Wow, where has the time gone? Our last post was March 5 back in the Exumas. Since then, we have enjoyed the company of dear friends Joe and Di from graduate school days, and their grandson Jona who needed to come on a cruise to fill out some of his bucket list items, sailed north to Nassau, thence home to the USA, and visits with friends in Miami and Marathon. We also enjoyed having our daughter, Kea, and two sons, Ethan and Hunter, aboard for a week in Key West. All in all, an action packed period of time – well, not too packed, but fun nonetheless.

From Key West, we decided to do a passage back to Charlotte Harbor to prepare Gratitude for the hurricane season and thence begin the trek north to VT. We waited for what sounded like a good weather window (winds 6-10 from the NE) for our 24 or so hour passage back to Charlotte Harbor. We knew we would have to run the engine, but we thought we could raise the sails and run close hauled to get some lift and speed. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was not quite accurate (no, you say) and we had winds “on the nose” at 10-12 knots. That is not a lot of wind, but we could not use the sails at all and we were “pushing” the air all the way north, and it wanted to go south. So, it was slow going and a long night, even though peaceful, starry, and very few boats in sight. As we approached Boca Grande, we called the boat yard to see whether they wanted us to arrive that day (Wednesday) or wait a day longer, which would have enabled us to enjoy a final visit to Cayo Costa. The yard was swamped and expecting many more boats, so we decided to keep on keepin’ on and get back that day. But, first, we motor sailed (yes, we turned the corner and could put up the jib for about 2 hours and got a nice lift) to Burnt Store, where we topped off the fuel tanks so as not to leave air space for condensation (and the growth of “bugs” in the fuel). Then, we motored (back into the wind again) to the lock and made it there a bit after high tide. There was a boat readying to depart the lock, so we had an assist going through. As we were running in the canal system, we had all systems running to flush with “fresh” (actually, brackish) water. Lauren reminded Van that he had wanted to switch fuel tanks to equalize them, so he did. Shortly thereafter, the engine died. Oddly, the generator (on the same tank) kept running so we were not sure what the issue might have been, although we suspected fuel. Van tried the other tank again, switched filtration systems (in case the old filter had gotten clogged from the refueling), and primed and tried to start the engine, but no go. Diesels do not run on air!

What to do? We were through the twisty part of the canal system at the north end of the “Lake” so we put out a bit of the jib to maintain steerage and sailed into the Lake, where we dropped the anchor and called TowBoatUS. When we first bought Gratitude, we opted for unlimited towing insurance. We used it once before and that episode paid for the insurance several times over. We now have covered several more years of premiums! We waited about an hour and the towboat showed up and towed us to the yard. (Actually, we were going faster under tow than we had been motoring north from Key West!) Friends in the yard met us at the dock to take our lines and make sure we were secured.

It turned out that the fuel lines were full of air, likely caused by (a) the fuel selection valve that Van had installed before the trip but leaked progressively more as the trip wore on or (b) a leaking pressure fuel pump or (c) both of the above. It stands to reason that leaks that let fuel out let air in. Anyway, we were quite amazed that the failure occurred about 2 miles from the yard at the very end of a trip that took us hundreds of miles through the Bahamas and surrounds. So, like the old credit card commercial, don’t leave home without tow insurance!

We now are nearing the end of the mad rush to get Gratitude put to bed. All sails and sail covers are off, cushions and bedding are in storage, the engines have been “summarized”, the outboard had been serviced, the foodstuffs have been removed (or shared at the Hut – we made a delicious Paella with lobster, Mahi Mahi, salmon, tilapia, etc. over saffron rice), and clothes have been packed. Tomorrow, we will put the dinghy on the foredeck and apply the covering material and make a final run through and check of all to make sure we have left Gratitude in Bristol fashion. We will head out Thursday am to drop two sails off for some minor repairs and then drive to Hilton Head for a few days and visits to family and friends en route to VT. We understand spring still has not sprung, so we are not in a great rush.

We plan to be back to Gratitude in January (well, Fall actually to do some work to prepare for our next cruise) and see where she will take us next. In the meanwhile, we will renew our insurance!