Exumas
Exumas
Stateham’s theory of sailing:
The wind will blow from whence I wish to go.
Stateham’s theory held while the Pykes were with us. In March it is normal for a front with northerly winds to move through the islands about once per week. We should have been able to ride a couple of fronts with favorable winds toward Staniel Cay where they planned to depart. A strong high pressure system moved over the area and gave us big winds out of the southeast. That meant we motored a lot and had to duck in for protection a few times. We finally got to sail from Black Point to Staniel but only because we went past Staniel and could sail back.
We had trouble with the starboard engine not starting due to either a switch or wiring problem. At Staniel, we bought a starter switch and wired it in. End of problem, at least for now.
Toward the end of their stay, the 110v generator quit. My diagnosis was a bad lift pump but I wanted a real diesel mechanic to check it out before I ordered a new pump. We decided to get by until Georgetown.
Along the way we hit Ship Channel Cay, Highbourne Cay (new for us this year), Compass Cay and Black Point on Great Guana Cay.