A New Direction

Three weeks before our departure from Florida my dad called me and asked me to download a file from a website that had information about a port on the island of lle a Vache which is located 8 miles offshore of Aux Cayes, Haiti. Being very busy with getting ready for the trip and producing a benefit concert for our ministry in Southwest Florida I didn't take the time to look into the website until late one night when I couldn't sleep and felt compelled to download the 40 pages on lle a Vache. I tucked away the document with my charts and didn't think about it again until I realized that Aux Cayes was no longer an option and we were being led in a new direction. My dad had passed away two weeks earlier but his insight was somehow leading us to where the food really needed to go. We set sail for lle a Vache, Haiti on the morning of December 12, 2010.

Loading Cargo

With no rest for the weary the boxed food started arriving at 0800, courtesy of Morton Salt Bahamas who used their forklift to transport the food from the customs warehouse to the basin. With the help of a local youth who we shanghaied for the load in, we were able to stow over 300 boxes of food aid in just under 4 hours. With a final stop at the grocery store and a fond farewell to Brother Carl we were ready to leave for Haiti. A quick call to the missionary in Aux Cayes revealed a situation that had only gotten worse and I wasn't going to risk crew or vessel in the turmoil that had taken over that part of Haiti. I decided to wait for 24 hours to see if the problems in Aux Cayes would get any better and set sail for Molasses Reef on the south side of Great Inagua. We anchored in 40 feet of crystal clear water behind the reef, happy to be out of the surge basin!

Great Inagua

We arrived in Man-O-War Bay before sunup and tacked back and forth until we had enough light to find the mooring buoy that we had used back in July. A large bulk cargo ship was at the salt dock taking on 43,000 tons of salt. Capt. Fawkes, the marine superintendent for Morton Salt Bahamas picked me up at the dinghy landing and gave me a ride to customs where Mr Albury the senior customs agent informed me of a 300 dollar transhipment bond that was required for the release of the 7 tons of Kids Against Hunger Food that was waiting in the customs warehouse. Not having that kind of money I was led to find Brother Carl Farquharson, the pastor of Inagua Gospel Chapel, who had expressed an interest in our mission to Brother Moss of Cat Island months earlier. When I told Brother Carl what my need was he immediately took me down to the bank where he withdrew the needed funds. Brother Carl explained that he also had an ongoing mission to Haiti at Port de Paix on the north coast and was happy to help any missionary working with Haitians. In the afternoon we moved the schooner to the small municipal basin that is close to town and the only place we could load the food. All the nautical information that you can read about Great Inagua warns of using the basin in all but settled weather because it becomes a ship wrecker with any surge. When we were in Great Inagua in July there were 4 sunken vessels cluttering the small basin. All was well when we entered the tiny cut leading into the basin in the afternoon but at 0400 a surge from the North started and we started popping dock lines and fenders. Deploying breast lines to a bollard that was 150 ft away took up a lot of the strain and we were relieved when the surge abated around 0730.

Sail to Great Inagua

We left Provo at 0730, 12/8/10. It was a beautiful morning and the only thing missing was the wind! We cleared the reef at West Caicos around 1030 as the wind finally filled in and we were on our way at 6 knots. Our course to Great Inagua put us between Little and Great Inagua at around sunset and I really wanted some light for the passage as both islands are reef fringed and for safety sake it's not prudent to rely on electronics to miss islands in the dark! We arrived at the point between the two islands in time to verify our position and then enjoyed a night sail in a rising wind the rest of the way to Man-O-War Bay. I called the missionary in Haiti who was to receive the food shipment and he told me that the situation in Aux Cayes was not good, roads were blocked with burning tires and gunshots heard in the streets because of the failed presidential elections in Haiti. I had my own problems to think about, getting the food released from Bahamian Customs!

Merry Christmas! Schooner and crew arrived safely back to homeport at 06:30 Christmas eve day after an eight day sail from lle a vache, Haiti. We were used in a wonderful and mighty way in Haiti and have an amazing story to tell. I will post our experiences over the next few days but at this time I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and concerns while we were underway!
May the joy of Jesus be yours and your families at this special time of year!

Waiting for weather

Our trip from Cat Island to Great Inagua has been modified to include a fuel and water stop in Provenciales, Caicos Islands. We had great Northeast winds all the way from Cat Island and arrived at the reef cut, West Caicos, exactly two days out of Cat. Along the way Jay caught a dorado which we promptly ate! Yesterday we met Byron and Polly who have the www.2gringos.blogspot.com blog here in Provo and shared a pot luck dinner with the gringos along with Bob and Simon from the South Side Marina. With another day to wait for better wind we toured the island, stopping at a local fishing tournament and the conch farm. Zach checked out a local shell vendor after we had lunch at the Conch Shack, on Blue Hills Beach. We hope to leave for Inagua on Wednesday morning.

Sunday November 28,2010

A beautiful church service at the children's home on Sunday with Brother Moss at the helm. He spoke of God's faithfulness and love and how lives are being changed in His timing. The children have been very caring, with many kind words spoken to me about my dad's passing. After the service Sister Moss and I worked on this year's Christmas card that the home will be sending out. Please consider being a sponsor or better yet an adopter to these children! The phone number for Brother Moss is 242-342-2042