Thursday, April 11, 2013.  Long Island, Bahamas-Water Cay, Jumentos, Bahamas.  

Our anchor windlass, the motor which we use to raise and lower our 60 pound anchor and attached chain, broke last Saturday. The windlass is a crucial piece of equipment, and even though we've been trying to get away from Long Island, we needed to get it fixed here before we head out to the remote islands of the Jumentos and Raggeds. This became a 5 day project.  Sunday, George and Rick from C Language took the windlass apart to diagnose the problem.  The stainless steel key, which links the motor shaft to the windlass, had completely disintegrated.  Fortunately, there is a machine shop on Long Island, which could manufacture a new key for us.  Monday morning, George took the motor to be repaired, we got it back Tuesday morning, and George and Rick reinstalled it.  Wednesday morning we are ready to leave, and start to raise the anchor.  Now the remote control for the windlass won't work!  George figures out that it's a wiring issue, so he and Rick rewire it.  By now it's noon, and too late to start out for our sail to Water Cay.  So it's one more night here...

We up anchor at 0930 and head west for the Comer channel.  The wind is perfectly behind us, and our speed suffers.  We tie a preventer to the main (on port tack), and eventually pull the jib out to port and hold it open with the starboard sheet taken to a port hull cleat.  Once we turn SSE from the Comer channel, we are able to sail with about 60 degrees to the wind on port tack.  A monohull that was two miles behind us in the Comer channel got left in the dirt once we made our turn to the south.  We were sailing under full main and full jib in about 16 to 18 knots of apparent wind, making good 8 to 9 knots over the ground.  We arrive at Water Cay, the north most cay in the Jumento chain, about 1530. There was a single boat anchored when we got there.  We anchored several hundred yards to the south of him.  Mike, on Kanaloa, the boat behind us, came in after and anchored north of the other sailboat.  Most crowded anchorage we were to see for a while.    A fishing boat, pulling a smaller boat behind, came in and anchored late in the afternoon.  We relax on board, swimming off the stern to cool down.  The water is incredibly clear down here.  Sundowners, followed by dinner and an episode of the Tudors, and then to sleep.