As always, thanks for sharing.

Another little side story.
 

The lift operator said it would cost me $500 for the lift out and another $ 500 to drop back in the water. Being caught between a rock and a hard place I agreed. When repairs were complete and it came time to pay the bill he said " I'm going to give you a break. I will only charge you $325 total for in and out." Not sure why but we got along well with them as they worked away. Maybe because I did not show any "attitude" towards them as well even tho I felt I was getting ripped off initially. Dunno? I gave him a $100 tip and maybe that is what he was looking and positioning himself for. The guy that installed prop and fixed hydraulic steering charged $120 so I gave him $150 which was well worth it to me. I was so relieved and happy to get back in the water and under way to Georgetown. :)

Thanks Bob for sharing....

Wow I win !
I wish I could say I did some in depth calculations but really it was just a guess .
Thanks Bob for all the great stories .
Always with some kind of twist and surprises .
When I told my wife Monica what I was getting she said
" Great now I can track where you are ". Ha I said .I need to turn on the unit for that to happen .
Bob and maybe some of you prop guys might be able to answer the throwing blades issue .
It seems to me that on larger heavier boats breaking blades off happens more often than on lighter boats . What if you ran a lower pitch prop faster ( changing gear ratios ) ?
Just an idea .

Paul

That is funny. I found during my time spent in exuma that many Bahamians have a stereotype towards americans (canadians I'm sure as well) that we are all in hurry and want everything instantly. As a result they almost seemed pleasantly shocked when I was "chill" and went with the flow. Often times it seemed that our Bahamian Attorney's were almost testing us with respect to things being done in a timely matter. If we were relaxed in the first place things went much smoother. If we were Mr. hard a** american things got expensive quickly.

I'm betting they were testing you and since you were cool they figured you would take care of them when it was time to pay. One of the best lessens from my time there is to slow down and smell the roses.


Thanks again for sharing.

Where did you leave the boat untill you return? Is it in the water?

Bob, sounds like you got a pretty descent guy with a travel lift, and you can never underestimate how helpful being courteous and giving a descent tip can be. In the bahamas I learned very quickly that a descent tip will get you anything you could want. We spent a lot of time this winter in the bahamas on the yacht i was working on, and in most cases, I would always carry some cash just in case. one time we had to empty out 200 gallons of bad gas from the aft tank and refill it with new gas. went to the gas station in nassau harbour, slipped the dock guy a $50 and just dropped off about 20 6 gallon cans. came back 20 minutes later and he had them all filled. most guys in canada and the states would not be so happy to sit there and fill 20 gas cans, but these guys work for the tips. we give the dock master at Atlantis a couple grand every christmas to ensure that when we come into town he gets us a good slip.

That was AWESOME!

A few observations:

1. I think we ran our very own Bimini Challenge, and I'm fairly certain we won:grinser010:

2. Bob's vocabulary (both English & Canadian) absolutley does
not include the words "give up" ....

3. I've never seen the water as beautiful as it was the last few days

4.I've never seen anyone move a 50ft boat into a marina with boats on either side, with NO STEERING, in a friggin' crosswind, with a strong current, spin the boat around on a dime to get into the travel-lift, only to be told by the travel-lift operator to turn the boat around, spin the boat around AGAIN, and then get it pulled out of the water...INSANE!
Bob, I was right next to you on the boat, and I have no F...ing idea how you did that....Absolutely amazing!
(I would have simultaneously crashed the boat and pooped my pants!)

5. Note to self: Next time bring Terry Sobo along...He's clearly alot better at changing props than me:drink:

6. Note to self #2: Next time bring a large bottle of Off when stuck on Highbourne Cay, where the mosquitos are the size of butterflies.

Aside from all the obligatory boating greatness, we had some really really good laughs, and I was really happy that we ended up making it to Georgetown in record time yesterday afternoon....

From now on please refer to Bob as "Admiral Barnhart"...Rest asured it is a well deserved promotion :lolhit:
Pictures to follow tomorrow....
H.

Yes it is in the water. It is tied up at the small marina at a development called February Point just south of Georgetown on Great Exuma.
Pic 1 was taken during our visit last year. Pic 2 is how we left her Monday. The plan is to return and continue to T & C late next week if weather allows and if not hang around the Exumas and do some local boating which is what we were forced to do last year with the windy conditions.

It's funny, all my life I have been saying that I must slow down and even tho I am now semi retired it still has not happened. Over dinner the other night I said to Hans, I think I try to pack too much into a day. He could not stop laughing and responded - "do you think" ? I must do something about that ! LOL