Picture: Jan from S/V "Liv" holding our propeller while Ted tightens one of the blades. He also fitted a new zinc while it was out of the water. The price for hauling out the boat is $250 one way if it takes less than one hour. They charge an additional amount for every 15 minutes past the hour. However, if we haul out and put the boat back in the water again within an hour, they only charge us half the one way price ($125). Ted tried to beat the clock and was on top gear cutting away the Russian poacher's fishing net from the propeller, shaft and rudder as well as fixing and tightening the propeller. He beat the clock! Notice the pile of fishing net in the left-hand corner of the picture.

On the way to Seward from Taz Basin, where we anchored for the night, we sailed past tall rocky cliffs, coves with nice looking beaches, tree-covered islands, snowcapped mountains and distant glaciers. The Kenai Peninsula is a popular sightseeing, cruising and fishing destination. As we motor-sailed into Resurrection Bay, the gateway to Seward Harbor, we passed many touring and fishing boats jammed packed with people. On arrival we docked at the transit pontoon, near where the big cruise liners come in but a long distance from the harbor office, shops and restaurants. There seems to be a different cruise ship every day. That evening we went for a walk and to our surprise saw S/V "Moon" and S/V "Liv". They were close to the "Travel Lift" where we made arrangements to haul the boat out of water the next day. Since the day after we left Japan when we ran into the Russian poacher's fishing net there has been a constant vibration that seemed to be coming from the propeller shaft and Ted thought we may need to replace the cutlass bearing. The cutlass bearing is the thing that holds the propeller shaft in place under the boat. We invited Annika and Bjorn (S/V "Moon") and Jan and Christina (S/V "Liv") to check the prop shaft and bearing when we haul out and to give us their expert opinion.

We all gasped next day when we saw the propeller shaft as "Shuang Yu" was being lifted out of the water. There was a large ball of fishing net tightly wrapped around the shaft and some rope, floats and net around the rudder. We had dragged them 3,000 nautical miles, all the way from Japan! With that amount of fishing net wrapped around those areas, we were surprised "Shuang Yu" made it this far! On examination, our friends thought that the cutlass bearing, although considerably worn by the net, would hold till we haul out next time. The propeller bearings had also worn considerably because of the net but they are adjustable so Ted tightened them and "Shuang Yu" went straight back in the water before we incurred extra charges for using the lift for more than one hour. Phew! What a relief we don't have to carry that burden around any more and we don't have to go in the yard for repairs.

After the "haul out" we tied up near "Moon" and "Liv" because in this marina, many slips are allocated on a "first come, first served" basis and there just happened to be a spot right there. That evening was like a grand reunion; we invited Annika, Bjorn, Jan and Christina over for dinner to celebrate the successful removal of the fishing net.