Our Grand Adventure

7th April 2026 | Odometer: 1860nm | Bahamas

We were getting to the crunchy end of when we really needed these parts by! Dad would be flying into Nassau on the 9th April, we had been waiting and checking flight availability daily, to keep our options open in the hopes the parts would come on time. Finally, we reached the point that the only option would be that that he would be flying on the same plane as our parts to Inagua on the 10th April – I went to book the flight only to find that, Oh, oh no! The flight had booked out since I last checked… arrrghh! So now Dad would have to sit in Nassau for a week alone waiting for a flight to Inagua… this was so not ideal. We also weren’t keen for Dad to come to Inagua as there is not a lot to do, and we would be immediately setting out on a big passage to get to Long Island – a bit of a rough start for a visiting land lubber.

After a bit of a panic, we rang our mechanic and begged him for a swap. He had a spare Cat 3208 engine on his block, could we take the parts we needed from his engine; and he would get our new parts when they arrived? After explaining all the timing shenanigans with Dad, he agreed to help us out (phew! Thanks Newell). We could then get the engine fixed, and do the passage to Long Island, and pick up Dad from there on the 10th.

So, we had the parts, we had a plan, and we now had to get ready to go! Ryan and I did another round of water, then prepped the boat for the engine work.

Of course, everything always happens on a public holiday or a weekend, and Newell organised hot cross buns for us through the grapevine! So, the next day he showed up with these – delicious!

With hot cross buns and coffee done, it was time to get to work! While Ryan and Newell pulled the engine apart and replaced the various parts, I went back and forth to town a number of times getting everything ready for being out at anchor again! Groceries, alcohol, laundry – so many laps!

After a full day of hot work, we were all totally exhausted, but happy with our progress. We cleaned up, then headed out to get some food at the Easter Saturday Dominoes Competition party that was on a few blocks away. This was really nice as we got a chance to say farewell to most of the folks we had met as well as eat a last round of delicious Inagua fried chicken.

Test Runs

Sunday morning came, and we woke up, took our time with coffee and breakfast and headed out to Man of War Bay. The dock manager showed up and gifted us with some delicious, hot, fresh cinnamon rolls for our journey which was super nice (thanks Niecy!). We were both so nervous, and so excited! Praying that the fix was all good, and everything would go smoothly, we chugged up this coastline for the third (and hopefully last) time!

Everything seemed fine, but when we got to the bay and anchored… we were horrified to find coolant in the bilge again! OH NO! Had the new sleeve cracked? Was something not tightened down!?

After a minor panic, Ryan realised that the coolant overflow line was just a little bit loose after all the work that had been done. After tightening it up, the leak stopped. PHEW.

We were both feeling a little unnerved by this and wanted to be totally, totally sure the engine was ok before we set out to Long Island the next day. The 20 hour journey would take us over a wide stretch of open ocean with little to no help to be had if we ran into any trouble. So, we took Perspective on a bunch of laps around the bay, driving around for three hours or so to really get it up to temperature and under load. I practiced manoeuvring and we did a number of laps.

Finally the sunset was approaching so we reanchored. We felt a lot better that the vessel was ready and sat back to enjoy the sunset.

Man of War Bay Has My Heart

The trip to Long Island would take around 20hours, so we chose to leave around 3pm, do an overnight passage and arrive in bright sunlight to the southern end of the island. Waiting around all morning while just being keen to get going is a bit of a challenge, but it was such a great day to swim and chill in the bay. We had noticed some strange fish splashing further out in the bay the evening before, and when we saw it again, Ryan quickly got the drown out to fly over and check it… to our delight, a massive whale shark was just behind our boat. Such a stunning creature.

I think this is the most beautiful place we went to on our whole trip! I think I’ll dream about this bay for years to come.

A Long Way to Long Island

Around 3pm, it was time to leave. We pulled up the anchor, gave each other a hug, crossed our fingers and toes and headed out.

The water underway was calm and clear, and we passed these incredibly large patches of water where the surface was slick and smooth. We made our way north with the sun setting over the water, it had been so hot for the afternoon we were both relieved when the night arrived. We had some dinner then switched to shifts for the night.

The overnight shifts were uneventful, with periods of rolliness and calm alternating, and just the usual ships to dodge along the way. We both generally listen to podcasts while checking the instrumentation and charts and making sure we are staying on course. As we were passing the mouth of Crooked and Acklin Islands, I was shocked to see an enormous fireball falling from the sky ahead. It was the most dramatic shooting star I have ever seen, with visible flames and a bright white trail streaking down. I almost went and woke Ryan up to tell him about it but of course, just a moment later there was nothing to see. Definitely an awesome sight I won’t forget!

I’m not sure if the sunrise was extra beautiful that morning or if we were both just so happy to be underway again, but I couldn’t stop taking photos of the sky over the ocean. Here is a few I particularly loved.

Gordon’s Settlement, Long Island

We arrived at the very southern tip of Long Island, to a spot called Gordon’s Settlement. The enormous expanse of shallow water and beachfront is the most incredible blue, and even though we had to anchor ages away out near the deeper reef, we both loved this spot. We had arrived early enough in the day we had time to make our way ashore to feast on some delicious fried chicken at a little beach eatery right on the water. The view and sunset here was truly stunning and it made all the effort to get there so worth it.

I had considered calling this post “An Ode To the Bahamas” because I have just loved the beautiful water and beaches here so much. We were looking forward to picking up my dad and knew we had plenty more beautiful spots to come :).