Sailing Ontario to Roatan 2018

The Trip Down 

Part 1 – Getting Ready

June 2018

Time flies. The red boat has been laid up in Canada for 8 years. The original ‘plan’ was to have 2 boats – one in Canada (the monohull) and one down south (the catamaran). Be snowbirds, only on boats. But plans never seem to happen as planned – the catamaran sold, and it was time to come back north from Roatan and bring the red boat back home.

8 years. Peter Karadi has done a ton of work on it – stripping the entire deck fairing, right down to the original wood, refairing with modern materials and a brand new paint job.

When we arrived mid-June it seemed freezing cold to us.  Our bllod had thinned after living in the tropics for 25 years. We made my sister’s place home base until we could move back aboard.

Step 1: The Reveal
Arriving at the boatyard, the boat was all wrapped up nice as they do here in the north for the winter season. Peter, understandably, was looking forward to showing off the great refit he had done to the exterior. He opened up a doorway in the plastic shrink-wrapped tarp, and we were able to go in and have a look. So exciting!
Under the tarp the deck was so beautiful and bright and shiny.

Inside, it was like stepping into a time capsule. The boat was clean, absolutely dust and mold free. Things stashed away neatly.


It was hard to believe that all that dusty scraping sanding and fairing had not totally ruined the interior of the boat. A happy thing!

So Peter opened up the boat for us, handed us the keys and said goodbye for now, he will come back and discuss the bill.

We felt a little weird but we got busy opening up the boat a little – we liked the tarp overhead, it gave us some protection from the cold outside. So we cut little windows in it for now.
After a trip to the grocery store and the beer store, we removed the rest of the tarp.


We weren’t prepared for the pristine cleanliness of the boatyard. Not a single scrap of trash anywhere. Not in the boatyard or anywhere for that matter.

We found all the pieces and parts for the dodger/bimini and got that put up. The frame had been removed and it took a couple of days to figure out how to re-install it so that the canvas would fit. It works OK but not great. Never mind, it is going to get replaced anyway, once we get back to Roatan. It was nice to get all that junk out of the aft cabin so we could move around better.

We got plugged into shore power and decided to just move aboard and work our way through commissioning the boat for travel.

Now to start checking systems. Happily, almost all the lights and fans worked fine the first try. The refrigeration also worked first try, which was even better. In went a case of Molson Canadian.
Water – Ed dismantled the freshwater pump and cleaned it all up.

We had some pretty good aluminum propane tanks, but they would not fill them, so we had to go with a 20 lb returnable tank
The stove almost worked, just one burner to clean up. So now we could have coffee!

OK so now we had propane to cook, we need to fill up the diesel tanks. So, 14 jerry jugs of diesel were hauled up using the dinghy lift from the davits.

Not surprisingly, the house batteries were toast.Six new batteries, and Ed’s brother Sid helped move them.

He took the opportunity to clean up the battery compartment and make all new terminal wires.
Ed replaced the masthead lighting, replacing the old light with a nice new LED system. The old light was destroyed when they took the mast down 8 years ago.
The mast had been stored outside for 8 summers and 8 winters next to a road and in a gravel parking lot. The ropes were hugely dirty and awful. Since the mast was on the ground and horizontal, it was a good time to clean up and inspect all the stainless and the fittings, and polish the mast itself.
An inspection of the anchor locker was a nice surprise. We really thought the anchor chain would be a ball of rust, but it was in really great shape, so we stretched it all out, inspected it and piled it back in its place. However, the ‘up’ switch on the windlass didn’t work, so Ed rewired it. Another job done.

The autopilot seems to work. What a relief -that can be a pretty expensive problem.

All the various pumps had to be looked at. There are two bilge pumps – a low-water one and a high water serious one. The upper one was fine but the lower one was seized, so Ed cleaned and rebuilt it.
The pump for emptying the shower is toast, so that water gets diverted to the bilge until a new pump gets installed.
Now, time to deal with the dreaded engine.

Engine work always required yoga-type contortions and working in difficult tight, dirty spaces. Never fun when you’re young, notwithstanding what happens as we get, well…..on in years.

When trying to finally start the engine, nothing happened. Nothing at all. That was pretty disappointing. After much head-scratching, Ed found the problem was with the starter. Unfortunately, a very expensive problem. Fortunately, Peter knew a guy. Ed took the starter out, gave it to the guy who cleaned it up and rebuilt it. Success!
The packing gland (connection between engine and prop shaft) looked pretty good – we won’t know if it actually works until we get in the water.
This is the fancy dancy Volvo folding prop. It works great. But it was loose, and again, Peter fixed us up with a guy who machined new pins. Ed had to remove the fins and hub and take it all apart so it could be taken in to his shop.


The spare prop got all shined up too!
It rained, and we discovered all the hatches leak. All of them. So we made a temporary repair using black duct tape and some plastic.
We had a fantastic big win – a free inflatable dinghy. Our friend Rick Haig had a friend who didn’t want it anymore. Nice! This was an absolute great thing, otherwise once sailing we literally had no way to get ashore, unless we were staying in a marina. Which was definitely not going to happen since we no longer had, or intended to get, insurance.
So, to comply with maritime regulations, we stencilled on the mothership’s name and registration number, hoping this will do the trick for US customs.
We had a crappy old 5hp Nissan outboard. We bought it in Roatan years ago to get us from Roatan to Ontario 8 years ago. Used it 5 times and then it sat for 8 years. It was totally covered in dirt, and wouldn’t start. (Surprise)

The carburetor was totally truly plugged with varnish from the old gas left in it. Lots of carb cleaner spray, and working on blowing out the jets with air. After several tries it finally fired up. For now.

Hopefully it gets us back to Roatan.

Peter got the name made from a vinyl lettering place he knew, he even put it on!
All the hose clamps on all he through-hulls were checked. This involved pulling everything up from everywhere and looking underneath. Also, a good time to sort through all the stuff and start stowing things away for the upcoming trip.



There are some small water or air leaks or something that make the pump cycle, a leak in the galley sink faucet, the aft water tank seemed to be leaking, so Ed removed it, dropped it down to the ground, cleaned and inspected. Nothing. It eventually turned out to be a venting problem with air preventing the tank from filling.
Needless to say the bbq needed a cleaning if we were going to use it for cooking!
Aug 9. Finally, bottom paint. Ready, well, pretty much anyway, to launch. If all this seems like a lot of work, it was. And we did it in 8 weeks.
So now for some serious shopping and provisioning.

The produce department alone,  in this grocery store was bigger than the entire ‘supermarket’ we are used to in Roatan. It was actually pretty overwhelming. It was hard to not just stand there with our mouths open.
So many super sales. Especially this was the end of summer and back to school so everything was on sale everywhere. Getting big things in Roatan is difficult because of the inflated cost, and the cost of shipping if you order it in. So, having a pretty nice cargo boat going all the way to Roatan, it made some sense to stock up on the big stuff. Pillows, towels, big fluffy stuff.

A new office chair and a TV.
Being the end of summer, Canadian Tire was selling off their kayaks. We talked about it, they are big and tough too stow – they would have to be tied outside to the lifelines, and as we were going down the Erie Barge canal, the mast also would be tied to the top of the boat, so there would already be a bunch of junk on deck……..but we made the decision to get 2. We actually entertained the idea of trying to get 4 on deck, but abandoned that idea as being a little too ‘radical’.

Part Two – The Trip

Tues Aug 14 – Launch day Port Whitby Marina.
At 8AM on the dot, the guys showed up with the travel lift to launch us. It was foggy and cloudy and to us it felt like fall was coming.
When they launch a boat, they never just plop you into the water and leave. The guy driving the travel lift waits while the captain goes aboard and checks for water leaks, while the crew paces nervously on the dock. It’s always a pressure scramble because time is money and you have an expensive travel lift and operator tied up while you’re scrambling around.

Ed checked for leaks – one slow-ish but serious leak in the scupper hose from the cockpit. This is a difficult one to access, requiring slithering into the depths of the rudder area under the cockpit, when you’re not so young and slithery anymore.

Also, the packing gland was leaking. A lot. Ed came up from the depths and said they needed to pick us up out of the water again and hang us in the slings so we could make a quick trip to good old Canadian Tire for some hose/pipe wrap. Ed slithered into the back and made the repair.

Time was passing, and the guys were waiting, so we had them plop us back in the water again. This time the scupper hose just had a slow, manageable drip.

The raw water intake leaked a lot, but some Vaseline on the gasket fixed that.

The packing is still leaking – the fittings are seized and can’t be tightened (yet). Some WD-40 was applied and we’re waiting.

The good news is the engine started and goes into gear. Ed ran it for awhile, and changed the oil and filters.

That packing nut was still leaking bad, and the WD-40 was not seeming to help. So a trip to the hardware store for a hammer and wrench, more WD-40 and some persuasion with the hammer and wrench, and she finally loosened. Then the fun began removing all the dry, burnt and old packing, using a combination of straightened-out fish hooks and a long screw and hammer, all the while pumping the bilge to keep us afloat. The job took 3 hours but finally the new packing got in, the leak stopped and the engine compartment all cleaned up.
The next morning first thing was to visit Peter and talk about the bill, and pick up all our junk we left lying around the formerly pristine boatyard. A check on the weather looks good so far for a Sunday noon departure. We deflated the dinghy, moved it in Peter’s truck, re-inflated and launched, and put the motor on. It doesn’t start and it’s too depressing to work on it today so maybe tomorrow. Instead we worked on tidying up the inside of the boat which was like an absolute dog’s breakfast, stowing the sail locker, tools, preparing the aft cabin for our crew Rick & Deb who would be accompanying us on the trip. We need to get the deck all stowed away too, because they are going to lay the mast across the top tomorrow.

First thing was to put the bbq on the rail, then the heavy wind generator pole. We had to take most of the canvas bimini off.

We moved the boat a short distance to the crane. The crew in the yard brought the mast over from Peter’s using a front end loader. Then the crane crew lifted it on. It all had to be tied down, the canvas put back on and the boom and whisker pole brought over and find a place to stow them on deck.

Things were getting real.

Rick & Deb arrived Friday evening around 4PM in the cold rain. 

The next day was good because we finally had help. There were last-minute visitors from family wishing us bon voyage. Ed & Rick got the mast tied off properly, secured the boom and whisker pole and moved the kayaks and tied off the jerry jugs to the lifelines. The dinghy got ran, cleaned and raised on the davits. We’re all set with a US phone number and ready we think for phone and internet over on the American side. We were going to be motoring all through the Erie barge, so the engine oil got changed, and they got the red/green nav lights working and used the shore hose to clean off the deck. Things were crowded and junky up there but it’s the best we could do.

Sun Aug 19 – Whitby to Oswego
Peter came in the morning and threw off the shore lines, wishing us a safe trip. The engine is running well and the packing is doing its job. It’s an overnight trip across Lake Ontario to Oswego on the American side.

Arriving at 7AM there was not a soul to be found, a weird empty place under gray chilly skies. We wandered around and found a guy at the marina who told us what to do for their new ROAM system which is supposed to keep track of us foreigners while in US waters.

Tues Aug 21 Oswego to Brewerton – going uphill – we have the locks all to ourselves
Wed Aug 22 – Brewerton to Lock 19
Thurs Aug 23 – Lock 19 to Canajoharie
Fri Aug 24 – Canajoharie to Lock 7  – starting to go downhill now, still have the locks all to ourselves

Sat Aug 25 – Lock 7 to Waterford
Sun Aug 26 – Waterford to Catskill
Motoring on this canal system was pretty boring stuff, punctuated by little panic things – deadhead in the water so we had to spin around while a little tug boat moved it, and some confusion resulting in a Ding in the brand new paint job.

Somewhere in there, the engine was about to overheat. Ed discovered that the rubber hose to the hot water tank has gone spongy, and was leaking coolant. He bypassed it until we can get a new hose. Probably that won’t happen until we get to Roatan, so no hot showers from here on in. Hurry up and get south.



So, going through the lock system is really an exercise in driving and docking, similar days of passage making by motor, one day after the other. Once you arrive at Catskill, the mast goes up and you really feel like you’re cruising again. The marina at Catskill has been doing masts for probably 50 years, so they really know what they’re doing. Usually, anyway.

We arrived, met up with the management of the place and booked our ‘mast up’ for the nest day 8AM. We got an early start because we had to take off he canvas, and move things around on deck, and we silicone the mast track while it was easy to do – so that the sails go up and down easier. Everything was going great. We moved the boat to below the crane- backing in as instructed.
But once the crane got the mast vertical, it became obvious that the backstay was wrapped funny around the upper shroud. Also, back in Whitby, the mast had got set down across the boat with its track down, and the crane was not able to turn it around the right way. So they held the mast vertical up in the air while we got in the boat, went out, turned around and re-docked under the crane bow-first.
The mast got in its hole  with much grunting and cursing. The crew working had 2 experienced guys, and 2 rookies. Ed and Rick had to get involved a bit – usually they want you to just go away. The experienced crew guys had somehow let the main halyard shackle end to get up to the top of the mast. There was a bit of a fight amongst the crew resulting in a big screaming match up at the clubhouse, resulting in the experienced guy quitting. So the owner of the place had to go up the mast to retrieve the halyard shackle.
After this drama we slunk quietly away, after all they had 3 more masts to do that day and we had taken up most of the morning.

I guess the owner felt bad; he told us we could go across the creek to another marina which he also owns, where there were laundry facilities. So of course we went. The girls did laundry and went to Walmart for some heavy provisioning, while the guys put the sails back up, tuned the rig and tidied up the boat.

Got the deck washed, and the solar panels on and working.  The boat is still very cluttered, but things are getting better.

Wed Aug29 – Catskill to Iona Island

The plan is to make as many miles as possible to make Newark in good time – Deb is flying back to Peterborough as she is not really interested in doing an ocean passage.

We ran out of propane which was strange, because the tank was still half full. Ed investigated – the solenoid is ok, the breaker is blown so the conclusion is that the galley light above the sink is the cause. So we won’t use it for the rest of the trip.

We discovered that the cockpit compass light was on all this time, and it turns out that on the electrical panel, the ‘refrigeration’ circuit also runs the compass light and the cockpit VHF radio. The refrigerator actually used the ‘cabin light’ breaker.

As we go along, more systems are being sorted out. Ed worked on the wiring at the base of the mast, and got the wind instrument working. The instrument displays for speed (not needed) and depth (needed) are pretty sunburned and hard to read. The display inside the boat is like brand new, so he will swap them out some time.

The main VHF antenna seems to work. While trying to get the wind generator working, the blades caught the ham radio wire and broke it. It also broke the wind indicator at the top of the mast. It still has a tail though and we still have the Autohelm wind instrument. The ham antenna got spliced back together and we think we have signal…..and the wind generator works!

Thurs Aug 30 – Iona Island to Great Kills

This was the day to sail right through New York harbour, always an impressive sight. Today there was almost no wind so it was a rather hot boring day – New York harbour and all along Manhattan was way less busy than we remembered it – boring almost.

We did get some excitement though – the cops stopped us looking for our papers. We showed them our ROAM thing we had gotten from Customs in Oswego and they told us that that system was not being used. Typical bureaucracy. So what to do. There was one guy aboard the zodiac who was actually from Honduras, so Ed struck up a friendly conversation about Roatan.
Soon everyone was laughing and the more serious captain of the zodiac asked when we were leaving and we said now, right away (sir), and he said ok well then go. And let us off with whatever administrative infraction we had done.

Arriving at the anchorage at Great Kills was tricky, the harbour being absolutely full of mooring balls. But we found a little spot to anchor. Here we would be for a couple of days until Deb’s flight took off. It was a miserable place, rough because a cold front came through, and when Ed and Rick went ashore for diesel the dockmaster was so snotty and unhelpful about how to get provisions, taxi etc. Also the police boats like to hang out in the harbour. And we knew our paperwork permits were not in order. So the sooner we got out og there the better. Deb was dropped off on shore and grabbed a taxi to take her to the airport and back to Ontario. Time to head south. 

Sun Sept 2 – Tues Sept 4 Great Kills to Norfolk

We came out into the open ocean; it wasn’t very scary because there was almost no wind. Trying to stay out of the shipping lanes  and trying to sail was tough, so it was really a motor trip. So here we have completed 710 miles (nautical) and have arrived at ICW Mile 0 Norfolk where we anchored at Hospital Point.

We called in to Border Control as told to do back in NY. They asked for our permit number which we didn’t have. This was going to be a big problem. Then the officer asked when we were leaving. Ed sait “Right Now”. They told us to go as fast as we could. 

Wed Sept 5 – Sat Sept 8 – Inside Hatteras

It’s boiling hot. No wind. There are numerous buoys in the anchorage which turn out to be fish traps, not moorings. There is one small catamaran here that left this morning gong north. The guys went in to get 7 jerries filled with diesel. They also found a water tap so we took on 70 gallons.

There are reports of a worrisome hurricane out there which might impact exactly where we are going to go. Hard to decide what to do but we will continue working our way south and keep an eye on the weather reports.

We woke up one dead calm morning with millions and millions of some kind of midge flies just absolutely covering the cockpit, the underside of the dodger and in the bathroom. Poor Rick had to leave his bunk it was so full. We had to get underway and it was just awful pulling up the anchor amongst all those flies. We spent all morning killing them and cleaning up. They had pooped blue-green specks all over the place so it was rags and buckets of water and mops dipped over the side as we were motoring along. The beds had to be all changed and swept up all the dead flies below decks.
We stopped at Oriental for more fuel, with a plan to get back to open ocean at Beaufort. It was very tight quarters in there at Oriental and we ran aground west of the docks. There are just 3 of us anchored here. Rick stayed behind to try to get rid of more of those awful dead flies while Ed & I dropped down the dinghy and filled it with empty jerries. The outboard motor is such a joke, like a little egg beater and you have to fill the gas from the top very precariously and it slops all over the place. We ran out of gas a couple of times because it only holds like half a cup.

But we made it to Mr Tom apparently the diesel guy here. The place really was deserted, eerie. As he was filling our jerries he asked if we had heard about the hurricane out there. “I suppose you’re headed north like everyone else”, he says. Well, no actually we’re headed south. “Well, you’ll have the place to yourselves I guess,” he says.

All the weather channels are issuing scary warnings about Hurricane Florence with cat 5 storm conditions in 5 days time. If we come out at Beaufort, we will be right in the path of this thing. On top of that, in front of a hurricane there is absolutely no wind – it is all sucked into the vortex.

Wind forecast to be light and variable for the next 3 days. Fernandina Beach (Florida) here we come. Hope the engine doesn’t die.

Sun Sept 9 – Thurs Sept 13

Conditions are beautiful and calm if you are not in a hurry. But we are. There is either no wind at all, with glassy calm seas, or any wind we do get is on the nose. Sometimes we have a stray contrary current from the Gulf Stream to slow us down. So it’s motoring and not that fast, in order to conserve fuel. Here we are out here like a deer in the headlights of a hurricane which the weather people change their projected track every 6 hours. It’s almost better not to know.
Things are getting worse aboard – the aft water tank ran out unexpectedly – a leak? The propane also ran out so we’re using the spare tank which is half full.

It’s boiling hot. Very boring motoring, but Rick loves to drive.

Since leaving Beaufort, our weather info has been hard to come by. Chris Parker on the Ham radio can’t be heard most days due to static. We are too far offshore for NOAA reports on the VHF. No T-Mobile or internet. The plan is to tuck in to Fernandina Beach (still on the possible hurricane track), fuel up and get outta there quick.
1276 miles done. 500 to go to Key West and then another 600 to Roatan.

The weather looks like a light west wind and big sloppy seas through the weekend so we decided to stay put here a couple of days for a rest.
Fernandina Beach. What a sad place. It must have gotten devastated some time ago by a hurricane and never recovered. The marina is almost non-functioning, no diesel available. At the big fuel dock, you have to buy a minimum 200 gallons. No water anywhere. The moorings are all not to be trusted. Everyone is panicking to get into a marina before the hurricane. We are anchored out with tons of room and very few other boats. The anchorage is filled with wrecks and abandoned boats, a few barges filled with sailboat wrecks.

Some are calling for horrible weather coming this weekend. We see only W 10 knots so we’re sticking. The fuel situation means we might have to go through the ICW to Jacksonville and pick up fuel somewhere along the way.

At any rate, we decided that tomorrow is another day. Ed flopped into bed. Rick and I stayed up and drank.

The next day we started to figure out how to solve our fuel problem by using Google. I called the Yacht Club down the way, it sounded like a scary trip down to get to it – go at high water etc, then try to get down to Jacksonville down a river timing it carefully for current. No. Not a good option. There must be a taxi who is willing to put our jerries in his trunk and take us to a gas station. We found Captain Mike, who took me & Ed, our jerries, propane tank and we got all filled up, plus a grocery and booze run for 30 bucks.

While we were away Rick bucket washed the deck and cockpit. What a great crew. Then I cleaned out the head, the fridge, and found the water leak under the kitchen sink which was probably the cause of our mysterious water loss all the time.

Fri Sept 14 -Wed Sept 19 – Fernandina Beach to Key West/Dry Tortugas

Edis working on bilge pumps – neither one was working but he did =finally get one to work. We have a spare but it requires a different size hose. If necessary, we have a piece of water hose that can be McGivered together.

We had one day with wind and it was so great but then it died and then came up strong from the south. It was big sloppy seas and it was tough going especially since many things were not stowed well. Ed had to go up on deck and retie the diesel jerries which were rolling around up there. Nobody was getting much sleep. The wind continued from the south and off Cape Canaveral we got out too far and then the Gulf Stream got us. So we had to motor back inshore to get out of its grips.

While we were slopping around, the spinnaker halyard somehow got free and wrapped all around the topping lift, backstay and ham radio wire. Ed & Rick spent almost an hour untangling things. Amazingly, the ham radio still works.

We’re still motoring along with the wind right on the nose, doing only 3 knots. We’re all hot and dirty.

Ed found a small shackle missing its pin, under the jerries, so we entertained ourselves by trying to figure out where it had come from. Ed was the winner. It turned out to be from the roller furling blocks that attach to the toe rail.

Just north of Lake Worth inlet, the current took us suddenly toward shore, so we fought it until midnight until we rounded the corner and the current let us go.
So, whatever happened to that hurricane? It ended up going right over the anchorage where we had all the bugs, and into the Chesapeake. Good thing we kept going south!

The wind finally swung east enough to sail, pointing and slow at about 4 nots, but nice and quiet without that motor going.

The shaft has a worrisome rattle when inn gear – a total mystery that entertained us for awhile. Could be an old zinc that was left on and is now loosened, some debris caught on the shaft, or worse…..something else to worry about.

The bilge pump is running slow but if Ed smacks the check valve with a wrench it gets going a little better.

We can’t really get much on the ham radio or VHF and our phones are not usable here.

We’re down to 30 gallons of water for the rest of the trip.

We hit a low point when the propane ran out. The tank we had filled in Fernandina Beach ran out because of a bad fitting. No coffee! There was still the bbq, so Ed made hot dogs until that tank ran out too. No cooking for the rest of the trip. Thank god the fridge was still working but we were down to ham & cheese sandwiches.

The wind kept dying as we approached Key West and the Marquesas until it was nothing. We actually started drifting backwards with the current. So to get out of the current the engine was started but there was a bad rattle from somewhere around the prop. He shut it down, but then it wouldn’t start again (!) for awhile. That intermittent starter switch had been a problem for awhile now. But it finally started and we started rattling our way along, closer to the Dry Tortugas to get out of the current. Ed got tired of worrying about the rattle and decided to jump over and have a look. A decision to go into the open ocean from a boat is never a good idea and should only be done in a real emergency or if you are absolutely out of your mind. Buy anyway, Rick & Ed put the dinghy down but the sea was so sloppy that the dinghy was going to get wrecked, so the mission was aborted. The only other option was to go into the Dry Tortugas, which, due to our precarious water situation, was voted out.

By some miracle, we received a weather report on the ham radio which predicted a return of good east trade winds coming, just need to get south of Cuba and out of this dam Gulf Stream.

Right at dark we got hit with a big squall that lasted well over an hour. Ed & I were in the cockpit and saw it coming. Ed reefed the main. Both headsails were out and we didn’t get the jib furled in time, so it got pretty hairy when the wind hit. 25 knots for quite a while. Rick woke up and came out to help. Ed bailed after the worst was over, exhausted, into bed. Rick & I dealt with the rain and wind that followed.

Thurs Sept 20 – Mon Sept 24 – Gulf Stream to Roatan home stretch

This has been such a slow trip! Nearing the axis of the Gulf Stream we were doing 4.8 knots in the right direction. That is fast for this trip. Seas are flat and we are still motoring, but slow to conserve fuel. We have one jerry left of ‘suspect’ possibly dirty fuel, we will have to use it, just keep an eye on the filters.

In the squall last night, the wind blew off the zip loc bag and elastic band that served as a fuel cap on the little dinghy motor, so now that gas most likely has water in it.

There is almost no ship traffic which is good. No traffic at all really. No bad weather forecast and we have every piece of canvas up but the swells are knocking the wind out of them. Finally the wind died completely so we’re back to motoring using the ‘bad’ diesel.

Pita bread and tuna sandwiches. Yum! No coffee.

Passing Cuba we finally got out of the Gulf Stream influence and with an east-ish wind we could actually sail, though it was fluky and hard to make progress.

We can smell the barn now, 196 miles to go to Calabash Bight
Less than 10 knots of wind, and a sloppy swell with the occasional squalls all night long made us all pretty fed up and ready for land. We really expected to have to be out for an additional night but all of a sudden, the wind came up nice and strong from the east for a while to give us a boost. I washed my hair to celebrate. We were going to make it in the Bight just before pitch dark. Just to finish things off, there was some drama when the engine would not start for a while, and a scramble to get it running – just as we neared the reef. Finally home.