After we left Fort Pierce, Florida, we sailed to West Palm Beach and waited there until we had a “window” of good weather in order to cross over 66 miles of the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately ten days from our initial departure from St. Mary’s Georgia, we arrived at West End, Northern Bahamas.
Fast forwarding to the later part of December (I fill in the gaps of our journey later), we had traveled down to the Exumas . We had met some fellow boaters who had the same itinerary. One couple had a trawler and actually had lived a county next door to us several years ago. Herb was from Austria, but had live in the the states for years. He was a seasoned boater, a Christian, and now resided on his boat.
We had just left Big Major’s Spot where the pigs actually swam to meet us as we brought our dinghy ashore. Nearby was Thunderball Island, where one of the of the underwater scenes from the James Bond Movie was filmed. Our next stop was Little Farmer’s Cay, before moving on to Georgetown which was about 47 miles away.
Little Farmer’s Cay was pretty much populated with one family. Everybody seems to be related. Their marina left a lot to be desired, so we decided to moor in the bay. Our friends anchored near us. Herb always dove down to check his mooring. He made sure there as no problem with the mooring. We were newbies and moored in the usual fashion. Our boat was equipped with a system that would alarm if our position when we were anchor, if the boat shifted but never used it. , indicating a dragging anchor, but we were moored and did not use it.
Even though Herb had a trawler, he had an aft mast, and usual had a blue neon light which was visible at night. The first night went fine. We had a day of exploring the next morning . The second night was another story. We went to bed and about 1:30 AM, we were awoken by our boat rocking back and forth, like it was banging on something. The drawer had opened in the galley and there were utensils all over the floor, as well as anything that had not been stowed properly. We got up, ran to the flybridge, and it was pitch black and the wind was blowing. We could see not anything. We could not get our bearings. We did not now where we were, or how we got there. Somehow we had gone aground!. I tried to find a landmark. For some reason, Herb’s blue neon light was not on that night. My only bearing was a radio tower, and its lights were visible in the darkness. Apparently when the wind picked up that night, our boat came lose form the mooring. My husband assessed the situation. The bilge pump was alarming indicating that we were taking on water. Fortunately the pontoons separate compartments so the leak was contained in the tip of the pontoon. The next step was power up the boat and reverse back into the water, the Lord told me to use the marine radio and call May Day. I repeated my plea every minute or so.
I don’t remember how long it took, but miraculously someone answered my MayDay! Turns out the owner of the title marina, kept his marine radio on and gotten out of bed to get a snack, and heard my call. He asked us if we could make it to the marina which was across the bay, and he would meet us there with help. By this time, my husband was able to get the boat afloat. We had a powerful spotlight and we were able to navigate across the bay, dodging other moored sailboats. By God’s grace, we made it to the marina. The wind was blowing away from the dock, disabling us from docking. It took four or five men heaving lines to us and pulling the boat to the dock. The marina owner’s wife was a nurse and she had come along as to see if we were physically okay. We finally got the boat properly tied off. My husband jumped onto the dock as the men commented that they saw the hole in the pontoon. We were not taking on any more water so we tried to get some sleep for the rest of what was left of the night. The next morning we surveyed the damage. Thank God, He protected us from a major catastrophe.
“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
TO BE CONTINUED…….
