Well today we are definitely leaving. We’re up pretty early, lock everything down, listen to the Cruiser Net – nothing unusual happening that would stop us from leaving – except for the sudden downpour just as we are about to cast off.
We wait a bit, then I go up to cast off George’s lines while Christy operates the motor. We lose a half hour as George has made his lines almost impossible to loosen. He says he’s putting in a new system for when we return (he’s promised to hold our spot for next April) and I hope the new system is easier to use.
Finally out in the sea, we’re thinking of raising some sail but there is definitely trouble in the weather behind us – looks dangerous enough to leave sails down and motor for a bit. No problem, we can make 6 kts with our motor.
Unless of course at 2500 rpm it overheats. Yes, water temp alarm going off and we shut her down while I inspect. Everything looks good there. Lots of coolant, oil looks great, alternator belt could be a little tighter but not bad. Christy starts her up again and I can see the belt is a little loose and squeaks a bit. We shut it down again and I spend the next half hour or so adjusting the belt while we drift and Christy stays on watch. Have to actually adjust the armature arm because the belt was at its max tightness the way it was. Christy helps with the last bit. Start her up again, no squeak!
Still overheats at 2500 rpm. It’s not the end of the world, if it overheats we shut down and in 60 seconds it’s ok again. Keep it under 2500 rpm and it doesn’t overheat.
Trouble is, with practically no wind the whole way (even in the gap between Grenada and Carriacou it never gets over 15 kts) and low rpm, we are lucky to get over 5 kts. We were planning on going directly to Paradise Beach but it will be nearly dark and Christy doesn’t feel comfortable trying to spot the coral heads in the dark – good point – we head for Tyrell Bay instead.
There we sit now as I write this, disco blasting from shore as it’s Saturday night. We’re pretty pooched after a long day.