Just another work day in paradise...

First, Bill, we are not anchored at Calabash.  We were thinking of going there, but maybe we should reconsider.  Have you been to the Jumentos or Ragged Islands?  So far we haven't found what looks like deep enough water to feel comfortable trying to get there.  We'll look for the two boats you mentioned and give them your regards if we see them.

One of the features of a popular anchorage is the cruisers' nets.  Every morning people listen to a VHF  (boaters'CB) channel to hear what's going on in their part of the world.  There might be news, weather, local business ads, activities, things that boaters have for sale or want to buy, and questions or problems that boaters might have.  I called in asking if anyone could hold their breath for a really long time, or had SCUBA gear, and explained about loosing our propeller.  Within a few minutes Christian, on Iwanda, called saying they had a Hooka unit.  This is a small air compressor that forces air through a regulator with a mouth piece.   It's like SCUBA diving using an air hose instead of a back tank.

Christian brought his apparatus, including diving weights, to our boat.  He didn't offer to install our prop - he didn't want to be the one to drop one of our four vital parts.  Fair enough , I guess, which meant I was going in the water!  I'm not much of a swimmer, more of a thrasher.  And taking a shower is about as far under water as I like my head to be.  After a couple of tentative submersions I realized I could actually breath underwater and the lead weights (can we all say "Mafia"?) helped me stay down by the prop shaft.  With Christian handing me the parts as I needed them we eventually had our old prop back on the shaft.  There were no major problems but it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible for me to have done without the air, the weights, and the assistance.

After Christian left, we started the engine and tried both forward and reverse.  Then I jumped back in the water just to make sure every thing was still OK.  Later we moved the boat closer to shore, mostly just to make sure we could motor all right.  (Earlier in the morning a couple of boaters on the radio were talking about how they had had to motor-sail and then motor over from George Town because of the wind angles.  I'm glad we hadn't had to motor.)

As with most jobs you start at the bottom, and work your way to the top.  As soon as we had tested the prop I cranked Sue to the top of the mast to fix our broken head sail halyard.  We were able to drop a messenger line down the mast, attach it to the good end of the broken halyard, and eventually pull the end-for-ended halyard back up the mast.  It didn't go quite that smoothly and Sue was up the mast for over an hour.  But it was easier than doing the same maneuver in the middle of a Mackinac Race - right, Rick P2?

After lunch we lowered the sail on the spinnaker halyard and hoisted it back up on the repaired halard.  By 2:30 we were finished with everything put away.  We should have  gone ashore as the mailboat had just finished delivering supplies to the stores...  We will tomorrow and maybe try to get a rental car to tour the island.