Our return to life on the water was an inauspicious one. As we prepared to move Arwen from Southport to Oriental to have some engine work done and to tackle several other boat projects, we acutely felt the aching loss of Madison, our cherished salty dog. We lost her in February when she was 18 years old. It has been more than nine years since we've traveled on Arwen without her. And it seemed that even the boat lost heart without her. We left Southport on Wednesday, May 13, and headed up the Cape Fear River toward Snow's Cut. I had little more than finished coiling the dock lines when the engine died for no apparent reason. We were able to restart it, but it died again almost immediately. Then it wouldn't start at all. We reviewed our options - in the middle of the channel going with the current and 10 to 15 mph wind from the northeast. Fortunately the current and wind carried us to the edge of the channel and we were able to anchor in 10-12 feet of water. We hadn't heard any major clanging that would have indicated a thrown piston or some other seriously destructive engine issue. Robert's assessment was that the engine wasn't getting fuel or water. We had checked when we cranked it and water was being expelled, so it was getting water unless the impeller had stopped functioning since we left the dock. We hadn't moved the boat off the dock in more than a year, but we hadn't checked the fuel filters, so we thought perhaps something had clogged the fuel filters or lines. But we didn't know.

So for the first time in the 11 years we've owned Arwen, we called Tow Boat U.S. to tow us back to the dock at South Harbour Village Marina. The tow boat captain, John, asked us what had happened to the "Old Girl" when he arrived. Arwen, a 1979 Bristol 29.9, is an "Old Girl" and after sitting at the dock for more than a year with little attention from us, she looks the part. Oddly, the reference stirred my affection for the boat that's been so reliable and sheltered us and Madison during so many happy adventures. John, a native of the area who was very interesting to talk to, told us that sometimes when a boat sits for a long time algae grows in the fuel and that could have clogged the lines or the filters.

When we were once again tied to the dock, even though the fuel in the filters and the filters themselves looked very clean, we changed our Yanmar 15 HP diesel engine's two fuel filters and bled the lines. She started right up. We theorized that there may have been a loose fuel line connection and air might have gotten into the lines. We had intentionally waited until after noon to leave so we'd be moving up the Cape Fear with the incoming tide, and by the time we sorted all of this out, it was too late to leave on Wednesday even though our destination for the day was the city mooring field off Carolina Beach, less than half a day's travel away.

We went to bed early, intending to try again Thursday. We were up by 7 a.m. and though we were a bit trepidatious about the engine, we left the dock at 10 a.m. knowing we would be going against the outgoing tide heading up the river. We had decided we wanted to reach Snow's Cut during slack tide at noon. Snow's Cut is notorious for strong currents during rising and falling tides. But we hadn't given enough weight to the 15 to 17 knot Northeast winds that were almost on our nose as we headed up the river. With the falling tide creating a 2 knot current flowing against us and the winds, we simply could not make headway. We were moving at about .5 knots - virtually standing still, once we got into the Cape Fear. Again, almost at the same spot where our engine failed the day before, we discussed our options and decided to turn around, go back down the waterway to a creek next to the marina and anchor until the tide turned about noon. We made it to the mouth of the creek where I ran us aground in 3.5' of water. I backed us off and ran us aground again in reverse. I gave the helm to Robert and we decided not to go into the creek. By this time it was 11:30 a.m. and we decided to try once again to make headway in the Cape Fear. Third time's a charm I guess. We proceeded up the river and through the cut and into Carolina Beach's mooring field without further incident, arriving about 3:30 p.m.

We picked up a mooring and called the dockmaster, who said he'd be out about 5:30 p.m. to collect the $20 mooring fee for the night. He asked if we were planning to launch a dinghy and we said we were not. He asked if he could bring any supplies - ice, food, etc. - and offered to take away any trash. We hadn't been underway long enough to need supplies or to have enough trash to make removing it from the boat worthwhile, but we were impressed with the friendliness and the service.

It's the first time in many years that we've not launched a dinghy every night we weren't on a dock because we always had to get Madison off the boat for her morning and evening constitutionals. How I miss having a reason to go ashore.