Today was a good weather window so up at 6:30 AM to head to the Bahamas....within 2 miles of pulling anchor, approaching our first bridge, Esperanza decided to have a hissy fit and had talked with the Bow Thruster....they decided to mutiny!!!! Suddenly, all steering was lost...OMG....beautiful yachts all around and a bridge, and 2 knot currents pushing us to bridge we weren't sure we would clear! Dropping anchor in the middle of the channel. and calling Tow Boat US and placing a security alert to Channel 16 that we were blocking the bridge and channel. Keeping the boat in reverse, our Skipper tried to maneuver the boat to the nearest dock or Bridge Fender. Ruth dropped Boat Fenders, just instinctively, having never been in this situation before! Ruth's ballet came in handy as she leaped to the fender with a line in hand, managing to hold this vessel against a 2 knot current while Skipper Scottie tried to attach a spring line to the fender.
Tow Boat US was 15 minutes away......when we finally got lines on, we ended up ripping the light off the bridge fender....while Ruth politely apologized to Bridge Keeper, Chris, and with very little damage to Esperanza. We had a scary tow up narrow waterways and Ruth could not believe we didn't hit another Yacht or Bridge..."me nerves were rubbed raw"!
Arriving at our final destination: the Riverbend Marina and Boatyard...where we are currently living - lol....we decided to have ALL repairs done so the Bow Thruster and Steering would not mutiny again!!! We met a lovely lady, Lori, in the office there who invited us to join her for the Winter fest events this Saturday, if still here, and a Pig Roast at her Brother's....most people are sooo nice...life is good!
Skipper's Note: after 1 week, Ruth has become a very valuable First Mate. Very calm under stressful situations and handles everything very well. We will let you all know when repairs are completed and heading out again. I still want to show Ruth the beaches and waters of the Bahamas.
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