Day 101: Stuff Breaks (all of the time)

Big Majors, Exumas, Bahamas (anchored)

April 26, 2022

We are very close to both the “pig beach” and Thunderball Grotto.  We can actually see the pigs if we use our binoculars.  Thunderball Grotto is where the underwater scenes in the James Bond movie Thunderball we’re filmed.  That’s a short dinghy ride from here.

However…our dinghy motor is not working.  It seems as if it’s a carburetor issue.  No dinghy = either rowing, staying on Lailia, finding a marina slip, or getting rides from friends.

John remembered that we have a carburetor repair kit onboard.  I am hoping that the little screws, piece of wire, and plastic thingy can make the carburetor work.  If it’s possible,. John will make it happen; I am glad he had the forethought to have the kit (it’s a very small bag) onboard.

We are working to have a carburetor shipped to us through a freight broker as plan B (or maybe Plan C). We’re near Staniel Cay where the broker has an airstrip for delivery.

We can also get replacement fuel line at the same time; John has been troubleshooting the air in the fuel line issue for a while now (including today).  While we have a fuel tank on the starboard side, too, that has no issues, it seems safer to have both sides working.

Good news; because we are outside of the US, we can access episodes of Better Call Saul as they are released via Netflix.   Streaming these on the wifi on the Exumas is an impossible feat, but I can download episodes to play later.  John sent the old phone we use for a router aloft using our spinnaker halyard to get a decent signal.  We were able to download this week’s episode in about two hours.  It will give us something to watch when we get tired of looking at the shore.

While John is fixing stuff, I am meal planning.  We have limited access to many food items so I get to be creative.  Today’s creation was homemade English muffins, something that I had never attempted.  I am still working out how the humidity and being at sea level impacts yeast dough, but I am proud of how they came out. We used some as a basis for tuna/artichoke melts tonight.

Here’s hoping that the carburetor kit will work tomorrow so we can do some exploring. Send whatever good vibes you can spare, especially to the saints of boating and fixing stuff.