When we last week sailed across the Great Bahama Bank, Henrik made a big deal about being a sail boat. We therefore had to tack the 75 nautical miles across the bank averaging 2-3 knots. Fuel in the Bahamas is at least twice the price as in Florida.

Since our cruising kitty is running low, it’s of course a good way to save money, even though I suspect Henrik of using it as an excuse for sailing under sail no matter the speed or direction of the wind. One thing is opting out the engine yourself though, another is when your engine is opting out you!

One morning, after having been at anchor a couple of days by some uninhabited islands, we were ready to move on, but when I turned the key, the engine didn’t respond at all. First, we thought the starter battery was dead, but the engine still didn’t start when it got power from the house batteries.

After several hours working on the engine, Henrik concluded that it was the starter that was the problem, and the day was almost over, when he gave up trying to fix it.

The anchorage was of course tucked in behind a reef, which we needed to zigzag out of (in head winds!). On top of that we had been a little too bold coming in, so at low tide we were practically standing at the bottom. I wasn’t very comfortable about leaving the anchorage under sail alone, since it had been been hairy enough getting in under engine, but Henrik was all calm about it. In his youth, he’s sailed in Danish waters in an Elvstrom/Kjaerulf 717 without an engine, so he kept saying it wouldn’t be a problem at all.

The next morning, when we had the current with us, we left the anchorage. The plan was that I was going to steer and Henrik would handle the sails and direct me. I was so tense about the whole situation that we ended up having a minor fight about it, and in the end Henrik had to promise me not to sail on the margins, and I had to promise him to do what he said!

First we pulled up the anchor and moved away from the shallow waters we were in, and then we continued towards the small passage between the rocks and the reef. We had to tack five times in order to get through, but everything went well, and afterwards I was rather exhilarated by what we had done.

That feeling came to an end, when I realized that we also had to anchor under sail, but that too went without any problems, even though Henrik had a pretty sceptic helmsman. (I was told that my attitude wouldn’t hold on a racing-team). Now we just need to find out how to get a new starter, but at least we don’t have to worry about spending too much money on fuel!

Signe Storr: Freelance journalist and friend of Boatshed