You don't get to choose your problems
"The Atlantis Marina looks pretty upscale. I'm wondering if this is a re-supply or whether you've had a system failure you can't fix. Hope it's a re-supply."
Miles is a close friend from college who, like me, studied geology, and geography. He is an experienced boatman, with years of experience running whitewater river rafting trips on the Green & Colorado Rivers. And although he eschews mobile phones, he is pretty dialed in - in particular he follows Navigator on the Marine Traffic app. He detected our U turn and bee line from Cambridge Cay to Nassau and sent that message within hours of us arriving in Nassau, at the Atlantis marina.
The day before we had departed Cambridge Cay with the intention of heading further south extending our stay in the Exuma's for another few weeks. But we did have one critical logistical issue to deal with first: we needed to deal with a full waste water tank. In the States, there are strict requirements for dealing with waste. Boaters are required to contain all liquid and solid waste and transfer it to a treatment facility on shore. The only exception is if you are 3 or more miles off-shore. As a result of these regulations there exists in the US infrastructure for 'pumping out'. Most marinas operate pump out stations and in some cases municipalities provide access. Pumping out is just part of the process.
In the Bahamas, on the contrary, an island nation surrounded by wide stretches of deep ocean, the practice is different. With a total land area of just over 5,000 sq miles - spread across 115,000 sq miles of ocean their practice is to move a few miles offshore and pump the waste overboard. While the Bahamian approach may not seem the most environmentally friendly practice, it is practical for them. In fact, visiting boaters are compelled to follow this practice since there are only a handful of pump out stations in the entire nation.
So the morning of March 26th we left Cambridge Cay and headed offshore to pump out. At a dead stop, bobbing on the waves 3 miles off shore is when we discovered that the pumping system was not operating. And the tank was 4/5ths full. Suddenly we had some decisions to make. We knew of no nearby pump out stations. The only place we knew would have pump out service was in Nassau, some 70 miles away. There really was only one choice: head to Nassau - before we ran out of room in the tank. We immediately reversed directions and started heading north.
Emotions ran high. Frustration: why now? Confusion: what could be wrong? Urgency: we probably only had a day or two at most before the tank would be full. Concern: if we are unable to resolve the issue, we might have to abort our trip. However, Nassau was the location of the nearest pump out, and as the largest city in the Bahamas, it represented the most likely place where we would find the resources we might need.
Note: Nassau is a city located on the island of New Providence and is the nation's capital. While only about 80 sq miles in area, and not even in the top 10 islands by area, almost 300,000 Bahamians - or 75% of the nations population - reside there.
Unable to reach Nassau in one day, we spent the night at anchor off Norman Cay. As we settled in, it was my first opportunity to assess what was (or was not) happening. I climbed down into the engine room. First, I drew a sketch of the waste system, something I only had a high level view of before. Now I needed details.
Sketching out the system
Next, then I went through the operating sequence again. Move the Y valve, open the thru hull, turn on the macerator pump. Pretty simple. Still no success. I even jumped in the water with my mask and fins to see if I could see the effluent exiting the boat, but there was nothing.
While we have owned Navigator for a year and a half, we had never before been in a situation where the system was required. We had tried it a couple of times the first year but those were just tests. We heard the pump run, but we had no way to actually confirm anything was happening. Blissfully ignorant we assumed all was well.
That night I spent several hours on the phone with Marco, the previous owner, and got more familiar with his experiences. He rather dryly pointed out: "if it is working, two of your senses will let you know!" One positive was that he reminded me that he had left a spare macerator pump on board.
On Friday, we upped anchor an headed the 45 miles to Nassau. While in cell phone range, I contacted various other members of my brain trust. My friend Bill from Maine (with snow shovel in his hand) suggested taking the time during the 5 hour crossing to swap out the pump with the spare. Maybe, just maybe that would be a quick fix. So while Liz drove the boat (she has become an excellent watch keeper) I practiced boat yoga in the engine room. I managed to perform open heart surgery while underway and a few hours later were ready to test it out. So 22 miles from shore, we stopped the boat, turned on the macerator, and I jumped in the water again.
Again, no joy. Ah well, Nassau, was now just a couple hours away.
We were originally headed to the Hurricane Hole Marina but at the last minute they informed us they would not be able to accommodate us that night, but would Saturday through Tuesday. They did help us by finding space for us in a neighboring, more expensive, marina. The Atlantis. In fact, as some of you know, and as Miles alluded to, the most posh marina in Nassau, on Paradise Island.
We checked in midafternoon. They were nice (for over $400/night you would hope) but we were interested in one thing: get to the marine supply store before closing. I wasn't so much thinking of buying anything, but I wanted to know what kind of resource they might have: did they have 1 1/2 in. flexible tubing? Pump parts? Electrical connectors? After a $20 one way cab fare (1.3 km, cash only) we had a pretty good idea what we could count on. We walked back.
The next morning up early again practicing boat yoga. Surrounded by very expensive yachts and within view of hotel several balconies discretely tried see if our plumbing lines were clear, or plugged. I pulled the discharge line off the pump and disconnected it from the thru hull fitting. Using the deck wash hose I confirmed that line was clear. I was also able to confirm there was no blockage in the thru hull valve.
But before I could make any more progress, we needed to vacate the Atlantis and move to the Hurricane Hole marina. They were nice, and helpful! After giving them a bit of an overview or our problem, their dock hands Theo and Stan suggested that Captain John, a charter captain who runs a neighboring boat might be able to help.
Now John was game, but unfortunately his assistance did not move the needle. So after a couple of failed tests, his biggest suggestion was that we needed a plumber's snake. So off Liz and I went on another, cash only, taxi ride. Lee took us first to the recommended department store: AID. Kind of a cross between Walmart and the Dollar Store. Lee, our driver took us "Over the Hill", the section of the city that is considered a lower-income residential area - where travelers are generally advised to exercise caution. They had toilet cleaning supplies, but no snake. Strike one. They did recommend the Plumbing Supply store a few blocks away.
That was a hoot. Like the first line of a bad joke: Two American boaters, one female, walk into a plumbing supply store... Let me set the scene: there was no retail area, just a counter with busy clerks dealing one on one with customers. If the computer said they had it in stock, the clerk would disappear into the stock room to retrieve it. Oh, and just like at the deli counter. Take a number. Now picture about 15 or 20 plumbers all standing around in a tiny wait room waiting for their number to be called. And Bahamian plumbers, to be sure. Then out of the blue, this Canadian Ex Pat, the one other white guy in the store, spotted us and in a very loud voice declared "well, look, my cousins are here…."
We were a bit shocked and not sure how to respond. We certainly didn't want to call any attention to ourselves and his comment seemed, well a bit off color. But no one else seem to take any notice. He waded over to us and joked about the 51st state and began to tell us his life story. A nice guy, who has lived in Nassau for 30 year. Canadian, hey.
Anyway, they didn't have any snakes. A plumbing supply store with no snakes…go figure. So they sent us to the building supply store a few blocks away. Our taxi driver ($30 over and $30 back, but who was willing to hang out and wait for us) finally asked us what we were looking for. At Tops building supply, he marched in with us and got right to the point with the sales people. In minutes, they located some snakes, but at one of their other stores! Off we went again, getting the grand tour of Over the Hill.
Snake in hand and safely back at the marina, Captain John joined us and helped me snake the suspected line. The good news was the snake came through clean. The bad news: we still hadn't found the problem and the $40 snake broke.
At this point we were facing the potential for not solving the problem while here in Nassau. In conversations with Theo, the dock hand, and Bill, from the Maine, we identified what other marinas in the Bahamas have pump out stations. And we looked carefully at our past cruising logs for how many days we have gone between pump outs (12 -15 days). Still hoping to resolve the problem, we did conclude that continuing our planned voyage was feasible, with careful planning. We decided to get the guys at Hurricane Hole marina to pump out the tank.
I had one last chat with Captain John, having all but given up. Where, I asked him, would we go for the next level of help? "Well, there is Saunders, the mechanic here in the marina. He might be able to help."
Saunders showed up in his overalls (clearly a mechanic), but when he turned around, I realized from the logo printed on his back that he was no slouch. "Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines". Saunders listened to what we had done, asked a few questions, jumped into engine room and performed a couple of tests and declared, the pump is no good. Go buy a new one. Wonderful working with someone with the right knowledge and experience!
So next morning, back at the marine supply store, we bought a brand new pump for $350 - about $100 more than in the States. Fingers crossed that it would work, and not wanting to contemplate their return policy, we walked back to Navigator.
It took me about an hour to swap out the old pump for the new pump. The whole time I was thinking 'don't get ahead of yourself'. Hopefully this new pump would do the trick, but I had hoped that on any number of times the past 5 days - only to be disappointed. Fingers crossed.
The test was simple. We had performed it 10 times already. Take the discharge hose and stick it in a 5 gallon bucket and turn the pump on. Either it works or it doesn't, you know right away.
Finally, success! I wasn't sure whether to shout, or to cry....
Will definitely refrain from any number of bad puns one could attach to your story. Glad that Saunders could diagnose and help you exorcise Murphy’s Law at that critical point of your adventure. May All forms of water be as wished in the days/weeks ahead. Continued safe journey and compatible weather! Literal ice here in upstate NY, warming up tomorrow. Heavy snow and ice led to some water damage in dining room last month. relatively minor, hunting for contractors still but room fully functional… definitely first world issues and way better than being bombed.
ReplyDeleteStay well!
Stay warm Burl, spring is on the way!
DeleteAll's well that ends well (or perhaps a little dirty)
ReplyDeleteThere are other possible adjectives besides 'dirty'....
DeleteWhat a shit show🤣🤣🤣. Seriously, I give you both props for working through the issues that arise. I’m sure it’s stressful and nerve-wracking but you get it figured out in the end. Thinking
ReplyDeletee-bikes should be part of your cargo.
Great idea about the bikes.
Delete