Exuma Bound

[irwinsailor]

Great story CSY! I can see that your trip sucked but I sure found it interesting. That anchor draging is rough. I had the same problem last year, it was a very stressful night for me. I had my new Delta 88 out and it just did not hold. Were you using a Delta too?

[Entlie]

Have a great trip!
Take more wine!

Entlie
Sailing Catamaran Sunspot Baby

[CSY Man]

Were you using a Delta too?

Yes, I was using my 55# Delta.

It holds great in good sand bottom.

Never dragged anchor before when using that hook.

Here is what probably happened:

The holding conditons in that particular bay is poor with soft sand covering hard bottom.
Having anchored there a dozen times in the past I am quite familiar with the bottom, which is the reason I dove on the anchor twice before I kicked back with a beer.

The tip of the anchor was buried and everything looked good.

Then I turned the boat broadside to the wind, with the anchor chain going 90 degrees out half way down the Port side.
(A common trick to stop rolling at anchor)

The strain on the anchor and chain in the meantime tripled.
The bottom and the holding was probably good enough to withstand a 40 knot blow on the bow.
I always, always run the engine @ 2000 RPM in reverse to not only set the anchor, but to make sure it is holding.
(The 2000 RPM should be the equivelant of a 35-40 knot blow)

Because I had faith in my anchor, and had become complacent, I turned the boat 90 degrees to the 20 knot wind.
The anchor started dragging and since I had anchored fairly close to a shoal, it did not take much dragging, perhaps 6 to 8 feet, before my keel found the bottom. (Rhapsody on the Rocks.. )

So, to sum it up.

There is nothing wrong with the anchor, it is a great piece of equipment on the boat.

I screwed up by cutting my margins down to almost nothing.

By not running the engine at full power (4000 RPM) in reverse to set or test the anchor,.
By not having more water behind me when anchoring.
By being lazy and cocky because I had a big anchor.

Murphy will get you one day if you let him

Now, have anybody else found salt water in the cylinder (s) after one night in a calm anchorage.....? (It happened the first day of the trip)

I belive it was caused by a faulty vacuum breaker, which I have since replaced, but now I always close the engine intake sea-cock after shutting down.
(Not giving Murphy a second chance on that one)

Have a great trip!
Take more wine!

Nah, it was enough wine onboard, we had plenty left after arrival.
Only one case of beer left however..Scary..

[speedoo]

Well, thanks, CSYMan for that informative description of your trip.

Sorry the bad weather gave you such a bad time, but you returned in good shape. And we all benefit from your experience.

Can I ask, what's the displacement of your boat?

Thanks!

[CSY Man]

Can I ask, what's the displacement of your boat?

Well....lets see.

From factory 15,300 lbs.
Now, with all the gear and spares etc, probably 22,000 lbs...

[GordMay]

Sorry to hear your cruise wasn’t all you could hope for. Nonetheless, it was probably better than crashing a plane in Columbia (I’m really stretching for a “silver lining”).
Is your company still flying?
Murphy’s best friend is complacency. Ie: I’ve only bottomed out in familiar waters, where I’ve mastered “local knowledge”, and etc.

[CSY Man]

Nonetheless, it was probably better than crashing a plane in Columbia

Yeah, it could have been me on that plane: The captain was covering for me while I went sailing...They are all alive, but they won't be flying anymore.

Strange how much bad luck I had on that Exuma trip.
Probably should go to church more, its been 38 years since last time....

I am thinking about another Bahamas trip in August, but only have days off for a 10 day trip...Won't even cross the banks, just gunk around Bimini, Cat and Gun Cay...Plenty to do there, and close enough to my Hurricane hole in Florida, (9:00 Hours) in case a "cane should pop up and head our way.

[speedoo]

Me again, picking your brain..

What's the situation with the Bahamas cruising permit? Is it $300 per year, with as many visits as you want?

Or does it cost you $$ each time you check in?

And... who are your favorite Bahamas chart and cruising guide providers ? Explorer? Pavlidis? And, same subject, but since you are evidently an experienced Bahamas cruiser, which charts and guides would you suggest for an experienced sailor, but new to The Bahamas?

Thanks!

[CSY Man]

which charts and guides would you suggest for an experienced sailor, but new to The Bahamas?

The Explorer charts are the best.
They have saved my bacon many times.

Steve Pavlidis Exuma guide is also excellent..Would not leave home without it.

Yeah, been to the Bahamas about 22 times in the last 7 years and love it over there.

Do carry spare tools and parts, etc 'cause ya are in the boondocks..No support, parts, helicopters or towing services unless ya request very expensive services from Nassau. (If they get around to it)

Whatever ya need, carry 2 of it.

We met a couple in Chub Cay years ago that had a bad head (Toilet-pump)

They had just bought the boat in Florida a few days earlier, and without any preparations or spares/tools, they sailed to the Bahamas, happy-go-lucky.

The wife demanded to be set ashore asap 'cause the head was bad, the hubby was rowing a rubber dink downwind in a 20 knot breeze. (No outboard engine)
I yelled at them to come over to our boat so I could tow them back with my dink...Over a glass of wine we got the whole story..No charts, parts or tools...Just sailing.

We helped them out a bit, then next day they pulled anchor to go into the marina in Chub, and ran hard aground being outside the channel.
Helped them getting off the reef, but felt sorry that their "dream" was falling apart hour by hour.
A bit better preparation and the situation would have been different.

That being said, we had our own problems on the last cruise, which is the subject of this thread.

We had good gear onboard and were able to get home in one piece without any assistance.

What saved the day on the grounding in Honeymoon Harbour was a rather small thing:

A 12 lbs Hi Tensile Danforth anchhor that we had permanently mounted on the stern rail for just that: A stern anchor: 30 feet of 1/4" Hi Test G4 chain splice to 100 feet of 1/2' 3 strand nylon line.

It is always ready to go out and it has a good bite for being a small hook.

The first thing I did when we dragged on the rocks was to swim/snorkel out that little anchor with the chain/line
.
The anchor/rode, etc was light enough to swim out and set by hand.
(Dig it manually into the bottom)
It was also strong enough to put on the windlass and apply lots of tension to keep us from being washed further onto the rocks.

Folks: That anchor and rode saved the day twice.
(The first time we were motoring out from Lake Sylvia in Ft. Lauderdale, got a blanket wrapped arond the prop. Engine dead. Coasted/sailed into Bahimar Marina, aimed between 2 mega-yachts, dropped that stern anchor at the right time and came to a complete stop between the yachts.
Tied to a dock, dove on the prop and cleared the blanket, motored away 30 minuttes later...Without that little anchor the results could have been different, very different, both times.

A big anchor is too heavy to swim out. And it would take too long to launch the dink to set the big anchor.

The $200 combo of anchor/chain/line has been proved itself to worth it's weight in gold.

I don't own stock in Danforth, but I am most impressed with the little 12 # H/T.

Used the same anchor years ago when I was a live-aboard on a 44' yawl in the Virgin Islnads.
Had the 12# for lunch hook, a bigger Danforth for working anchor, a 44# Delta for storm anchor, and a 66 Bruce for hurricane anchor.

What would happen in reality was that we sailed to Buck Island and anchored for lunch, planning to sail back in the evening.
So we dropped just the 12# Danforth..(The lunch-hook.)
Snorkeled around, went to shore, met nice people, partied, ate dinner at somebody else's boat, came back to our ship and fell asleep.

Squalls picked up at night, blows in the 30 to 40 knot range...Woke up next day and realized that the little 12 # H/T held the boat and us without complaint all night.

Get one of those for a stern/emergency anchor, it just may save the day.

(I dont use a Danforth for primary anchor as it may not re-set good after a wind change, but for what I have used it for in the past, the little 12 H/T is fantastic. The regular Danforths is not built from the same high grade steel and may bend backwards in a blow if the wind changes and if it is still dug in. The big Deltas are still my favorites for primary. )

[Pblais]

Dag,

Always great to hear a happy ending to these stories. Being lucky still counts, but I sure wouldn't want to bet on it.

What saved the day on the grounding in Honeymoon Harbour was a rather small thing:

A 12 lbs Hi Tensile Danforth anchhor that we had permanently mounted on the stern rail for just that: A stern anchor: 30 feet of 1/4" Hi Test G4 chain splice to 100 feet of 1/2' 3 strand nylon line.

If I recall you used that same anchor one other time when you wrapped something around your shaft. I carry one off the stern for that reason and now I have another reason. I've never had to use it but I replaced the rode because it I had to use it, it needs to work. It's always nice to look at it and know why I need to have it ready. There is being prepared and then there is knowing you are prepared and able to react.

Men, this is no drill

There never is when the real stuff happens.

[Strygaldwir]

I'll second the explorer charts. For the Bahamas, I believe there is nothing better. Only unfotunate part was having to buy three different books for all the bahamas. But, at only $150 for the set, I guess that's a bargin in terms of chart costs.

We have Pavlidas it is okay for the Bahamas, it gives more words in describing some of the features and places of interest. They are more complimentary than mutually exclusive.

An interesting thing we found was our C-map Nt charts for the Bahamas. We have an older chip, A friend of ours, (Hey Dave and Sue of Pirates Hideout how are you???), had a newer version. There new version of the chips were idententical to the charts in our NEW set of Explorer charts. If I had know that, I would have kept my old charts and spent the money on the chip instead. Sigh, next year!

Cheers, Maybe meet up with you down there next season.

Keith

[CSY Man]

Being lucky still counts, but I sure wouldn't want to bet on it.

I would take luck any day, but it has not happened lately...

An interesting thing we found was our C-map Nt charts for the Bahamas.

Hmm, that brings up another point: I just purchased a chartplotter I am busy installing these days. It is a S-H c180i. It needs some kind of chip, C-max, or C-map or something. Have not bought the chip yep, but understand they are expensive. Is there discounts to be had on the internet or e-bay? How often are these chips being updated?

Cheers, Maybe meet up with you down there next season.

Yeah, I go over to them islands now and then year around. Will see ya there....

Bimini changed a quite bit now BTW...They dredged the daylight out of the entrance and even marked the new channel.
All the sand was pumped up on the West beach behind Alicetown. Some locals promised me a new and improved beach...I thought the old one was just fine...Wonder if they have gotten around to spread the sand out.
Last time I saw the place, there was huge mountains of sand covering the entire beach...