07/24/2014
25 July 2014 | Belfast, ME
7/24/14
Off to the coin-operated laundry in Belfast, and what a wonderful gathering place that is. Great people hang out there, passing the time as the machines eat quarters. Debi and I have a cup of coffee at the Co-op grocery, then she’s off to the bigger grocery store, up and up and up some more hills. We meet at the dinghy and take our food and clean clothes to the boat. Then, I bring River Rat into the dock to work on the wind generator. It appears that one wire in the generator mast is disconnected, so while it produces energy, it doesn’t reach my batteries. The slip I’ve chosen has a very tall and thick diameter piling, so if I position our boat just right, I can climb on top of the piling to take the generator off the mast. So that’s my plan. Should be a ½ hour job. Well, that part of the plan works fine. With the generator off, I can see that my red wire is disconnected. But, to get to the connection point, which is about a foot into a 2 ½’ tube that the generator is affixed to, I have to remove the generator from the tube, and it won’t budge. So, Jerry, who is a truck driver from Belfast (drives Wyman’s blueberries from here to California each week), offers to help. I’m on top of the piling, but no luck disengaging the generator from the tube. About 3 hours later, Jerry offers to take me to a machine shop a few miles away to see what they can do to help, and off we go. Another hour later they’ve managed to separate the generator from the tube and after stopping for more wire, we return to the boat. I rewire everything and get ready to reinstall it. Jerry has by now gone home. Remember that piling I sat on to remove the unit. Well, the tide has gone out, River Rat is on a floating dock, so the top of the piling is now a good 10’ above the deck of my boat. Like an angel, Jerry drops by again, as does Bill, a guy who works on a tall ship that is docked nearby. Jerry drives to his girlfriend’s house, picks up an extension ladder, and returns. With all 3 of us, the ladder set from my deck up against the piling, we get the unit back on the mast and the job is complete, 6 hours after we started this ½ hour job. Jerry won’t take a penny for his time, and reminds me that people should just help each other because it’s the right thing to do. Of course, he’s right. By now we’re late for a gathering for cocktails at someone’s boat, so we slide out of the slip, head back to our mooring, shower and return for the last drink. Then, we’re off to dinner at Delvino’s Grill and Pasta’s here in Belfast, with Bill and Julie, a couple who are cruising with the Corinthian group. Debi and I share a dinner of lobster over braised beef ravioli with a mushroom cream sauce. Finally, we’re back on River Rat at 2130, and at 2140 I’m sound asleep. A long but productive day, with a vivid reminder that people can be very nice.