All loaded up... we took off From Marathon Florida to Congo Town Andros Bahamas... bucking HEAD WINDS......
easy trip really... you just steer directly East.... its a big Island about 140 miles long so pretty hard to miss coming in broadsides , I mean you would really have to try and miss it.
Taking off on runway 07 and then turning to a heading of 090....... climb up a bit.. and just sit there looking out the window.. nothing but ocean below and ahead of you for miles and miles as the shoreline fades away behind you... you can experience automatic engine rough I hear, that is all in your head.... now if the engine should take a dump.. well that might not be so pretty.. but we had our blow up K Mart raft and two cheepo life vests.... and some granola bars and water.. what more is needed really? I imagine the huffing and puffing to blow up the raft might be an experience.. here its your turn now I am dizzy, as breath is mingled and captured.
First you cross the deep blue of the Gulf stream then hit the Great Bahama Shelf and fly along for another 100 miles peering at the sandy bottom.. and nothingness... and every thing ... beautiful.. I saw a dark portal in the crust just beneath the azure gin clear water.. and wondered, whats down in there?
Then over the old abandoned dangerous strip on Williams Island.. where the crashed DC 3 still sits.. and the bullet riddled Navajo... and then a gentle descent into Congo Town landing with a chirp on the bitumen ... Lovely place.. swaying palms and sandy beaches truely idyllic ,,,,, we stayed next to the Prime Ministers Bungalow.... the door was open so I walked in and there were boxes of propaganda.. booklets with the titles...' Keep The Rascals Out'
It was on about.. Carlos and his pals... we wound up renting a car and exploring the area... with our guide a 3 year old Bahamian boy... his mother had no hesitation for allowing him to come along for a ride... with me and Donna she in a festive yellow dress, such was the inherent trust, I was sort of blown away by it... he wanted to come... and his mother said it was quite o.k. and so he did...
We found an old Aero commander crashed right on the shoreline... I climbed into the cockpit with a bottle of rum and sat there.. we took some pictures...
When we refueled the plane out of red 5 gallon jerry jugs... it took all of what is referred to as usable fuel.. in all flight attitudes ... so I guess it was not that close unless banking or ?.. there still may have been a few gallons sloshing around in there... the car gas burned just fine on our return flight.... after draining just a little water first........
Of course customs was full of questions..... the old Cutter Service as they are.
Why this? Why that?......... well Because, that's Why... I felt like it.
Moral of the story.. when you top off the wing tanks stop go out to the wing tip and rock the plane gently and burp the tanks and that way you can get a little bit more in....and mind Bucking Headwinds....and fuel up the day before.. so there is enough time for the water to fall to the quick drains...
and a little bit more fuel might just be enough for the rocking to make it, or an inch is as good as a mile.
The Bahamians paint their houses in bright pastel colors.. to ward off bad spirits.
The time we came pretty close to running out of gas almost but not really.
Byron.
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