hot, hot,

Hi everyone, I have been having problems with the computer and this blog site but will attempt anyway. So far i am still at Mangoes Marina my parts arrived yesterday so will be in the engine room this aftermoon attenpting repairs to th generator, yes the one i rebuilt when i first came down, the capacitor blew so have to order one from florida $62.00 shipping $96.03, but would never be able to find one here. Did get the boat fishing several weeks ago, rae the marina rigged esperanza with outriggers and we took off for the day with new friends Pearly and Francois we managed to get a 40lb wahoo still have some in the freezer. once generator is fixed i will be heading out to the moorings . Still have several projects to do one being the front head yes that head, is not working again but i have all the parts ordered them last year before i left Florida knowing it would give me problems will try to publish photos buy for now

Back in Marsh Harbour

Yes I am back, a little hot but the water is warm and beer cold, the boat was in pretty good shape, a little mold, no critters, lots of cleaning up. Well the fridge did not work had to get someone in to charge it, and chilly willy started giving me problems 3 hour later i gave up and it started working in the middle of the night it is running now. The engine started up good but cant get the idle under 1000rpm, that is a two person job so it will have to wait. Tomorrow is washing the walls and floors, Saturday I hope to get the dingy in the water and running, and sunday start working on the generator. always work to do but its fun work and I can take my time, Have a nice afternoon nap when i want and just take my time. Hope to see all my friends over the winter

bare foot man

well what a show, the bare foot man concert at nippers bar and grill on agaua cay. this is a annual event that brings boaters for miles away and is planned for cruisers to have a great time. The beach is 5 miles long and the sand is so soft. I got a ride over a short distance from Marsh harbour with friend Eric and Ellen Haynes from Halifax joining us was Steve and Elaine S/V October and we met up with Vita Rob and Serena Ontario. and Don and Sasan from old sam

Narsh Harbour

Yes the never ending fuel injector problem, I went to tighten the two bolts that hold the injector housing when snap. It broke fuel leaking everywhere. Well it just happens that there is a old Perkins mechanic who born and raised outside the Perkins factory in England. He new every model and type of perkins ever built. he showed up with the new stud and gasket in hand and had the problem that I caused fixed in no time. After getting everything running he discovered that it not the injector that was leaking in the first place it was a fuel line above the injector. All in All my first few days in Marsh Harbour 4hr labour $324.00 Old sam is here at the same time so i ttook advantage of Don labour. He had to lift the generator to repair the bolts again , yes it was repaired in Marathon but it had to be redone. As a added bonus, I managed to get the shutdown solenoid working after three different machanics working on it over the past two years I added two washers and boom it worked well after all the moneyspent on repairs to Esperanza over the past three years I have decided to stay put for awail. Managos is a nice marina with all the services and at .40per ft long term I think it will be our new home for awhile. will take some pictures when I get my camera working.

Marsh Harbour at last

Well Esperanza and her slaves left Bimini on a beautiful day after a two night stay. The Bahama Banks started out calm but as always the weather forecasts in the Bahamas are not always reliable, so half way across we started getting hit by some strong winds from the south on our beam. Trying to make Frazers Hog Cay for a good anchorage, we fell short and had to go into Chub Cay Marina in the dark {not recommended) at $4.35 per ft. Ouch. The next morning of to Frazers Hog Cay - good holding ground thank god because it blew 25k that night and with the current we were on the beam to the waves - very rollie and Ruth did not like it. The next morning off to Great Harbour Caybut as would have it, we hit a sand bar off Hoffmans Cay and ended up having to wait for high tide to get off the sand bar. We decided not to go for a swim when we saw two sharks swimming around the boat. By then it was too late to go any farther so we anchored and and waited for the next high tide. Well we raised anchor and off we went until we took a 6ft over the bow, It was the first time i have seen Ruth turn white, so we turned back and re-anchored. It was a good thing and we ended up meeting another sail boat called Vita with Rob and Serena spending the day exploring the key and the Blue Hole. The next morning was great we had received up to date weather forcast from old friends Time and Tide who happened to hear my request for a weather up date over the VHF radio. Arrived in Great Harbour Cay two days before the next big weather front. We had a great time - Gary and Christelle gave us a tour and off for drinks at the local bar. What a great spot to stay, we went conching one day and only allowed 6 Conch per boat, we were full within 10 minutes, but let me tell you these people should be charging 50.00 bucks a pound. After trying to get the meat out of the shell and then cleaning it and then the final stage of taking a hammer and beating the shit out of it(Scarely done by Ruth), it was a very long day.. but Ruth cooked it up sooooooooooooooooooooooo good.Had Cracked Conch Bites & another night in a stir-fry with Shrimp - delicious! While on this island, Ruth rented a Jeep - well it challenged her driving expertise - 4-speed stick, brake light that always stayed on, ditto, turn signals, and it shook, rattled, & rolled but overcoming all that, and driving on the left hand side of the road to boot, Ruth toured us all over this beautiful 7 mile Island!Not a hardship to be stuck on Great Harbour Cay due to weather - high winds & waves - we tried fishing a couple of days - with no luck but our friends: Christelle & Gary from Time & Tide had great success. We took a tour up Shark Creek - well let me tell you if you don't get back down it before the tide starts to recede you have to lift the motor and row. Thank goodness Gary & Christelle came back for us as his motor was a Trolling motor and would lift up - regardless, we enjoyed seeing dozens of turtles, sting rays, Barracuda - one of which Christelle caught - about 4 Ft. - yes we saw it but it broke her line & got away!! Due to the weather we ended up spending about a week in Great Harbour - a lovely island with friendly people and there were 2 other Canadian Boats and other boaters with whom we'd have Happy Hour and a Pot Luck supper.If you get a chance to visit this Marina you will enjoy the laid back, simple , friendly lifestyle here but do bring cash as the village has no banks or ATM and all transactions, except the Marina , are done in cash. The people are very accommadating - the girls went to where there was supposed to be a bakery but not open so the lady across the way said: "I'll make you bread if I feel up to it in the morning". The girls went back the next morning & it wasn't done yet but they would deliver it to the Marina - sure enough at noon we had our fresh, baked bread delivered to our boats -still piping hot - it was some good!! On Sunday we said Good-bye to our friends and with calm seas & winds continued our journey. As we left the harbour we saw a few Dolphins splash by in our wake and 2 Cruise Ships anchored out on the other side of Saddleback Cay. Many Cruise ships visit this area. We crossed to The Abacos first point of land and spent a calm, quiet night anchored by Sandy Point. The next day we cruised on to Lynyard Cay where we met up with Susan & Donald on Old Sam, from Martin's River, N.S. - so good to see them! The next morning there was another wind/weather front warning so we lifted anchor and headed for a Marina in Marsh Harbour arriving here yesterday. Mangoes Marina is a quiet, small, clean marina with a number of Canadian boats staying here. Quiet day doing laundry, Ruth swam in the pool, and we had supper out at Snapper's - had delicious Blackened Maui. It's been a long journey and Esperanza shall rest here for awhile. She has to - Scott fixed the Bow Thruster today but then decided to tighten the bolts on the "still" leaking Fuel Injector - you guessed it - snap! This story is to be continued......Good night for now!

Bimini at last

yes finnally here will be heading across the banks tomorrow and hope to arrive in the Berrys inlands in two days. Sorry no pictures I just cant seem to be able to download them The crossing was good about 11 kn we realy made good time. had two big bull sharks swimming around the boat today not a good day for swimming well hope all is well with you all

Still here

Yes still in Marathon, Still waiting for fuel injector parts, things are slow here. But some people are quite good. Alex a young fellow working in the harbour came over in two hours to repair the outboard which without it you are realy stuck. The paperwork on the boat is not completed yet, It seems that I now require a de-certifacation from the US coast guard. I guess I am not the only Canadain in the position. there are dozens of Canadain boats just in Marathon that are having the same problem and I have been informed that it is taking up to 4 months to get the certific from the coast guard. Any way its sunny warm and we are making planns to leave the end of feb.