Closing in on the Coast
27 August 2011 | 60 miles from Cape Flattery
Fiona
Yesterday morning at around 2 am when I handed over to Tommy the port engine had started vibrating dramatically. When I woke up later, Annina greeted me to the gloomy news that the port engine was out of commission other than for emergency maneuvering and the starboard engine was going to require Tommy's attention once he woke up from what sounded like a very busy watch. The winds had been contrary all night and into the morning, making it difficult to set a heading for Cape Flattery. At last around noon the winds backed to the north west as they were predicted to do and since then we have been making excellent progress in the right direction. We now have one functioning engine as Tommy was able to change the fuel filters and it looks like that may have been the reason for it losing power. At the back of our minds there was always the very real possibility of having got something caught in the prop, but we couldn't see anything. With the great wind we are getting now we have no need of diesel and are moving along at between 7 and 8 knots.
All day United States securite's have been issuing forth from the VHF radio ( Cameron came rushing down to our cabin to inform me he had heard TOFINO coast guard in there as well), tonight I see the loom of several fishing boats on the horizon and permeating the salty air a definite smell of damp earth, clues that we are approaching a large body of land some time soon.