Iwalani 04-04-09

Iwalani
Current position
Saturday 04-04-09, Lat: 23* 31.2N, Long: 075* 45.7 W
Elizabeth Harbour, Exuma Island
Winds SE 15-20 kts; mostly clear skies, good visibility.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009, anchored Elizabeth Harbour, Georgetown,

Great Exuma Island.
0800: Using VHF 68 as the local hailing channel, every morning at

8am there's a "Boaters Net" on VHF 72, providing communications

and announcements for the cruising community. The order of

communication includes weather reports, business announcements,

community announcements, new arrivals and departures, and general

discussions thereafter. It's informational and entertaining as

well.
0930: After a short dingy ride to shore, we find a small shack

called J&K Productions that offers internet access for $5 per day.

We cram ourselves in amongst the others and connect back to the

realities of life. Eric offers us the use of their rental car,

and we drive to the big hardware store 2 - 3 miles out of town.

Upon our return, we find that we've forgotten the most important

purchase. Our voltmeter, along with the entire contents of Chris'

tool drawer, received a lethal saltwater injection and fried

itself like a frontal lobotomy. It's immediate presence is needed

to install the electronic portion of our wind generator, as we've

found that solar power alone is not quite sufficient to support

our electronic usage.
1230: We dingy past our friends we met at Little Farmers Cay, Mark

& Karen Stockton, aboard Susurra. After catching up, we ask if

they have knowledge on wind generator hookup, and Mark offers to

swing by and take a look later.
1500: It takes three tries and some maguivering, but Chris

manages to successfully install a water spigot on deck and it

works like a charm. No more hauling the water hose on deck from

the kitchen sink.
1730: Cleaned up and relaxing, Eric bops by on his dingy and

climbs aboard to take a look at Iwalani. "Wow, she looks a lot

older than built in '85". Not quite what a woman would like to

hear, but we know it's meant as a compliment. Built with teak

wood paneling and patinaed brass portholes, she's like a salty

storybook classic. He had just dropped his family off at the

airport which turned out to be one of his more difficult tasks.

With time running short, they've opted to hire a Captain and one

crew member to sail their Catamaran nonstop 400 miles eastward,

where the family will reunite in the British Virgin Islands or

somewhere nearby. Eric had originally offered the job to Capt

Chris, but Chris had to turn it down so he could continue

Iwalani's transit to Panama.
1900: Chris fashions a hand line, attaches a bit of squid and

hands it over to me. Oh boy! I immediately feel the little

buggers nibbling away. It's already dark so I can't see into the

water, but I'm just waiting for that big one when

suddenly...CHOMP! Tug tug SNAP! The sucker snapped the line and

took hook, bait, line and sinker! Way to go, must've been that

darned Barracuda.

Tuesday, April 2, 2009, anchored Elizabeth Harbour, Georgetown,

Great Exuma Island.
0800: This morning started off like the others in Georgetown.

After listening in to the Boaters Net, we take a short dingy ride

to shore and spend an hour on the internet.
1000: Having received some electrical installation tips for our

wind generator from Mark & Karen, we were in need of a 50 amp fuse

and 50 amp breaker. The little hardware store in town didn't have

any, so we contemplated our options of commuting to the big

hardware store 2-3 miles outside of town. Option 1 - walk; option

2 - bike (with just one bike, guess who'd have to pedal?); option

3 - take Opihi on the longest run ever attempted, 3 miles down the

coast and around a windy point. Well, Chris had just cleaned up

and adjusted the outboard motor, which has become a weekly

routine, and she was running beautifully. So without much

hesitation, we opt for choice #3. Off we went, winds at our

backs, riding the 1 - 2 foot ground swells. It felt like being

with my teammates in a 6 man outrigger canoe, sitting in seat #3,

surfing and calling the bumps. We zipped around having a blast,

and beach Opihi in front of what we thought was close

approximation to the our destination. A friendly hotel clerk

confirmed a short 5 minute walk to the hardware store, but

suggested if we take our boat around the next point, we'd land on

the beach right across from the store. Viewing the point that

extended quite far out into the channel, winds SE 15-20 kts, 1-2'

ground swells with a mean backwash off the rocky point, I

experience a slight moment of hesitation and asked Chris if it was

a good idea. If we round that point, we'd need to come back too.

Capt Chris assured me it would be fine, and so we shoved off and

rounded the point. Wow! A beautiful anchorage called Goat Cay,

with just 2 small sailboats anchored. Much better protection from

the SE winds and no crowds. The point was a privately owned

"island" with a gated road that lead to the house, boat dock and

private beach. Cha ching.
1200: Our trip to the hardware store and back was a cinch, and we

shoved off to head back to Iwalani. As we rounded the point we

got slapped in the face with the expected winds, swell and

backwash, and Chris had the outboard wide open. I held on with

both hands while being launched and airborne with every oncoming

bump. I once again reflect on my teammates in a 6 man outrigger

canoe, and sympathize with mare-bear in seat #1 as Kisi makes a

move out the channel in 2-3 foot waves. You literally get

launched up and out of your seat, landing with a thud on every "up

and over!". Nonetheless, all's going well when unexpectedly,

Chris utters the dreaded two words, "uh - oh". Suddenly, it's

silent. Our little outboard motor went ka-put. Oh-my-god! We're

going to get swept onto the sharp rocky point and perish! I toss

out the anchor as Chris inspects the motor, but without tools,

he's unable to make any adjustments or diagnose the problem.

Without hopes of restarting the engine, Chris starts rowing

against the wind & current, gaining no ground. Incidentally, I

think I failed to mention we have one more addition to our

negative predicament. Having earlier lost the plug, Opihi was

slowly taking on water. Well then, our only option now is to head

back from whence we came, to protected waters around the point.

Easier said than done. Although more protected, the tide was

running out around the point and Chris had the opportunity for

anger management, rowing out his frustrations as I hunkered down

in back. When it was shallow enough, he got into chest high

waters and walked us towards shore while I rowed. It took some

time, but we finally got to the beach and tied Opihi to a tree.

Safe at last, but now what? As always, Chris is the man with the

plan. We'd have to walk the 2-3 miles back to town, hitch a dingy

ride out to Iwalani, then anchor up and head out for Opihi Rescue!

Tan-da-don! Hang on Opihi, we're coming to get you!
1500: Tide was in our favor and Iwalani entered Goat Cay without

hesitation. Continuing with Chris' master plan for Opihi Rescue,

he'd get me as close to shore as possible and anchor strategically

for a straight shot back from the beach. I'd jump ship with

snorkel mask & fins, swim to shore, then row Opihi back to

Iwalani. Simple enough, so off I go. After making it to shore

and dragging Opihi down the beach and into the water, I start

rowing towards the safety of Iwalani. Calculating some wind and

current, I adjust and make an angled course upwind of Iwalani so

as not to get sucked off course and into the channel...eeek. So

far so good, then suddenly - SNAP! WHAT????!!!! No no no no no

no no! That cheapo plastic sleeve holding the oar in place

snapped off and BROKE! I drop anchor and try to make it stick in

place to no avail. Next option, row with one oar. Going in

circles, that doesn't work. How about paddling like an OC-1?

Nope, boat's too wide. One thing going in my favor is that I was

slowly drifting down towards Iwalani, whew. I can see Chris

standing on the bow and I could just hear him say, "NOW what's she

doing?". Having exhausted all two options, I donned mask fins and

snorkel once again, and start swimming Opihi back to Iwalani.

Meanwhile, Chris jumps on his longboard, meets me halfway, then

paddles and tows both me AND Opihi back to Iwalani. Opihi Rescue,

completed. Unfortunately amid all the excitement, we fail to take

photos chronicling the adventure. Oh well, I think you get the

picture.
1700: Safely on board, Chris once again successfully cleans up and

adjusts the outboard motor, and now has a second career option as

an outboard motor mechanic. We reward ourselves by taking Opihi

for a spin around the bay, snorkel and fish off a small grouping

of rocks, then settle in for the night with a catch of pan sized

snappers, a quiet anchorage and excellent company.

This will be my last entry, as I have to jump ship and fly home to

our responsibilities. Capt Chris will be soloing it to Dominican

Republic and will assume the blog responsibilities with his one

man show. Good luck in adding this to the juggling act. I will

miss him something terrible, and wish him safe sailing till he

gets back home. I will pick the blog back up later this summer.

Aloha to all, hope you've enjoyed the ride so far, we did.

Chris & Lisa