After spending a couple of relaxing days in the anchorage at Chester it was time to move over to Lunenburg, home of the Bluenose. The morning breeze was promising as we hauled the anchor but unfortunately it fizzled out as we cleared the harbour entrance leaving us no choice but to motor the 20 miles to Lunenburg. Actually, it wasn’t a bad thing since I want to burn off some of the fuel that has been sitting in the tank since last fall and fill up with fresh fuel before we head out to cross the Gulf of Maine. Entering Lunenburg harbour and getting the first glimpse of the colourful historic waterfront is always special. Even though we’ve only been here a few times it has quickly become a favourite spot to return to.

However, before we got into tourist mode there was a list of chores/repairs to do. One thing that I learned in a hurry is anyone who wants to spend long periods of time travelling on a boat better be mechanically inclined. Over the years I have become the onboard plumber, diesel mechanic, electrician , rigger, boat detailer, outboard serviceman and this week a cobbler. As I mentioned the other day a few systems had suffered from sitting unused for so long; as it turns out I had to change both the windlass foot switches as well clean various connections around the boat. We both held our breath as the macerator pump was turned on for the first time and let out a small cheer as it functioned normally. For the uninitiated a macerator pump empties the holding tank. Believe me when I say the plumber in me was very relieved.

While in Chester I discovered the outboard wasn’t pumping cooling water, luckily it never overheated and we managed to get a new impeller kit in a day. Normally when we make port the first chore on the list is laundry, however, that was delayed until the engine was fixed to save me rowing back and forth. Bev and I laid a bunch of padding in the cockpit and hauled the engine aboard and got to work. After watching a couple of You Tube videos all went fairly well and an hour later the engine was back on the dinghy and ready for a test run. The old impeller was missing 4 of 6 blades and we were fully confident of our work as we fired up the engine. You guessed it, no water came out, I did manage to keep my mechanic’s vocabulary in check as we hauled the engine on board for the second time and third time. We knew we had installed everything correctly and that there had to be a blockage somewhere caused by the broken impeller. Then I had a brainwave, I connected a hand air pump to the water outlet and forced air into the water passages and eureka it worked, the engine is passing water like a racehorse. Once we get to the Chesapeake we’ll do a deeper cleaning and find the debris.

Once our chores were done it was time to enjoy the town, good friends of ours that we met in the Bahamas in 2016 live nearby. We joined them for lunch one day and had a great time catching up on things. Last night we went to the Lunenburg Opera House for a great concert, the 6 member band played all of Great Big C’s top songs as members of the audience danced the night away.
Although we could easily spend more time here it is time to get moving, the plan for now is to head to Carter’s beach Sunday and start looking for a weather window for mid week.

Today’s picture is of my first on boat shoe repair.