Dave had set our chart plotter to show the distance remaining to our destination and estimate of time depending on how fast you are traveling. So most of the night, it said we would be to Brunswick, GA around 10:00 am.
When Dave woke up around 7:00, we decided we needed to change our angle so we wouldn’t sail right on past Brunswick. That changed the wind to a broad reach and slowed us to 5 mph. And the winds were decreasing to 7-10 mph. That also changed our estimated time of arrival :(
About 11:00 am, we decided to start the engine again because there was no wind. So Dave went back to the routine of stopping the engine and removing the mixed oil and adding clean oil. The totals I mentioned yesterday include the oil he added and removed today.
At 1:50 pm we heard a “May Day” call on the VHF radio. The boat announced that they were engulfed in flames. The Coast Guard responded and the boat gave them their GPS coordinates and that there were 3 people on board in life jackets. The next message said they were going in the water. And then you didn’t hear from them again.
They were about 100 miles off shore right out from Brunswick, GA near us. There were 2 fishing boats in the area that headed to them right away. And we listened to the USCG and the boats communicate. A little after 2:00 the fishing boat said they saw the life boat or dinghy and it was empty. And by 2:20 they picked up the 3 people. The USCG asked the captain of the boat to talk to them on the radio. They got the names of all the people on board. It was a 95 ft Northcoast boat. Someone later said it was a fishing boat. They were from Jupiter, FL and on their way to New York. The USCG asked the fishing boat to head towards Charleston, SC and a helicopter would pick up the rescued people. The fisherman then told them that he was going back to where he was originally and they could come to him. He gave them the latitude he was traveling on to meet them. By 3:20 the helicopter met the boat and we listened to them giving instructions of lowering the coast guard person to the boat and he would explain the rescue process. It was interesting, but also scary to listen to.
By now we were heading into the channel to St Simons Sound Inlet which would take us to Brunswick. We called the marina on our phone because we didn’t want to tie up the VHF radio. We wanted to be sure they had a slip for us. And we weren’t sure we would be there by 5:00.
We saw our first pelicans back in the US. Dave noted that we didn’t see any pelicans in the Bahamas. Then he said “did they eat them all? Maybe it’s a secret delicacy in the Bahamas.”
We made it to Brunswick Landing Marina by 5:00 and pulled into a slip on their transient dock, #1. That’s where we were last winter because we didn’t plan to be there long. On Wednesday, they would have an opening on dock #9 which is right by the Yacht Club house. So it will be right by the showers and laundry, too.
We decided to walk downtown to have pizza. I don’t remember having pizza over the last 3 months. And it felt good to go for a walk after 3.5 days on a boat. We were pleasantly surprised on how rested we felt. After a 24 hour sail, all we want to do is sleep right away.
The Customs and Border Protection office closed at 5:00. And we have 24 hours to check back into the US. So I left them a message with our information and we’ll call them in the morning.
We really liked coming right into Georgia and not traveling up the coast of Florida. I think we would do this again and recommend it to others. Our previous longest passage was 40 hours and about 180 miles across the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico. This was close to 80 hours and about 370 miles. We gave each other a good “pat on the back.”
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
June 15, 2015 adrift at sea and pilot whales
Dave woke up at 6:00. After we had breakfast, he made the decision to run our engine since there was even less wind predicted for today. At 6:30 am, he started the engine and ran it at 1000 rpm (we usually use close to 2000rpm).
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| taking down the spinnaker |
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| we have never seen the ocean this flat |
Somewhere around 10:00 or 11:00, we hit the Gulf Stream as we were going north west. So we turned north and noticed more speed. We went from 5 mph to 7 mph. At 1:30 pm, when we shut off the engine to check the oil, we were still moving 3 mph in the current. By 6:30 pm, the wind was picking up and we were able to go back to only sails. We had 7 knot winds and were moving 7 mph with the gulf stream. So we were happy with that.
About 7:00 pm, we spotted pilot whales. They are a large species of dolphins. They were playing in the water like dolphins, but we could tell they were larger. Pretty soon they came up to our boat. Since we had the engine off, we could hear them spouting near our bow. So we both went up there and were able to get a couple good pictures of them. Their noses are more square and they are about 20 feet long. We felt fortunate to get to experience that.
We had meatloaf and a couscous and vegetable salad for dinner. Then I went to bed early again. That schedule has been working out. This time I slept until 2:00 am Tuesday. Dave would set his phone alarm for 15 minutes and lay down in the cockpit. But he was glad to go to bed and slept until 7:00 am. We had 15 knot winds and were traveling between 7 and 9 mph all night with clear skies and beautiful stars.
June 14, 2014 Bahamas to Georgia
Happy Anniversary to Don and Linda, my brother and sister-in-law!
I slept until about 9:00 am. Then I made breakfast for us. I had made omelets in a muffin tin, too, so they only had to be heated.
The VHF radio seemed to have a lot of “Pan-Pan” traffic today. That is when the USCG warns you of someone in danger and if you are in the area they could use your help. There were two capsized boats each with 5 people, someone out of gas, and someone in the water. And they keep repeating the message about every 20 minutes until all are safe.
The winds had been “light and variable” all night and were even worse today. Now I know why they say variable. We wanted the wind to hit the boat at 120 degrees. But it would swing from 60-180 degrees and barely move the boat in one direction. Plus the spinnaker sail would lose wind, start to make rustling noise, and then fill with wind with a snap. So that kept you awake.
We turned the boat more to the west at times, instead of north west. We were hoping to hit the Gulf Stream to help move us faster. During the day, Dave was mostly at the helm with occasional naps. He is that way if we are in a car, too. I can usually find things to do, like meals or dishes. But we both read or play games on our phones. Especially since we didn’t have rough seas.
About 5:00, Dave had to hail a cargo ship that was about 3 miles away, because it looked like we may cross paths. And since we weren’t using our engine, we wanted him to be aware of us. Our AIS gives us their boat name, so that is nice when you have to call them. But Dave wasn’t sure if he pronounced it right- Ikan Jabuh. They changed their course to avoid us, which was very nice. We thought about how these pilots have to know the languages of the countries they have to travel to. But someone told us later that all boat traffic uses English as a standard language.
After this ship passed, we started heading north again to get the best wind. Hearing another Pan Pan about a capsized boat, Dave thought we better start watching for boat debris in the water.
I took an early nap again while Dave took the helm early evening. This time I slept until 12:30 am.
I slept until about 9:00 am. Then I made breakfast for us. I had made omelets in a muffin tin, too, so they only had to be heated.
The VHF radio seemed to have a lot of “Pan-Pan” traffic today. That is when the USCG warns you of someone in danger and if you are in the area they could use your help. There were two capsized boats each with 5 people, someone out of gas, and someone in the water. And they keep repeating the message about every 20 minutes until all are safe.
The winds had been “light and variable” all night and were even worse today. Now I know why they say variable. We wanted the wind to hit the boat at 120 degrees. But it would swing from 60-180 degrees and barely move the boat in one direction. Plus the spinnaker sail would lose wind, start to make rustling noise, and then fill with wind with a snap. So that kept you awake.
We turned the boat more to the west at times, instead of north west. We were hoping to hit the Gulf Stream to help move us faster. During the day, Dave was mostly at the helm with occasional naps. He is that way if we are in a car, too. I can usually find things to do, like meals or dishes. But we both read or play games on our phones. Especially since we didn’t have rough seas.
About 5:00, Dave had to hail a cargo ship that was about 3 miles away, because it looked like we may cross paths. And since we weren’t using our engine, we wanted him to be aware of us. Our AIS gives us their boat name, so that is nice when you have to call them. But Dave wasn’t sure if he pronounced it right- Ikan Jabuh. They changed their course to avoid us, which was very nice. We thought about how these pilots have to know the languages of the countries they have to travel to. But someone told us later that all boat traffic uses English as a standard language.
After this ship passed, we started heading north again to get the best wind. Hearing another Pan Pan about a capsized boat, Dave thought we better start watching for boat debris in the water.
I took an early nap again while Dave took the helm early evening. This time I slept until 12:30 am.
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| Obviously, our boat in not to the right proportion, but the cargo ship is in our danger zone and another will pass in front of us. The cargo ship turned to starboard and crossed in front of us instead of coming towards us. |
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| Here's how close he actually was |
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| This is how it looked on our chart plotter |
June 13, 2015 Leaving the Bahamas via the Abacos
Well, we made it back just fine. I’ve been too busy to sit down at the computer. So finally, here is our return adventure.
We wanted to feel rested when we left, so we didn’t set any alarms. We left our anchorage about 10:30am. We only ran the engine about 10 minutes, long enough to finish raising the anchor and to motor into the channel for Loggerhead Cut. This cut leaves the Sea of Abaco and goes outside of the islands and reefs into the Atlantic Ocean. We could have spent another day working our way north through islands, but we probably would have had to motor more. And since we wanted to use our engine as little as possible, we just headed north west from there. We estimated it would take us 2-3 days depending on the winds.
Once we entered the channel, we were at a great angle to the wind to be able to shut off the engine and sail. We had a couple dolphins give us a send off in the channel. By about 11:30, we were outside of the islands moving about 5mph with our jib sail. We had 2-3 ft swells hitting us on our side, so we were rolling side to side for a while.
By about 3:00, we could hear our first United States Coast Guard announcements on the VHF radio. There was some comfort in knowing we were within radio range of the USCG, but they have to make some routine announcements that can get kind of annoying after awhile.
I was down below making a pasta salad for us to eat over then next couple days. And I thought I could hear Dave out on the bow. Sure enough, he was putting up the spinnaker sail. He wanted to see if he could do it by himself. Well, with no life jacket on, it would have been nice to know what he was doing. At least I would have checked occasionally to see if he was still on board. MEN!
About 4:00, I took the helm to let Dave take a nap. After updating charts, our chart plotter is reading our speed in miles per hour and our other instruments that clock the wind show it in Knots. So if you read both speeds in one sentence, that it why. We had an 8-10 knot east wind on a starboard broad reach going 7 mph. That’s what a spinnaker is made for.
We had dinner and enjoyed the evening and sunset together. I had made meatloaf in muffin tins yesterday so it would be easier to serve while under way. We have done 3 hour watches in the past and are really tired after 24 hours because you never get a good rest. So we thought we would try 4 hour watches this time. I took a nap about 8:30. At 9:30, Dave wanted to run the generator for an hour and said I could start my 4 hour watch after that. Since we aren’t running the engine, we needed to run the generator to charge batteries to make it through the night. We are using our chart plotter, the auto pilot, navigation lights, the VHF radio, besides running our refrigerator/freezer, fans and lights and charge phones.
Next thing I know, it’s 11:30 pm. I should have started my watch at 10:00 pm. So I was well rested and started my 4 hour watch. Dave was fine, so he let me sleep. He said he saw a boat on the radar, but then it disappeared. So he thought it might have been a submarine.
It was a beautiful evening with clear skies and lots of stars. I remember around 4:00 yawning and looking at the clock. When I yawned again, 1 minute had gone by. The next yawn was only 2 minutes. So I thought I was done for. But then I got my second wind. I had no trouble staying awake. There was boat traffic to watch, always making sure we weren’t going to cross the path of a big cargo ship. And I pray the rosary when I am by myself at night.
Dave woke up about 5:30 am and I went to bed. Like ships passing in the night.
We wanted to feel rested when we left, so we didn’t set any alarms. We left our anchorage about 10:30am. We only ran the engine about 10 minutes, long enough to finish raising the anchor and to motor into the channel for Loggerhead Cut. This cut leaves the Sea of Abaco and goes outside of the islands and reefs into the Atlantic Ocean. We could have spent another day working our way north through islands, but we probably would have had to motor more. And since we wanted to use our engine as little as possible, we just headed north west from there. We estimated it would take us 2-3 days depending on the winds.
Once we entered the channel, we were at a great angle to the wind to be able to shut off the engine and sail. We had a couple dolphins give us a send off in the channel. By about 11:30, we were outside of the islands moving about 5mph with our jib sail. We had 2-3 ft swells hitting us on our side, so we were rolling side to side for a while.
By about 3:00, we could hear our first United States Coast Guard announcements on the VHF radio. There was some comfort in knowing we were within radio range of the USCG, but they have to make some routine announcements that can get kind of annoying after awhile.
I was down below making a pasta salad for us to eat over then next couple days. And I thought I could hear Dave out on the bow. Sure enough, he was putting up the spinnaker sail. He wanted to see if he could do it by himself. Well, with no life jacket on, it would have been nice to know what he was doing. At least I would have checked occasionally to see if he was still on board. MEN!
About 4:00, I took the helm to let Dave take a nap. After updating charts, our chart plotter is reading our speed in miles per hour and our other instruments that clock the wind show it in Knots. So if you read both speeds in one sentence, that it why. We had an 8-10 knot east wind on a starboard broad reach going 7 mph. That’s what a spinnaker is made for.
We had dinner and enjoyed the evening and sunset together. I had made meatloaf in muffin tins yesterday so it would be easier to serve while under way. We have done 3 hour watches in the past and are really tired after 24 hours because you never get a good rest. So we thought we would try 4 hour watches this time. I took a nap about 8:30. At 9:30, Dave wanted to run the generator for an hour and said I could start my 4 hour watch after that. Since we aren’t running the engine, we needed to run the generator to charge batteries to make it through the night. We are using our chart plotter, the auto pilot, navigation lights, the VHF radio, besides running our refrigerator/freezer, fans and lights and charge phones.
Next thing I know, it’s 11:30 pm. I should have started my watch at 10:00 pm. So I was well rested and started my 4 hour watch. Dave was fine, so he let me sleep. He said he saw a boat on the radar, but then it disappeared. So he thought it might have been a submarine.
It was a beautiful evening with clear skies and lots of stars. I remember around 4:00 yawning and looking at the clock. When I yawned again, 1 minute had gone by. The next yawn was only 2 minutes. So I thought I was done for. But then I got my second wind. I had no trouble staying awake. There was boat traffic to watch, always making sure we weren’t going to cross the path of a big cargo ship. And I pray the rosary when I am by myself at night.
Dave woke up about 5:30 am and I went to bed. Like ships passing in the night.
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| This is our chart plotter showing us at the Abacos and our autopilot set on Georgia. Sorry it's blurry, the boat was moving. |
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| This shows the chart plotter zoomed in on the northern Bahamas |
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| our prettyspinnaker |
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| this is the view on my garmin app on my phone |
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| fine dining on this cruise |
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| beautiful sunset, as always |
Friday, June 12, 2015
June 12 2015 Great Guana Cay
We started this discussion last night, but came to the decision this morning to head back to the states.
First Dave called Marsh Harbor Boat Yard to talk to the mechanic. Dave believes we are “making oil” again by having diesel leak into the oil. This is what caused the "run away". And until the fuel injector pump is fixed, it will continue. So he suggested Dave rig a by pass for the extra “blow by” like he had done before we made it to the boat yard. This will also allow him to pump out the excess diesel/oil mix and add oil if needed. Plus we will try to run the engine only if needed.
The weather forecast calls for good weather to cross back to the states between now and Wednesday. We hope to leave the Bahamas and take 2-3 days to go straight back to Georgia. If we head directly to the Florida coast, we might have to motor up the ICW to get to Georgia. Since we don't want to run the motor, we'll sail right to Georgia. That's the plan anyway. And we have to be north of Florida by July 15 for insurance reasons.
So we moved back near Hopetown. I went into town for a few provisions while Dave started getting the boat ready to leave. Then we sailed to Baker’s Bay on Great Guana Cay. We had dinner and ran the water maker. Just when our tanks were close to being full, the breaker switch flipped off. Dave didn’t want to dig into this tonight. And we won’t need it again until we are back. He said he “stuck it with a sharp stick until it started working again.” Which means he pulsed the pump on and off until it started working right. It behaved long enough to finish the fresh water flush and the pickling. There is a new pump in our future.
I remember thinking when we started cruising that we had bought everything we’d needed and could just go sailing. Our friend, Richard, laughed when I said that. Now I know why.
First Dave called Marsh Harbor Boat Yard to talk to the mechanic. Dave believes we are “making oil” again by having diesel leak into the oil. This is what caused the "run away". And until the fuel injector pump is fixed, it will continue. So he suggested Dave rig a by pass for the extra “blow by” like he had done before we made it to the boat yard. This will also allow him to pump out the excess diesel/oil mix and add oil if needed. Plus we will try to run the engine only if needed.
The weather forecast calls for good weather to cross back to the states between now and Wednesday. We hope to leave the Bahamas and take 2-3 days to go straight back to Georgia. If we head directly to the Florida coast, we might have to motor up the ICW to get to Georgia. Since we don't want to run the motor, we'll sail right to Georgia. That's the plan anyway. And we have to be north of Florida by July 15 for insurance reasons.
So we moved back near Hopetown. I went into town for a few provisions while Dave started getting the boat ready to leave. Then we sailed to Baker’s Bay on Great Guana Cay. We had dinner and ran the water maker. Just when our tanks were close to being full, the breaker switch flipped off. Dave didn’t want to dig into this tonight. And we won’t need it again until we are back. He said he “stuck it with a sharp stick until it started working again.” Which means he pulsed the pump on and off until it started working right. It behaved long enough to finish the fresh water flush and the pickling. There is a new pump in our future.
I remember thinking when we started cruising that we had bought everything we’d needed and could just go sailing. Our friend, Richard, laughed when I said that. Now I know why.
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| this is how the gas truck gets to each island |
June 11, 2015 Junkanoo party on Elbow Cay
This morning one of our sapodillas was ripe enough to eat. So I took a picture to share with you. It is very sweet and almost grainy and crystal like in texture. Dave wants to figure out something to cook with them. He mentioned adding them to sweet potatoes. I thought that would be too sweet since they are sweet already. And he said “oh yah, like nobody ever adds brown sugar and marshmallows to sweet potatoes.” I guess he’s right. So we’ll see.
Now that we are free to be away from the boatyard and back on our own schedule, we started projects again today. I started with laundry and cleaning the heads while Dave started scrubbing the boat. He cleaned the fenders and dock lines and tucked them away. Don’t plan to be at a dock until we’re back in the US.
Then he started on a project that has been on the list since we bought the boat. He started cleaning the woodwork on our toe rail and then will put a finish product on the teak. I remember when we were back in Alabama and wanted to start cruising. I took our list of major projects and marked “BW” next to the ones we could do once we were in “blue water”. Well here we are and about ready to return. He realized after scrubbing the woodwork that a coating was put on over the varnish. Probably a quick fix to make it look nice to sell. So he thought he better scrape that off. He got about 1/3 of the boat done. Part way through, I realized the chips were landing on our hatch screens and smaller pieces were coming through. So I had to close them while I finished cleaning :(
While it was high tide, we decided to move the boat. At low tide we touched bottom. We could feel it bumping. And the helm wheel would move, which meant the rudder was also touching bottom. Dave had moved it from side to side to try to dig a trench for the rudder as it was touching only lightly. He also took the dinghy off of the davits and that lifted us inches.
I talked Dave into moving the boat about 2 miles south near a marina that was having a Goombay Celebration tonight. Goombay is a drink special in the Bahamas. I heard it announced on the VHF radio this morning on the Cruiser’s net. I called Sea Spray marina for the details. They have dinner starting at 6:00, live “rake and scrape” band starting at 7:30 (Bahamian rhythm band). Then at 9:00 they have a Junkanoo Run Out. I believe that’s what she called it. I had to ask her 3 times. And them explain what that is. There is a band and dancers in costume that parade through the deck area.
The dinner was buffet style with choice of one, two or three meats for different prices. I had the chicken and Dave had the chicken, fish and BBQ ribs. I picked the wrong one. The chicken was dry. The band had fun dance music, but nothing we recognized. And the Junkanoo parade was fun to see. Our guide book says that “Junkanoo is a festival parade of brightly costumed revelers making lively music in the streets originated in the Bahamas by way of Africa. Over the years it has developed into a competitive event in Nassau with costumes, floats and music from rhythm instruments. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are the big events and start after dark and goes until morning." So this is a small group from Marsh Harbor that parades locally. We actually heard them on shore back in Marsh Harbor from our boat one night.
Dave could care less if we had seen them or not. I have come to the conclusion that if I want to see the world, Dave will take me there, but I will have to see it by myself or with friends and family. I’m sure I will have plenty of offers after people read this.
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| full sapodilla on the bottom, half before and after eating it, seed in middle, oreo on top for size comparison. I think one side was bruised where it hit the ground |
Now that we are free to be away from the boatyard and back on our own schedule, we started projects again today. I started with laundry and cleaning the heads while Dave started scrubbing the boat. He cleaned the fenders and dock lines and tucked them away. Don’t plan to be at a dock until we’re back in the US.
Then he started on a project that has been on the list since we bought the boat. He started cleaning the woodwork on our toe rail and then will put a finish product on the teak. I remember when we were back in Alabama and wanted to start cruising. I took our list of major projects and marked “BW” next to the ones we could do once we were in “blue water”. Well here we are and about ready to return. He realized after scrubbing the woodwork that a coating was put on over the varnish. Probably a quick fix to make it look nice to sell. So he thought he better scrape that off. He got about 1/3 of the boat done. Part way through, I realized the chips were landing on our hatch screens and smaller pieces were coming through. So I had to close them while I finished cleaning :(
While it was high tide, we decided to move the boat. At low tide we touched bottom. We could feel it bumping. And the helm wheel would move, which meant the rudder was also touching bottom. Dave had moved it from side to side to try to dig a trench for the rudder as it was touching only lightly. He also took the dinghy off of the davits and that lifted us inches.
I talked Dave into moving the boat about 2 miles south near a marina that was having a Goombay Celebration tonight. Goombay is a drink special in the Bahamas. I heard it announced on the VHF radio this morning on the Cruiser’s net. I called Sea Spray marina for the details. They have dinner starting at 6:00, live “rake and scrape” band starting at 7:30 (Bahamian rhythm band). Then at 9:00 they have a Junkanoo Run Out. I believe that’s what she called it. I had to ask her 3 times. And them explain what that is. There is a band and dancers in costume that parade through the deck area.
The dinner was buffet style with choice of one, two or three meats for different prices. I had the chicken and Dave had the chicken, fish and BBQ ribs. I picked the wrong one. The chicken was dry. The band had fun dance music, but nothing we recognized. And the Junkanoo parade was fun to see. Our guide book says that “Junkanoo is a festival parade of brightly costumed revelers making lively music in the streets originated in the Bahamas by way of Africa. Over the years it has developed into a competitive event in Nassau with costumes, floats and music from rhythm instruments. Boxing Day and New Year’s Day are the big events and start after dark and goes until morning." So this is a small group from Marsh Harbor that parades locally. We actually heard them on shore back in Marsh Harbor from our boat one night.
Dave could care less if we had seen them or not. I have come to the conclusion that if I want to see the world, Dave will take me there, but I will have to see it by myself or with friends and family. I’m sure I will have plenty of offers after people read this.
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| leaving our boat for dinner |
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| fish and chicken on the grill |
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| buffet line |
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| outdoor seating along the dock |
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| band and "dance floor" |
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| Junkanoo parade. I have videos but need to figure out how to put them on my blog |
Thursday, June 11, 2015
June 10, 2015 engine decisions
We had a slow start this morning. Should have cut off the adult beverages sooner last night. We moved the boat back into the boatyard, but the engine had to cool before they could work on it.
We weren’t picking up their wifi at the boat today. So I packed up the laptop and a lawn chair and went up by their office to spend time on the computer. While I was there, we had a heavy rain shower with lightning. So they waited until early afternoon to start working on our boat.
Dexter put in the new fuel injector, but we still weren’t getting the RPM’s that we should. He checked with Dennis, the main engine mechanic and came back. He tested some things further. The compression was good. So that is a good sign that there aren’t cracks or major damage. Then he checked the fuel injector pump. He figured that the injector pump wasn’t getting fuel to the #2 piston. So he replaced our fuel injector, because that wasn’t the problem. And they said they would keep the new one and not charge us, unless we wanted it as a spare, which we didn’t.
Fuel inflector pumps aren’t worked on in a boatyard. They can remove it and send it to the states to be rebuilt or for a new one. OR we can run the motor as it is and deal with it back in the states. Evidently, we’ve been running the motor like this for a long time. So we elected to make that decision in the states. Especially because it could take 3 weeks to be done here and our time here is getting short.
We settled our bill and took off for Elbow Cay. They really apologized for not being able to fix our problem. But we were fine. We fixed the original problem of the lift pump. And we will monitor our oil level to be sure that problem doesn’t return from a different source. And they figured out why our engine isn’t running at the normal level. I can relate it to dentistry. You start with a cavity, place a filling, then the tooth is weak and still bothers the patient, so you place a crown. Then it’s too much for the nerve to handle, it dies, and you do a root canal. You start with the simple solution and sometimes it needs more attention. Our only regret was waiting for that part for a week and it wasn’t needed. I don’t know if further tests could have been done at the beginning. They still charged us labor and called it “trouble shooting”. Which helped us pinpoint the problem, so that was fair.
I told Dave last night that if I wasn’t writing this blog, would I have as much interest? Or would I just blow it off and say “you deal with it”? I really am learning a lot about engines and the boat in general because of this blog. And a friend commented to me that she has learned so much reading my blog.
What I found strange was when Cheryl came to visit. I would start to tell her a story about something that happened. But then I would stop myself and say “oh, you probably read about it in my blog”. But she was kind or polite enough to say “yah, but I want to hear you tell about it anyway.” True friend.
We weren’t picking up their wifi at the boat today. So I packed up the laptop and a lawn chair and went up by their office to spend time on the computer. While I was there, we had a heavy rain shower with lightning. So they waited until early afternoon to start working on our boat.
Dexter put in the new fuel injector, but we still weren’t getting the RPM’s that we should. He checked with Dennis, the main engine mechanic and came back. He tested some things further. The compression was good. So that is a good sign that there aren’t cracks or major damage. Then he checked the fuel injector pump. He figured that the injector pump wasn’t getting fuel to the #2 piston. So he replaced our fuel injector, because that wasn’t the problem. And they said they would keep the new one and not charge us, unless we wanted it as a spare, which we didn’t.
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| fuel injector that was actually good and replaced |
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| it was nice to watch someone else work on the boat, even tho we were paying him |
Fuel inflector pumps aren’t worked on in a boatyard. They can remove it and send it to the states to be rebuilt or for a new one. OR we can run the motor as it is and deal with it back in the states. Evidently, we’ve been running the motor like this for a long time. So we elected to make that decision in the states. Especially because it could take 3 weeks to be done here and our time here is getting short.
We settled our bill and took off for Elbow Cay. They really apologized for not being able to fix our problem. But we were fine. We fixed the original problem of the lift pump. And we will monitor our oil level to be sure that problem doesn’t return from a different source. And they figured out why our engine isn’t running at the normal level. I can relate it to dentistry. You start with a cavity, place a filling, then the tooth is weak and still bothers the patient, so you place a crown. Then it’s too much for the nerve to handle, it dies, and you do a root canal. You start with the simple solution and sometimes it needs more attention. Our only regret was waiting for that part for a week and it wasn’t needed. I don’t know if further tests could have been done at the beginning. They still charged us labor and called it “trouble shooting”. Which helped us pinpoint the problem, so that was fair.
I told Dave last night that if I wasn’t writing this blog, would I have as much interest? Or would I just blow it off and say “you deal with it”? I really am learning a lot about engines and the boat in general because of this blog. And a friend commented to me that she has learned so much reading my blog.
What I found strange was when Cheryl came to visit. I would start to tell her a story about something that happened. But then I would stop myself and say “oh, you probably read about it in my blog”. But she was kind or polite enough to say “yah, but I want to hear you tell about it anyway.” True friend.
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