We are anchored back in St. George’s. As soon as we passed the last channel marker, Otto gave up. We took it apart, thought about continuing on without it, and finally made the decision to turn around and get it fixed. Two people hand steering for 7 days would be dangerous.
We checked back in with customs and made an appointment for Monday morning with the Raymarine dealer. Looks like we will be here for Christmas after all.
We are bummed – it was great out there and it FELT great to be out there. But we are proud of our decision to turn around. We’ll keep our chins up and get our autopilot up and running so that we can take advantage of our next weather window…which is hopefully just around the corner.
So, my two new friends, how we’re the holidays? Thinking of when the weather is good and wondering if you are on the high seas heading south. May the new year bring steady winds that aren’t too strong but head you in the right direction. Have a Happy New Year.
It was an absolutely Bermudaful Christmas 🙂
We are watching and watching (and watching) the weather, but this week the winds just won’t ease up. The plan is to move back to Paradise Lakes and hide out while few strong fronts blow through.
We are starting to feeling like locals here…
You made the right decision to turn back. We left that same day and it was a rough 7 day trip with the wind mostly on the nose. Steering by hand would not have been safe. Hope to see you when you finally make it.
Tony & Teresa
S/V Southern Cross
Glad to hear you guys made it down! Our auto helm is fixed and ready to head south – hopefully we will make it down later in the week!