stayed at Spanish Cay in the past that was our plan but calling ahead we learned they were still recovering from Sandy and could not offer good services at that time. Hopefully they have resolved the weeds in the water issue and their restaurant has re-opened. Not being able to stop at Spanish increased the length of our days travel to 100 nautical miles.

 Even though we left with the dawn our arrival at Green Turtle was projected to be after sunset and that turned out to be the case. If the weather had been foul our option to continue on would have been less appealing and perhaps have us staying at Great Sale or Crab Cay for the evening. But it was indeed very calm. The water was cloudy which made the long day stretch out a bit but since it was so calm and overcast it turned out to be an easy passage. The sky was so overcast and hazy that at times we could not discern the horizon and this made for an amusing moment. Of in the distance I saw and airplane coming at us and thought we were going to get buzzed yet again. What this was in reality was a boat coming at us. A smack on the back of my head brought me back from the doldrums of driving the boat all day in flat water.
 And if that didn't happen the alarm that started blaring would have done it anyway. We have an alarm on the boat that sounds for various reasons like oil pressure, high water, etc.. It can also be enabled to sound if the generator fails and we lose A.C. voltage. That happened and I quickly turned the helm over to Deb and went down into the salon area which was air conditioned. Not really wanting to open up the hatch that is over the space between the engines, I did anyway and a thick cloud of burnt rubber smelling smoke wafted up into our living room.
 Swell. That could mean fire.
 There was none and that was a very good thing because we were only half way to Green Turtle a little beyond Great Sale Cay. Seeing no fire or other immediate danger, I cracked the generator enclosure and found that the belt driving the antifreeze pump had parted company with the pulleys and was laying in pieces on the floor of the enclosure. So I shut the water inlet for the generator down, opened the windows and aired out the boat to get it habitable again. And we continued on with our stand by power inverter driving the freezer and ice maker. This change in our abilities forced the notion we were going to continue to Green Turtle upon us. Seeing boats wrecked by Sandy along the way we were not exactly encouraged.
 When we finally arrived at Green Turtle Cay the sun had set and our plotters had us going directly towards the inlet. Feeling unsure of the passage since reports indicated missing markers, we moved on and to our pleasant surprise the first two makers into White Sound were lit! Deb had our search light on the remaining markers and we made our way up to the Green Turtle Club docks where we spent the night yet again receiving a very good discount but this one came as a surprise to us. As it turned out they gave us a stout break because they were still recovering from Sandy and their restaurant was also closed.
 The next morning we took our time leaving the club which survived Sandy really well. They were busy putting in some new floors, drying out office supplies and memorabilia. Upon arriving at the Whale Cay channel we found water calmer than any we have ever experienced there and that was a relief. So our weather window was cooperative and we made it to the Hope Town Inn and Marina without any more issues, well almost. We filled up Freedom and the cost of fuel was 5.72 or so. At 120 gallons it adds up fast.
 In light of that last issue we decided, it's only money and went to lunch at the Hope Town Inn and Marina where Deb enjoyed the red conch chowder, and I had a blackened Mahi Rolly Polly. With a couple of cold ones, life was good!