Gearing up, heading south Lindsay McRory June 5, 1996 The passage from Cat Cay to Nassau was fairly routine. Even though the distance was only 28 miles, we got up early--about 6:30 a.m.--so we could complete the trip near high slack tide and before the afternoon thunderstorms. There was a four-foot swell leftover from a norther that blew 25 to 35 knots for a few days. We hardly noticed it while broad reaching toward the Chubb light at the northeast end of Nassau Harbor. This is a small-boat-only entrance. There are two reefs that have to be navigated before you find the main channel to Nassau Harbor. Navigating the reefs looks fairly straightforward on paper. Line up the 25-yard-wide entrance until it bears 185 degrees and then punch through it. Once clear, steer 130 degrees until the second break in the reef is spotted. Then punch through that, steering 210. Easy. The four-foot swell was really breaking on the reefs, and the 25-yard-wide hole didn't look very big at all from a quarter-mile away. As we passed through it, the waves became much steeper and closer together. When we entered the break in the reef, it looked like we were either going to pile right into a wall of water or hit the rocks. The break doesn't look that much different from a shallow reef, and it takes a lot of practice to read these little underwater challenges. It's always good for a few heart-stopping moments. The hydraulic pump for Hakuna Matata's autopilot had been acting up intermittently and finally died. We had a new autopilot installed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, last fall, but we left the old pump in, as recommended by the dealer. A quick inspection turned up the problem: hydraulic fluid leaked from the pump into the electrical motor. I called the dealers to order a new pump. They informed me the entire system installed onboard is too small for the boat! Then they said I should scrap $2,000 worth of gear that was just about nine months old and spend another $3,000 to get the gear we need. The dealer in Halifax recommended our current setup and installed it. Now that we're in the Bahamas, their attitude has turned to, "Geez, that's too bad. Nothing we can do." After a flurry of calls to Simrad, we were fixed up for $1,535 plus shipping. Most of that is for the new pump I needed anyway. The people at Simrad were great to deal with. The dealer on the other hand ... It's the same mentality as technicians and mechanics. I'm sure there are good ones out there, although we have not had the fortune of running into any. Nearly all the work that's been done professionally has had to be redone: Refrigeration (in Ottawa): Holding plate leak found and the system was recharged. Lasted three days. Engine (in Halifax): Had a new Racor filtered installed. Had all three diesel tanks cleaned. Had the generator serviced. The plumbing was horrible and still has to be completely redone. The clean diesel tanks clogged a filter four days out of Halifax. The tanks were subsequently recleaned in Titusville. The generator overheated the first time it was used (the mechanic never checked it under load). Radio equipment (in Halifax): Purchased a HAM, SSB, two-meter HAM antenna, marine antenna tuner, and packet-radio controller from a dealer. Then I paid them to send three guys out for a day to install it. The first afternoon out, the two-meter antenna falls over. I've had to reground the SSB and the tuner, then rewire the power with eight-gauge wire. The two-meter antenna was installed in such a way that the co-ax cable chafed through at the top and fell down the mast. Autopilot (in Halifax): Had a dealer install a Robertson AP3000. Only good for small boats, but they had it in stock. Refrigeration (in St. Augustine, Florida): Another leak found. System repairs lasted three weeks. Refrigeration (in Titusville, Florida): Another leak found. System repairs lasted six weeks. I was not looking forward to ripping apart our Hyanautic hydraulic steering system to plumb in the new pump. For a fleeting moment I thought of calling someone in to do it, then laughed and opened up the tool box. We did have some great news: the satellite beam for the Caribbean is operational! Satellite problems solved. We plan to stay in Nassau until the middle of next week and then make some pretty quick tracks south. Most likely we'll head from the southern Bahamas to Puerto Rico. We'll only stop in the Dominican Republic if the weather turns bad.