| It's one of those days...perfect. Sailing over NYC and | | | | to my story. While I was ranting on about sending |
| Philly at 8,500 with 80 mile vis and dead calm air. | | | | out voltage regulators and planes to the rescue, he |
| Heading south down the coast to the Bahamas, I'm | | | | stopped me and simply said, "Pull the cowl, I think it's |
| playing my usual game of how few turns are needed | | | | a loose wire". |
| when flying VFR. Direct PXT direct CHS, I can book | | | | That seemed too simple, but taking his advise, there |
| the first 600 NM with one 5degree course change. | | | | it was, a loose exciter wire. My handful of tools and |
| The "tingling" I used to get as a kid at Christmas | | | | tie wraps got the harness temporarily fixed, and the |
| grows stronger as I head to my soul home, the | | | | trip was saved. |
| Bahamas. This country can strip life back down to | | | | So, what makes Staniel Cay so special? Think Block |
| the basic elements, and pilots and sailors find peace in | | | | Island of the south, for those who have been to |
| this sub-tropical heaven. Simple is a good thing | | | | that charming New England getaway. Unlike much of |
| sometimes, and I'm looking forward to shaking off | | | | the Bahamas, Staniel Cay has hills, and walking around |
| the info culture for a few days. | | | | yields constant panoramas of ocean and village. The |
| If this heaven has a downtown, that's where I'm | | | | snorkeling at "Thunderball Cave" (yes, where they |
| headed tomorrow. The 100NM chain of 360 island | | | | shot the movie) has you surrounded with thousands |
| jewels known as the Exumas feature some of the | | | | of colorful fish. You can dive into the spooky, but |
| most beautiful shades of blue you'll ever see. Capped | | | | awesome grotto, imagining yourself to be James |
| on the North by Norman's Key curving SE to | | | | himself on a top-secret mission. |
| Georgetown, Great Exuma, the island choices can fit | | | | The Staniel Cay (pronounce: Key) Yacht Club is a |
| every escapist mood. | | | | well-oiled, and very mellow out island resort. 5 colorful |
| I'm heading to Staniel Cay on this trip, just on the | | | | huts sit on the water edge and have their own |
| South end of the Bahamas Land and Sea Park. Staniel | | | | docks with Boston Whalers. The yacht club houses a |
| Cay gives me a good runway with access to the | | | | bar and restaurant and serves some of the best |
| park, on a small but appealing island. | | | | meals found anywhere in the area. Just thinking |
| On my final leg, en-route passing Andros, my | | | | about having their rack of lamb dinner, after a hard |
| buoyant mood suddenly sunk...what's that blinking light | | | | day of snorkeling and body surfing, gets me weak at |
| telling me? My -always dark- warning panel was | | | | the knees. It's not unusual to see a yacht tied up |
| blinking a low voltage warning, backed up by my amp | | | | that a family of 12 would find roomy, and this |
| needle and JPI. Time to get serious, as I go through | | | | probably helps keep quality control at such an |
| alternator failure basics, shedding loads and resetting | | | | impressive level. Remember, while your drinking your |
| breakers. Must think about options: returning to the | | | | ice cold Kalik and watching the tropical sun dip over |
| US with the possibly of no transponder or radio, or | | | | the water, everything here is imported. Comparing |
| landing and getting stuck. Nothing I tried in-flight | | | | costs to the states is not really fair, but that being |
| helped resolve the problem. | | | | said, I try to bring my own supplies... |
| Since my destination was in sight, and I knew I could | | | | Mary Lou, the nurse at the local infirmary told me: |
| keep the battery drain under control using only the | | | | "People often come here for minor cuts or bug bites. |
| GPS and one radio, I decided to continue and land at | | | | When I check their blood pressure and tell them a |
| Staniel Cay. I felt troubled, pulling up to the ramp in | | | | lower reading then they have ever heard, they think |
| the hot mid-day sun. The Bahamas are known for | | | | my equipment is broken. The fact they have slowed |
| many things, but aircraft repair is not too high on the | | | | down and relaxed this much comes as a revelation." |
| list. My best guess was the regulator failed because | | | | Yes, Island life moves a comfortably slow pace, but |
| of the nature of the intermittent power failure. A belt | | | | things are changing. While I was there, all the roads |
| failure would have caused a steady discharge. The | | | | on the Cay were in the process of being paved. This |
| cell phone worked, so I had good communication | | | | allows for a smoother golf cart ride, but is a sign of |
| back home. My first call was to Banyan Air Service | | | | bigger changes. My advice is to experience the real |
| out of FXE. On a Saturday afternoon they put me | | | | thing soon, before Club Med, zippy jet skis, and |
| straight through to a mechanic, Terry, who listened | | | | packaged tourism "Floridaizes" the place. |