Bahamas - Ragged Islands, Little Ragged, Fixing the Gearbox

Our Port Gearbox is squirting oil……

Nicholas bought 3 sets of seals/O-rings, and it time to start the fix.

It is quite a mission with loosening the Anodes, using a Puller to remove the front plate, diving and loosing the prop shaft and pulling it partially out, then loosening the gearbox, using a halyard and lifting the entire gearbox out of the engine compartment. Only then can he start with actual repair of dismantling the gearbox and hoping to find exactly where the leak was, cleaning everything and replacing the seals.

Thanks to Duane of Sojourn who came to help Nicholas and overlook each aspect of the repair.

Nicholas inside the Port engine compartment where we have a small workbench with vice and drill press etc

Whilst Nicholas was busy with the gearbox, I undertook to burn garbage (which Nicholas usually does), I was most happy to see that I could successfully light a fire, and get the garbage burned!

We burn all paper and light plastic. All heavy plastic, tins and glass is cleaned and kept aboard until we can get to a garbage dump on an inhabited island.

 

Whilst I burned garbage, Jenny went for a walk and then used the Sea Beans we’d collected on the windward beaches, to write Meshugga in the sand

Being such a hot day, after burning the garbage I went for a cooling swim off Meshugga and then retired to the Flybridge to enjoy the vista and stunning day

Sunset came, and Karen of SV Sojourn, and I, had arranged a BBQ on the shore and invited all the yachts in the anchorage to join us, each to bring something to BBQ and a dish to share. We were most happy to find that all the yachts came, so we had quite a large crowd, 14 yachts and 30 people…..

Nicholas, me Jenny and Gosia of SV Alderbaron

Nicholas cut wood and Karen started the fire

A great bed of coals, we brought our South African Braai grid ashore to supplement Karens grid

Another superb sunset with exclamations of Green Flash

A groaning table of sides and another table of desserts

Looking out at our anchorage, we have never seen Little Ragged Cut with so many yachts. In previous years, there has only been 3 or 4 yachts, but Social Media and Cruising Websites have made this little bit of Paradise well known and many yachts have come this far south hearing of this haven