Waiting out a big blow
18 September 2013 | Ocean City, MD
Markus Alt
Had a good nights sleep and woke up to an expected bad weather day. Small craft advisory and was blowing over 40 knots. Wasn't too bad at the slip so I began working on the fuel problem.
I started moving everything out of the port lazarette so I could reach the top of the fuel tank. I suspected that the ball check valve was clogged up and indeed it was. I cleaned it out and put it all back together then began the process of removing air from the lines. It took a few rounds of bleeding until I finally had fuel at the injectors then I ran the fuel through the recirc filter for about an hour. I'm going to have to clean the tank when I have a chance so this won't happen again.
Joe wasn't feeling to good and called our friend Doc to come and get him. I was sad to see him go and I now have to single hand sail the rest of the way. I feel pretty good about doing it but it would be better with crew.
I took the mainsail completely off and stored in a pile on the deck. It's still in pretty good shape and is repairable but I am going to order a new sail from North Sails as soon as I get to Forked River. Hopefully I can leave in the morning and get to Cape May!