Zincs Away!
23 May 2017 | Pungo-Alligator Rivers Canal
Mid-70s, gray, rainy
We woke to a warm, gray day, and took our time with breakfast, etc. I packed up some laundry, along with the cleaning and waxing cloths from yesterday, and did wash while I showered. This place has a wonderful bath house! While I was away Darryl, the boat mechanic, showed up and cleaned out the heat exchanger. Salt water causes metal to corrode quickly so in order to protect the metal parts of the heat exchanger that come in contact with it, a piece of zinc is installed in the raw water line. Zinc reacts more easily than other metals, so it gets “eaten away” and the heat exchanger doesn’t! The zinc is in the shape of a rod and so is called a “pencil zinc.” Turns out there were lots of little pieces from past pencil zincs inside the heat exchanger. I guess you are supposed to clean out these pieces every so often… The photo shows a new pencil zinc at the top, the one Bill installed in April, and then a bunch of pieces Darryl pulled out. A simple job, and one Bill watched carefully so he can do it next time! Once everything was put back together, we threw the lines and cast off, heading for Scranton Creek on the Pungo River. The wind picked up so we motorsailed almost all day, pushing our average speed over 8 mph! It is lower usually. As we approached Scranton Creek it was about 5:00, so we decided to continue through the Pungo - Alligator Rivers Canal – all 23 miles of it, with no place to stop. In the first few miles thunder and lightning started, and then pouring rain. I put up the storm enclosures (first time on this trip!) and Bill just kept driving with rain running down his back. I fixed dinner – burgers and baked beans. We ate as we motored along and the rain finally stopped after we saw a few rainbows. Then, a horde of yellow head flies attacked, and Bill and I must have killed over 100. (My father would be proud! He was the king of fly swatters!) Finally, as the sun set, we reached the end of the canal and anchored in the Alligator River. The flies left, wind slowed down, and we had a glass of wine. But the rain started again, more gentle this time, so hatches were closed and we called it a night.
74 miles, 9 hours