May 2026

After our last guests left in late April, we had a week to “hang” out in the Abacos waiting for Scott and Karl to arrive and make our passage back home. We were in Marsh Harbor celebrating Billy’s birthday when our friends Todd & Cathy Barr went motoring by on SV Critical Path blaring “They Say It’s Your Birthday” on their loud speaker. It gave us a great laugh and caught the attention of everyone in the anchorage! Billy got a number of lovely HBD messages and phone calls. We finished the day with a perfect sunset and a lovely bottle of wine (thank you Todd).

Sadly, our plan to cruise around the Abacos was interrupted when Billy went to check the port engine and found that all the oil had leaked into the bilge – UGH. It turns out the oil pan had rusted out. This was likely due to the leaky rudder issue (now fixed) which had previously allowed salt water into the engine compartment. The big challenge is that the oil pan is on the bottom of the engine and not visible or easily accessible – likely why we didn’t see the rust but also making it a bit hard to fix. We were able to syphon out all the oil and fortunately Billy found a local mechanic, Charlie Walker, who not only was familiar with our brand of boat and engine, but was available to come right out to see it and to assess the problem.

Charlie said he would need to lift the engine (not an easy job), but that he could do it. Billy found the parts we needed and got them ordered so that Scott could pick them up in Fort Myers and bring them over the following week. If all goes well (spoiler alert – it does) we’d still be ready to head home on schedule.

Now with a few days to wait and one working engine we were indeed able to explore a bit more of the Abacos. We made it down to Great Harbor and the famous Pete’s Pub and Gallery. We had a lovely conversation with the local potter at the gallery who told us about a special spot in the national park where we found we were the only humans among bright red starfish and tons of turtles!!

The forecast called for stormy weather so we headed back up to the protection of Hope Town harbor on Elbow Cay where we caught up with Faxon Michaud from Marblehead who was there with his family. He had trailered his boat from Marblehead to Florida and then crossed over to the Abacos – apparently it was a rough trip – but he got great use of his boat once the weather cleared.

We headed to On Da Beach Bar for the Kentucky Derby with Debbie and Doug from SV Osprey who we had met in Hampton VA last November. When we got to the bar It was really quiet. They couldn’t get the Derby on their TV, but let Billy airplay it from his phone. Then everyone at the bar got into the race – even the bartenders! Doug started a betting pool ($1 to play) that grew to $30. We loved that the guy who picked Golden Tempo put his winnings in the bartenders tip jar.

Then it was time to head back to Marsh Harbor (just 8 miles away) to meet Scott and have the engine work done. We had arranged for a slip at the Conch Marina so Charlie could use the dock as leverage to lift the port engine. Not gonna lie – the 4 x 4 beam crossing from the dock to the stern holding up the engine made me a bit nervous – especially when the tide went down! It took more time than Charlie expected, but he kept at it and in a couple of days we were good to go.

Karl arrived on May 9th and we were ready to go as originally planned but….the weather forecast was not cooperating. There were several systems crossing over the Atlantic and so we had to wait it out. But we can’t complain, waiting out the weather in the Bahamas is pretty easy living. Several boats were doing the same, including our friends Betsey and Ian on SV Brenna who we met last year on the passage home. We had a blast catching up with them again. We agreed to “buddy boat’ again – keeping an eye on each other and sharing routing strategies. It was very helpful as we had received routing that took us far west to catch the Gulf Stream, but Ian had thoroughly analyzed it and suggested we take a more northerly route. Others agreed to follow the same and we dubbed it “Ian’s Route”. In the end, it worked out very well.

Finally, departure day was set for Friday May 15th. We motored up about 5 miles to Man of War Cay for one last Bahama (80 degree water) swim before pulling the anchor and heading north. Day one was terrific – with fair winds and seas. We set the sails wing to wing and were moving along nicely.

When we are on passage (sailing continuously through the day and night) we like to reduce the sails once it gets dark. While we go a bit slower we all feel more comfortable with less sails up in the event of unexpected bad weather. As we went to reef the main at sunset, we suddenly lost all steering. It was the strangest thing. We couldn’t figure out if the auto pilot had gone berserk or if we had issues with the rudders – we were veering all over the place.

We finally got the emergency tiller out which is a really poor design as you have to sit on the aft scoop to steer and you can’t see where you’re headed. Scott manned the tiller with help from Karl while Billy and I ran around trying to find the problem. Finally we were able to see that the cable for the steering wheel had come off the sprocket. Fortunately nothing was broken – it’s just like when you lose the chain on a bike – the problem was trying to get it back on. Billy was able to climb in under the aft compartment and loosen the steering cables so Karl could lift the cable up and get it back on the sprocket. Phew!

Meanwhile SV Brenna and another vessel near by were calling as they saw our erratic movements. It is always so nice to have buddy boats who keep an eye on you! We were able to confirm that we were all set and back on track. Fortunately the steering did not pose any additional problems. It didn’t hurt that the conditions were mild – winds 13-17 knots mostly from the south and moderate seas. We sailed when we could and motor sailed when the wind wasn’t strong enough – we reached the gulf stream on Sunday and then with the current behind us we took off- hitting speeds over ground as fast as 14 knots (very fast for us!).

For the past three trips home, we have had to pull in along the east coast due to weather systems. We don’t mind it, as harbors such as Charleston and Beaufort can be great fun, but the weather was clear so we kept heading north toward Cape Hatteras in hopes of rounding it and heading into Hampton VA or Cape May NJ. As we reached Hatteras the weather forecast indicated that VA and NJ were going to be in for some tough weather and our weather router said – “you should just go straight to Newport!” We chatted with SV Brenna and agreed to keep heading North. We made it to Block Island in just 5 days.

As we pulled in to Salt Pond we found that they didn’t even have their moorings in yet – so we took a slip at Champlin’s Marina which worked out great. A stormy system blew through and we were glad to be on a dock with easy on and easy off access after 5 days at sea. We submitted our CBP roam and were welcomed home by customs. We spent a lay day in Block, enjoying the early season and a celebratory “we made it” lunch at Poor People’s Pub with Betsey & Ian.

The next day, we headed out for Cuttyhunk, but the wind and waves were rougher than expected and we diverted to Sakonnet Harbor in Rhode Island which just happens to be Karls home port! Not only did he secure us a mooring, as a past commodore we got a lovely table for dinner at the Point Club. We walked the beach and discovered a pile of Neptune Balls (see the photo below) – they look like rocks that have been wrapped in yarn. We have never seen them before, but apparently this happens naturally and it’s a fibrous seaweed that wraps around the rocks – definitely need to investigate these a bit more.

Our next stop was to Cataumet where we took a hike into the cranberry bogs of Red Brook conservation area and enjoyed a yummy dinner at the Chart Room. Our final stop was at Sandwich Marina, at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal, where we sat out a rainy afternoon having lunch at the Pilot House with my brothers Peter and Mark who drove over from Osterville to greet us. With a clear forecast, we completed the final leg home to Marblehead on Memorial Day. We enjoyed what has become an annual greeting from Jack on Corker and in time to make the barbecue at the Fitzpatricks. Boy, it feels great to be home!

And that’s it for Season 3. I’ve signed on for another Season….so please stay tuned for Season 4!