Leaving Grand Cayman tomorrow, Easter Saturday
Good Friday – 10th April – Still in Grand Cayman
Since our attempt to leave Grand Cayman 3 days ago the luster has certainly worn off this jewel of an island for us. Its not Grand Cayman’s fault, its just not much fun being here now. We’ve been on a roller coaster of changing emotions. It seems that whenever we think this ordeal is over it isn’t.
We got around the corner into North Sound on Wednesday, sailing most of the way but needing to be pushed in the last half mile into a very calm beautiful anchorage and marina in Governors Creek, which is a partly natural and partly man-made creek in what used to be just a mangrove swamp until it has recently been developed into very upscale homes with water front. The marina called Cayman Island Yacht Club was also very upscale until hurricane Ivan messed it up about 4 years ago.
So we came in with 2 dinghies tied along either side of us with 2 fifteen hp motors pushing us along at about 3 – 4 knots (Thanks for John of Four Aces and Andrew of Lady Slipper) and got ourselves tied up alongside a concrete wall which has been ours and 15 million mosquitos’ home for the last 3 days, but its mostly the nights when the mosquitos make themselves at home and feed – on us – no, make that me. Somehow they squeeze their nasty little bodies through gaps around the screens that cover all of the entrances to the boat.
By Wednesday evening we had been introduced to Colin Pearson, a very well known mechanic/technician who, though he was working on an urgent job closeby would drop in and have a look at our problem, which he did. That evening he and Tony pulled apart all of the burnt stuff, pulled out the starter motor and solonoid which looked like it was no good. Colin took that away at about 9.30pm and came back the next day, yesterday with a new one and a bunch of new wires, and emergency cut-out switch and he and Tony worked for the next 3 hours to put it all back together. By about 3.30pm we started the motor, which started and ran beautifully just as it always had .
What we did see was that our raw water pump was leaking and this was spraying water up and could have been the cause of the original problem – this sea water spraying up over the engine while we were being tossed about and then sitting on the old wiring harness and causing a short. We didn’t think we needed Colin’s help to change our water pump as we had put this on on a couple of years ago in Victoria. And Colin had done his part, got us running and needed to get on with other work, so he left.
We finished putting the engine back together and changed the water pump, everything looked good, started the engine checked to see that water was coming out of the exhaust as it should – BUT – no water coming out. Thinking that the new water pump might be a dud, we put the old one back on again – BUT – still no water coming out, not even leaking like it was before. So we spent the next few hours – until about 8.30pm trying to isolate the problem. We even thought that something might be covering the water intake through-hull, so Tony dove under the boat – but that wasn’t it. It should be simple of course – water comes in through the intake, goes to the water pump and gets sucked into the engine core around the fresh water radiator to keep that cool. But its not that easy – it goes through 3 cylinders that are all above the water line and seem to be creating an air block so we are currently trying to fill that block – but are not sure if that’s the problem.
We had to quit because all of our attempts were futile and we knew that the next day is Good Friday, which means that everywhere on island is closed, Colin is gone for the weekend, we are stuck in mosquitoville for another couple of nights at $100 per night, our home is pulled apart and getting very dirty, we are very dirty and cannot shower because that’s one of the entrances to the engine compartment – and basically this is all very depressing. We needed to quit for the day and sleep on the problem.
Its 2.00am and I’m up at the computer – no internet – which I’d hoped might be working so that I could look up a solution on-line. I’ve sprayed myself with something like deet because I’m sick of being dinner and as I look at this screen I can see mosquitos hovering around me but they don’t like how I smell. Neither do I – but I’m really glad they aren’t biting me right now, they’ll probably all move into the aft cabin and start feasting on Tony.
Lets hope that Good Friday will be good for us.
Saved by Pat, a wonderful Irishman who came by this morning and helped us figure out the problem. Our water pump had been reversed – so we put it back in its proper position and voila it works.
We spent the rest of the day putting everything back to normal, cleaning the boat and preparing to leave.
I’m currently sitting at the dining table of our friends Ray and Julie, who have invited to us eat Easter dinner with them and spend the night. Then they will drive us to the Port Authority in the morning when we will check out. I have also brought our laundry over to do. PLUS we have just had showers, real showers – what lucky people we are to have met such great people who have given us so much help.Thank God for this good luc
Since our attempt to leave Grand Cayman 3 days ago the luster has certainly worn off this jewel of an island for us. Its not Grand Cayman’s fault, its just not much fun being here now. We’ve been on a roller coaster of changing emotions. It seems that whenever we think this ordeal is over it isn’t.
We got around the corner into North Sound on Wednesday, sailing most of the way but needing to be pushed in the last half mile into a very calm beautiful anchorage and marina in Governors Creek, which is a partly natural and partly man-made creek in what used to be just a mangrove swamp until it has recently been developed into very upscale homes with water front. The marina called Cayman Island Yacht Club was also very upscale until hurricane Ivan messed it up about 4 years ago.
So we came in with 2 dinghies tied along either side of us with 2 fifteen hp motors pushing us along at about 3 – 4 knots (Thanks for John of Four Aces and Andrew of Lady Slipper) and got ourselves tied up alongside a concrete wall which has been ours and 15 million mosquitos’ home for the last 3 days, but its mostly the nights when the mosquitos make themselves at home and feed – on us – no, make that me. Somehow they squeeze their nasty little bodies through gaps around the screens that cover all of the entrances to the boat.
By Wednesday evening we had been introduced to Colin Pearson, a very well known mechanic/technician who, though he was working on an urgent job closeby would drop in and have a look at our problem, which he did. That evening he and Tony pulled apart all of the burnt stuff, pulled out the starter motor and solonoid which looked like it was no good. Colin took that away at about 9.30pm and came back the next day, yesterday with a new one and a bunch of new wires, and emergency cut-out switch and he and Tony worked for the next 3 hours to put it all back together. By about 3.30pm we started the motor, which started and ran beautifully just as it always had .
What we did see was that our raw water pump was leaking and this was spraying water up and could have been the cause of the original problem – this sea water spraying up over the engine while we were being tossed about and then sitting on the old wiring harness and causing a short. We didn’t think we needed Colin’s help to change our water pump as we had put this on on a couple of years ago in Victoria. And Colin had done his part, got us running and needed to get on with other work, so he left.
We finished putting the engine back together and changed the water pump, everything looked good, started the engine checked to see that water was coming out of the exhaust as it should – BUT – no water coming out. Thinking that the new water pump might be a dud, we put the old one back on again – BUT – still no water coming out, not even leaking like it was before. So we spent the next few hours – until about 8.30pm trying to isolate the problem. We even thought that something might be covering the water intake through-hull, so Tony dove under the boat – but that wasn’t it. It should be simple of course – water comes in through the intake, goes to the water pump and gets sucked into the engine core around the fresh water radiator to keep that cool. But its not that easy – it goes through 3 cylinders that are all above the water line and seem to be creating an air block so we are currently trying to fill that block – but are not sure if that’s the problem.
We had to quit because all of our attempts were futile and we knew that the next day is Good Friday, which means that everywhere on island is closed, Colin is gone for the weekend, we are stuck in mosquitoville for another couple of nights at $100 per night, our home is pulled apart and getting very dirty, we are very dirty and cannot shower because that’s one of the entrances to the engine compartment – and basically this is all very depressing. We needed to quit for the day and sleep on the problem.
Its 2.00am and I’m up at the computer – no internet – which I’d hoped might be working so that I could look up a solution on-line. I’ve sprayed myself with something like deet because I’m sick of being dinner and as I look at this screen I can see mosquitos hovering around me but they don’t like how I smell. Neither do I – but I’m really glad they aren’t biting me right now, they’ll probably all move into the aft cabin and start feasting on Tony.
Lets hope that Good Friday will be good for us.
Saved by Pat, a wonderful Irishman who came by this morning and helped us figure out the problem. Our water pump had been reversed – so we put it back in its proper position and voila it works.
We spent the rest of the day putting everything back to normal, cleaning the boat and preparing to leave.
I’m currently sitting at the dining table of our friends Ray and Julie, who have invited to us eat Easter dinner with them and spend the night. Then they will drive us to the Port Authority in the morning when we will check out. I have also brought our laundry over to do. PLUS we have just had showers, real showers – what lucky people we are to have met such great people who have given us so much help.Thank God for this good luc
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