The land of Great Inagua

We had a passage full of adventure on our way to Inagua. 150miles and 43 hours. In open ocean about 20 miles from landfall, we saw a helicopter approach and start circling us. All of a sudden we heard us being hailed on the radio as the United States police. They wanted to know who we were were we were coming from and where we would headed. We gave them the info and then they flew off! Later we found out that the US government has a deal with Bahamas that they patrol these waters to intercept drugs coming from Haiti and Jamaica that inevitably make it into the US!  

As if if that wasn’t enough excitement, we had minimal wind so we were running the engine about halfway through the trip when we heard and loud vibration coming from below so we quickly turned off the engine in effort to not cause any further damage. We knew for the rest of the passage we would have to just rely on the power of the wind. With some luck, we were able to sail all through the night however our next challenge would be coming into the anchorage on sail which is  usually only is attempted by extremely experienced sailors. When anchoring on engine power, you put the boat in reverse to hook the anchor. We had no other choice but to use the sails. We reviewed some sailing books from our libaray and discussed our game plan which basically was taking down the head sail and letting the main out, turning the boat downwind, putting out 20-30ft of chain with the anchor. Once the boat catches, it swings back into the wind where you can let out the rest of the chain. Our first attempt was a success! Now we feel we would be comfortable doing this again if needed. Once arriving, we dove the bottom of the boat with our snorkel gear to find a large rope tangled in the prop! We could never be so relieved to see this as we were worried it was something More serious like a worn cutless bearing which most likely would result in the boat having to be hauled out. We cut the rope lose and the engine was back to running condition. Another win for the McPhees :) 

Great Inagua island is Home to the pink flamingos and the worlds largest salt manufacturing plant. From a tourist standpoint, this is about as out island as it gets! Minimal stores most of which are all closed on the weekends. 

We went to a hole in the wall bar and met some very interesting locals who told us all about the town and it’s history! On our way back to the boat, we stopped to shoot a few hoops with some neighborhood kids. We started a game and soon enough many other kids came to join in! We played girls against boys and the girls pulled through for the win! Fun times! 

Now it’s time to say goodbye to the Bahamas as we prepare to head to The Dominican Republican. We enjoyed our stay here exploring and made many memories that will last a lifetime!