Where there's smoke...uh oh

“Martin, there’s a fire in the engine room.” 

“WHAT?” 

“Our wing engine is On Fire.”

Not what a captain wants to hear while station keeping in the middle of Nassau Harbour, waiting for a ginormous cruise ship to dock.  For those that don’t know, fiberglass – i.e. our entire boat – burns like dry kindling once it’s lit.

Yeah, it was that kind of a morning. And it had started off so promising!  To back up, we left Palm Cay Marina at 7am, wishing fair winds to our friends aboard Gone For Good as they left for the Exumas and waving goodbye to our new friends, Sandy & Bob who were on the dock. Sunny, calm and gorgeous, we were all set for our 30 hour-ish passage to Old Port Cove in Palm Beach.

Some pics from the last few days…

Hanging out on Gone For Good (Martin, Mike, me & Betsy)

Glenn and me

Mike, Marie and Martin

  

Martin, Bob & Sandy

We had decided to take the route through Nassau Harbour because the southern route around New Providence would have added 20 miles to the trip. We were about to exit the west side of the harbor when we saw (on AIS) a behemoth cruise ship coming in from the north. Martin called the ship and told him we’d station keep to stay out of the way. We even took a picture of the ship entering the harbor. In fact, Martin posted a picture on Facebook about 5 minutes before all hell broke loose.

Disney Dream coming in to dock

We decided to turn on the wing engine so we’d have thrusters to help us station-keep. (We have a hydraulic PTO on the wing to run our thrusters and windlass). Martin turned the switch but nothing happened. That’s strange. Do we smell smoke?  I walked down into a salon full of white smoke. I then ran down to the utility room and look through the windowed door to the engine room. It’s full of smoke and the wing engine looks completely engulfed in flames. That is So. Very. Not. Good.

The next 15 minutes or so are a bit of a blur so the details are probably only partly correct. We had to do two things – put out the fire and stop the boat, preferably in that order.  I thought quickly enough to state those goals, grab a fire extinguisher and give it to Martin so he could put out of the fire. Then he released the clutch on the windlass so the anchor could free fall. Meanwhile, I tried to keep us from hitting 1) the cruise ship to our port, 2) the Bahamian Royal Defense Harbor Patrol boat that was directly in front of us to keep traffic away from the cruise ship, and 3) the shore to our starboard. Not really knowing what exactly was causing the fire or what exactly was burning, we just wanted to put the fire out and shut everything down as soon as we could.

“Mayday, mayday, mayday, this is the motor vessel Blossom”. Yes, I know how to call a mayday but in the moment, I just - blanked.  We have a fire in the ER, we’re in the middle of a busy harbor, there’s a cruise ship docking next to us, we’re drifting into Bahamian Royal Defense Force Harbor Patrol Boat and our windlass is run off the wing engine that is currently best used for roasting marshmallows – and I’m at the helm.  Enter Charmer – a motorboat that was somewhere nearby and our angel for the next hour. First, they asked on the VHF if the Bahamian Royal Defense Force had heard our call, who responded that they had not. Then they ask “What is the nature of your distress and where are you?” This time I repeated the mayday and added some information “Our wing engine is on fire and we are going to drop anchor in the harbor, next to the cruise ship Disney Dream.” Help? The harbor patrol boat that had been watching the cruise ship came flying over but no one got there faster than Charmer, the cruisers who responded to our mayday on the radio.  

Once the fire was out and we were anchored with our engine off, we took a breath. Charmer sprang to action, and we tied up to their stern using our longest dock line.  BRDF officers were aboard both of our boats and directed Charmer to a safe anchorage at the side of the channel. There were several BRDF boats, watching our stern as we were being towed and trying to keep the looky loos away. Excuse me, we have stinky smells and smoke filtering out of our vents and are being towed by fellow motorboat. Would you care to keep a few yards away, please?

Charmer getting in position to tow us

BRDF watching our back

Attaching a tow line and pulling up the anchor

Marine Seaman Richards who accompanied us while we were being towed

Charmer anchored next to us so they could complete the required paperwork

The BRDF officers spoke with the Charmer couple and then with us. We filled out the needed paperwork and were free to go. Go where?  So they took Martin aboard one of their boats and brought him to a couple of marinas in the harbor to find an available dock that wasn’t too difficult to get to without thrusters in the increasingly strong current.  Then they followed us as we went to the marina to make sure that we got in okay and that no other boats got in our way. The BRDF officers were wonderful. Throughout the ordeal they were competent, courteous, calm, and reassuring.  

Who were those amazing boaters, anyway?  Unfortunately, the Charmer folks had to take off on their way to Florida and we never actually met them but for shouting across our bow. Fortunately, the BRDF gave us their contact information. I want to thank them in person, at least by phone, so we’ll wait until after tomorrow when they should be state-side to call them. I’d really like to buy them a drink & dinner as well. I hope we’ll cross paths with them some day soon.

So here we are. We’re docked at Hurricane Hole, on a face dock directly in front of the Green Parrot Bar & Grill. We stayed here in ’09 and really like it. This year, free passes to Atlantis are included in our marina fee - so that’s what we’ll do tomorrow. We could use a carefree day.

We’ve been on the phone with our commissioning manager at Nordhavn and our consultant, Steve. We’ve taken lots of pictures and sent them off.  Now we’ll wait to see what’s next. We’d prefer to get the fix done in Palm Beach but we need to be sure that we’re safe to travel. Our wing is down and we have reduced use of our windlass and thrusters without it. And, I’m feeling a bit skittish. It was really scary to see smoke rolling up into the salon and flames leaping from the wing engine. The realization that we had a fire on board was extremely distressing.

But Blossom is fine – if not for the rather “well done” looking, non functioning wing engine, a fine yellow dust covering the aft part of the ER, a faint scent of smoke, a bent band brake on the windlass that broke during the free fall, and needing to buy a replacement fire extinguisher. Not so major, really. While we may not have reacted “perfectly” under duress, we put out the fire, called for help, and caused no harm to ourselves or anyone else. We are so very grateful to Charmer and the Bahamian Royal Defense Force for their swift response and competence.

Of course we’ll report details on the cause of the fire as things unfold. I imagine it will take some time to sleuth everything out. 

Now we’re going to grill some lobster tails and open a bottle of wine. Life is still good, if a bit stinky, aboard Blossom.

Back in Palm Cay Marina

We are now back at Palm Cay, waiting out some windy weather that’s kicking up the seas a bit before we head out on our next adventure.

Blossom at Highbourne Cay

We left Big Majors last Sunday and went to Highbourne Cay with my Mom. That night we ate at Xuma and enjoyed a gorgeous evening, great food and a beautiful view. 

Martin & Mom at Highbourne Cay

Mom at Xuma

The following day was gray and rainy so we stayed in and sewed. It’s amazing how much I can get done with my Mom at the sewing machine, she’s awesome J

Gray day at Highbourne

Tuesday was another gray day as we headed up to the marina at Palm Cay. We left at first light to get in on a high tide and were all settled by noon.  Our arrival was a bit confused and we ended up with a port side tie. It was good practice as we rarely tie up on the port side though it took a bit of time for me to figure out the lines and fenders on the fixed dock. (Our asymmetric design favors a starboard tie).

 Dinner at Palm Cay Marina

Mom headed home Wednesday afternoon. I spent the afternoon moping around missing her and doing some housecleaning chores. In the days since we’ve been enjoying some down time and getting some things done. We use a company called Wheelhouse Technologies to manage tracking our boat maintenance.  It’s a great system that logs every piece of machinery & technology and creates a maintenance log. It generates “to-do” lists as each task comes up on its scheduled date. Just as we got to the marina we received a 65 item list – so Martin has been very busy!  In reality, many of the tasks are visual checks and several are things that he’s been on top of so it’s not as daunting as it sounds. That said, he’s been dedicating a few hours every day to tackling the list. Then I’ll log in all the tasks that were done. This provides a great log of your continued boat maintenance – invaluable to have over time.

Our view at the marina, not so bad!

 Blossom in Palm Cay Marina

I’ve been working on my quilts much more now as well. My vertigo is much better at the dock and I think it’s even starting to calm down a bit. We’ve met a great couple who are also staying here through the windy weather as well. We’re enjoying getting to know them and have a lion fish dinner planned for tomorrow!  They came upon several fillets from a local fisherman a while back and are generously going to share it with us. My contribution is to find a Thai recipe that will go with the fish. (I’m thinking Thai curry lion fish … but I’ve just begun my search!)  Bob & Sandy are life-long boaters and happen to be from…St. Petersburg!  I feel like universe is telling me something – drawing me to that charming town J

Winds are expected to keep the seas high enough that we aren’t interested in leaving until later this week. Since we have no schedule to keep and prefer calm, “boring” passages, we’re going to stay here and enjoy the marina for a few days.  Where to next?  That would be the question. North (Abacos) or east (State-side) are the two possible answers. We have until late next week to make up our minds!

Boat Business: We have lots of maintenance going on. I'll try to convince Martin to put together a post to talk about all that he's up to!

Little Bay to Big Majors

Me and Martin at McDuff's, Norman's Cay

We left Shroud on Sunday to go to Little Bay, just south of Black Point. The wind had picked up considerably that day and we hoped that Little Bay would be well sheltered from the easterlies. Once we arrived, we dropped anchor and put the paddle boards down. Mom jumped in – and she started to drift away!  The combination of wind and current had the water ripping. I jumped in as well but before long we found ourselves hanging off the paddle boards (which were tied to the boat) so we wouldn’t get taken out to sea J  No playing in the water at Little Bay that day. We enjoyed a nice barbeque dinner on the aft deck and watched a movie that night.

The next day the wind was howling and there was a lot surge in the anchorage. We were rolling around enough that I wasn’t able to play with Mom in the quilt room without feeling sick. Unfortunately, I suffer from episodes of BPPV, a form of vertigo that comes and goes. It started up a few weeks ago and has been worse the past several days. I seem to be more sensitive to the boat moving with this going on. (Fingers crossed that it passes soon.) So after a somewhat uncomfortable day on the boat I was anxious to take the dinghy into town that evening.

Our first stop in Black Point was to visit Lorraine’s Mom and buy a loaf of cinnamon coconut raison bread that had just come out of the oven. We had a drink at Scorpio’s and pizza for dinner at DeShamons. It was a nice evening and I’m happy that we got to show Mom a small Bahamian settlement. We noticed that the bay at Black Point was much more settled, with no surge, so we decided to head out the next day for Big Majors where we assumed that it would also be much more sheltered.

Cruising around Big Majors

Sunset at Big Majors

We left early on Tuesday for a quick 2 hour run up to Big Majors (after I made some pretty amazing French toast from that cinnamon coconut bread!) It was much less crowded compared than when we were here a couple months ago. Now that we’re more familiar with the bay and had more room, we crawled way up and anchored very close to shore. Ah the calm!! We had a happy surprise as we were anchoring as well. I was out on the bow with the range finder to see how far away we were from the sailboats on either side when I saw people waving at me - and there was Del Max! We were anchoring right next to the friendly kid boat we met down in Adderley Cut!  Unfortunately they were just about to head out so we didn’t get to meet up with them.

A lovely place for a swim

Sting ray with no stinger

We splashed Petal right away and rinsed Blossom down. In the afternoon we suited up and went for a ride in Petal to explore. We headed north, checking out the area around the now closed, Sampson Marina. We have many wonderful memories of that marina from when we stayed there in ’09. Unfortunately, the owner has closed it and made the cay private.  We enjoyed the scenery until we found a relatively calm bay where we could jump in for a swim/snorkel. The water was 81 degrees and while there wasn’t a lot to see fish-wise, we had a great swim and did see a sting ray and his friend. We were also silently watched by a couple of barracuda throughout our swim.  That night we had another tasty dinner on the aft deck and watched the folks on mega yacht next to us play on their water slide.  Man, that looks like fun!

I’m coveting their slide!

On Wednesday we went and fed the pigs. Oh the indignity – to have a bird hitching a ride on your back!

Bird On Pig

Big Majors Pigs

After feeding the pigs we went to check out the rather famous snorkel site, Thunderball Grotto (where they filmed a scene in the James Bond movie Thunderball).  Even though it was low tide “slack” the currant was ripping. It was so strong that we barely were able to make it into the cave!

Thunderball Grotto from the outside

 

 

Thunderball Grotto on the inside

Later that day we went in to Staniel Cay Marina to pick up our new davit controller which had just arrived the day before.  As we pulled up in Petal we saw Eagle VI and were thrilled to see our friend Moose. 

Martin and Moose

He had just arrived from Highbourne Cay with a boat full of family and friends. They’re all enjoying a week of fishing and enjoying the Exumas.  Moose was able to take some time out and join us for a drink. We’re so happy that we got to catch up with him! (And he generously shared some of his freshly caught Mahi Mahi with us too, thank you Moose!)  We also got to see our friends from Scamper (the folks who helped us with the dinghy controller).  They were having a bit of trouble with an engine so they were docked at the marina.  As luck would have it, they also had reservations at the restaurant that evening and we were sat right next to them!  We really enjoyed the evening talking with them and meeting their delightful daughter, Sara. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to connect with them again next year J

Thursday was a whirlwind of outdoor activity. We packed up Petal and headed out early for a day of adventure to the north.  We explored all the way up to Little Pipe Creek. Some of our best memories from ’09 were when we were anchored up there with our friends CJ & Margie.

Little Pipe area

View from the old anchorage, doesn’t this look familiar CJ & Margie?? J

We jumped in to check out a snorkel site we had enjoyed in ’09 but it was just rocks and grass. So we headed up farther north to Chicken Cay. We found an excellent place to snorkel there. Unfortunately, the currant was so strong we couldn’t go too far out where there were bigger bommies but it was very pretty where we were able to swim.

Downed planes everywhere!  This one is on Chicken Cay

Where we snorkeled off of Chicken Cay

 Under water

Next we were off to Compass Cay Marina. 

We’ve never been there and we’ve heard so many great things, I was excited to check it out. The main attraction there is swimming with the “pet” nurse sharks (second attraction - cheeseburgers).  So we ordered our cheeseburgers and watched as people swam with the sharks.

People come from all up and down the Exumas to experience the sharks!

After eating we went for a walk to the far side of the island to check out the beach.

Mom walking to the beach

Beach on east side of Compass Cay

When we got back we were hot and had worked up the courage to get in the water with the sharks. This is a really big deal for me because I am so seriously afraid of, yes, even nurse sharks. Though they’re more like puppies than sharks at Compass (they all have names even), I was still terrified.  Here are some photos – and yes, I touched them too! I even got a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.

Hello Martin!

Don't I look relaxed?

 

 

Mom got in on the action too! 

After the excitement of the sharks we headed north to Rachel’s Bubble Bath. It’s a naturally formed pool that is open to the sound and when the tide is high and wind is from the east, frothy waves pour into the pool. It’s a popular spot and we met up with two other couples who were relaxing in the pool as well.

Walking to Rachel’s Bubble Bath

The bubbles

Martin, me and Mom in Rachel's Bubble Bath

We returned to Blossom that night, once again exhausted from a fantastic day in the Exumas.

Friday was a much more subdued day, primarily because my vertigo was too bad for me to do much. We did go over to Staniel to pick up some milk & drop off some trash. We stopped by but neither Moose nor Joe & Holly were in so it was a quick visit.  We spent most of the day sewing. I could do hand sewing and not much else but my Mom was awesome and got a lot done. I’m working on two gift quilts – I’ve almost finished one and now thanks to my Mom, the second one is almost done J

Saturday was our last day at Big Majors.  Mom and I finally got out on the SUPs together. There was a bit of a learning curve, especially as the wind and currant was pulling us out, but Mom was amazing. We got into the lee of the cay she was up and standing in no time!

Relaxing in the lee of the cay

Mom standing on the SUP

In the afternoon Mom and I had a Downton Abbey marathon, finishing up season 5 and getting a ton of hand applique done. We were wiped out from our SUP adventure and had another early night.

Today is Sunday and we’ve headed north to Highbourne Cay. We changed our original plan a bit, coming here rather than Warderick Wells. The wind is still blowing, though it supposed to calm down right when Mom leaves :/  My dizzies are bad enough that we need to be in a calm anchorage so we’ve opted for a cay where we can snug up close to the shore. There’s a very good restaurant there with a beautiful view, Xuma, and we have reservations there tonight. Tomorrow we’ll go visit the iguanas up at Allen Cay and do some snorkeling if the weather and current permits.

Boat Business:

• Davit Controller. The new controller works!
• Stern thruster. As we were anchoring at Highbourne we found that the stern thruster is not working. Martin will dive down when the rain stops to see if we sucked something up in there. Hopefully it'll be an easy fix.