CHAPTER VII 

 CRUISE OF 1939 



BucKARoo was ready for another cruise in the Bahamas in A4arch. On her 

 way to Miami, she was put in dry-dock at Fort Pierce for general over- 

 hauHng. Tests for soundness of her hull revealed indications of dry-rot in 

 the stem. A new stem had to be put in her and when the forward planking 

 was taken ojff , the stem post was found to be a mere shell covering a core 

 of rotten wood. Captain Billsborough brought a section to me. I shook 

 hands with him after thinking of the condition Buckaroo was in when we 

 were hitting those heavy seas described in the last chapter, off Hatteras, 

 smugly proud of our seaworthy little boat. Previously, I had laughed at 

 the care that is sometimes taken in purchasing a used boat to ascertain any 

 indications of dry rot. This is done by drilling small holes in many places 

 over the entire hull and examining the borings. Had Buckaroo^ s planking 

 started from the stem in that storm, her six tons of ballast would have taken 

 her down in a few minutes, and our boats, had we been able to launch them, 

 would not have lived in the sea we were in. I often think of how many ter- 

 rible things don't happen. 



Our party cleared from Miami at 5:00 p. m. on March 30. Three en- 

 thusiastic friends accompanied me— Mr. and Mrs. Howard Callaway 

 (Howard and Fan) of Seaford, Delaware, and Arthur Shettle. Members 

 of the crew were the same as on the cruise of 1938. We passed Gun Key 

 at midnight bearing towards Northwest Passage and sighted the light at 

 8: 1 5 A. M., March 3 1 . It was necessary to proceed slowly because of shoals. 

 We reached Nassau at 4: 00 p. m. where we made the best of our time 



