The view on our Starboard Beam at 0130 this morning - the south eastern coast of the island of Barbados. Nearly there, but there's a twist in the tail or rather, the absence of a twist in a line! Remember I said earlier that the last place one wanted to be without an engine was a strange port? Well......
Around 1900 yesterday evening just as I was about to go off Watch, the wind arrived from the north east. Nothing much but enough to get us sailing.
A few hours before that at about 1700, with Barbados showing as only a dim loom of light on the horizon of a dusk sky, just after Mick had retired for his afternoon snooze, I saw ominous dark clouds in the same area and thought we might be in for a deluge.
So I went up to the foredeck to make the cruising chute and all its many bits of string secure by lashing the chute to the guard rails and by coiling and making fast the bits of string. The last thing we wanted to happen was for a lose line to fall overboard and foul the prop and prevent us from using the engine. Earlier I'd rejected Micks suggestion to remove all the lines because we may have needed to use the chute again. Once done, I checked it at all carefully and satisfied all was well, went back to the cockpit having warned Mick to be prepared for heavy rain.
Well, the rain never arrived, but of course the wind did. I therefore decided to hoist the mainsail first and then the genoa. I went up to the mast whilst Mick handled the cockpit end of things. With the mainsail nearly up I was struggling to untie knots in the reefing penants that someone had tied to prevent them pulling through, when Mick called, "the engine's just stopped and I bet I know why". "Why?" "Because there's a rope round the prop". Did I imagine a certain smugness in his reply?
I sorted out the pendants, finished hoisting the main and we started sailing. Then the genoa and soon we were going along nicely at 4 knots. Then I went back up to the foredeck and eventually found the errant line bar taut over the bow. One of the pole guys. Clearly I had not checked thoroughly enough!
So here we are now at just after 0200 sailing up the leeward coast to our destination port about 6 miles away without a useable engine. It rather looks like I shall have to go over the side in daylight to free the wretched guy line. We may be able to free it by putting the engine into reverse and puling the rope at the same time but for now I just hope we don't lose the wind!
Actually, it's not really that bad a prospect. Our 'port' is actually an anchorage outside the swanky Marina village of Port Saint Charles. I can't afford their marina rates. Anchoring under sail should be perfectly doable🤞!
It's a very pleasant night as we sail at 4-5 knots up the western coast over a flat sea. We're currently heading north west on a close reach but when we bring Bridgetown abeam in about an hour and a half, we'll turn north and have to start beating to windward to make Port Saint Charles. However, that should be no hardship in these very pleasant conditions.
No comments:
Post a Comment