Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year from our family to yours!! We're now in the Eleutheras where we brought in the New Year! We had music, glow lights and lots of fun at a secluded anchorage...but it wasn’t easy getting here!! 

On December 30th we woke up to weigh anchor in Hope Town and then head to Little Harbor for our crossing point into the Eleutheras. That morning our generator decided to not start, we quickly assessed the situation and made the call to continue on without it. Jeremiah would troubleshoot it when he could. In the meantime we could charge our house battery bank by using the engines, solar and the wind generator. 

The wind was on the nose, we had to motor anyway. So we did and the house batts got charged up. Once at our new anchorage we spent the day snorkeling and playing in the water with the kids. There appeared to be a weather opening that allowed for some good sailing to the Eleutheras over the next two days. This trip from Little Harbour in the Abacos to Spanish Wells in the Eleutheras was going to be a 50 mile offshore trip over 13,000 feet of water! We wanted favorable winds, even though we would have to motor sail to charge our batteries. There were also about 8 boats anchored with us that would be making the crossing within the next two days depending on weather. On December 31st we woke up at 4am to chatter on the VHF about the crossing and the weather. The winds were a bit higher than forecasted. There was a decision to make...Stay another night, hope they lay down and stay the same direction or go with the current winds that were gusting to 25knts from the East, which was great for sailing as far as the direction. The decision was made that some of us would go to the cut (a narrow inlet between two reefs) and see how it was, then we'd radio back to notify the others. Out of the 8 boats, 4 of us went to the cut. We all put up our sails along the 2 mile trip to the cut and turned into the wind and seas to push into the large swells coming through the cut from the sea. 

Calypso was the 4th in line entering the cut, we could watch as the others rode up the waves and then disappear down the other side...It was rough but doable. Once we were in the mix we decided to just keep pushing through. The cut would have larger waves than the ocean, we just needed to get through it. Calypso handled it great...I wasn't so steady though. It was pretty frightening and I'm sure we battled over 12-14 foot seas to get through. Jeremiah was a rock, as usual. 

We got through, turned south and got on a Port Tack. After a little while, the seas dropped to between 6-8' during the passage. The seas in the cut woke the kids up, they came up for the fun...Excited about the bouncing and banging, they quickly found themselves feeling seasick...And it continued. 

Myself and the 3 kids, spent the entire day holding bowls to get sick in and staring out at the horizon. I must say Rhys handled it like a champ for only being 3 years old. He passed the time imagining the clouds as animals. Jeremiah was at the helm for the entire trip, he always does really well as far as getting sick. It doesn't bother him as much. After a few hours, all the kids were passed out sleeping. Jeremiah and I sucked it up and held it together until we found calmer seas about 4 miles before our anchorage. During the entire passage we had 20 to 35 knts of wind on the port beam. We were completely reefed in for the entire trip and made between 7 and 9 knts of speed. 

Once anchored, we gathered ourselves and had an amazing trip to a secluded beach and then had a great New Years Eve party aboard. 

We're now moving around the Eleuthera’s and having so much fun, snorkeling, scuba diving and fishing while we wait to figure out our generator situation. Jeremiah hasn't been able to locate the exact cause and without some spare parts to try to swap in, we can't do much. So we asked a mechanic come to the boat today...He said the same thing Jeremiah did! So the plan is to continue on, sail to Nassau tomorrow, anchor for a night and then get into another marina for the power. We'll drop the kids at the airport and welcome John aboard...Along with a lady friend! We'll see if we can get this genny working then.  

For those that like the mechanical stuff I asked Jeremiah to give the details:

2013 Cummins Onan Diesel GenSet

Discrepancy: Upon start up the unit will get to idle and then immediately shut itself off (before rev up to full speed). The unit is popping a code 27 Loss of AC Voltage Sense and a code 45 Speed Sense Lost. 

Troubleshooting Completed: Belts good, Wires look to be in good condition, no loose or disengaged wires were noticed, Shot wires and checked for continunity through stator at grey cannon plug and got mixed readings. 

Suspect: Stator failed, Board Assembly failed or Voltage Regulator failed.