Friday March’s 23rd, twenty eighteen
We were so eager to get to a dock and enjoy electricity, showers, pools, bars and restaurants we had failed to be careful and selective about what slip they put us into. Pier 1, Slip 2 is at the back of the marina we had to go all the way down the pier to the wall and behind us is another wall. I managed to put Fracas in the slip OK.
Yesterday when it was time to leave the wind was over the stern. Fracas had to back up then pivot counter-clockwise to get us in a position to depart without taking the paint of others with us. I barely slept last night working through different options. At one point I was using a crane and that was just silly, this is a sailboat with all manner of ropes and shit. It was time to go. I ran a line through a snatch block on the port stern quarter over to the wall behind the boat. ML would be in charge of using our 28 volt Milwaukee angle driver to guide Fracas aft and straight.
Fracas laughs at reverse. When you put her in reverse she immediately shifts her stern to the starboard then in an arc aft and to starboard. I was hoping that the line to the winch would counter her stubbornness. When the dinghy was almost hitting the wall aft it was time to make her pivot. By this time the bow had swung the wrong way and was a few feet from hitting the wall to our starboard. I put her in forward with the rudder to port and inch by inch she rotated. I would like to say we didn’t stir up much sediment but I can’t. It seemed like five minutes but it was only a minute or so. We eased the winch and Bob’s your uncle out we went.
The channel out of Palm Cay did not have the terror of the first time entering. Lots of room and clearly marked. We managed to put Fracas back together some and began our journey down the south side of New Providence Island, Nassau is the city. With the wind from the North I wanted to stay as close as possible to the shore. We were in 9 to 13 feet of water but we were in a significant coral head zone. Our zig zag course through the coral was tiring. But not as tiring as this rolling in harbour.
At the west end of New Providence there were several mega yachts at anchor. I should have guessed that swells would greet us around the corner at West Bay. They did and they continue to rock Fracas significantly. We are well protected from the North wind but the wrap around swell is annoying.