Leaving Morehead City
12 November 2020 | Mile Hammock Bay
wil boisvert | rain
Struggled for 24 hours to reconnect the hydraulic steering, finalize wiring, and all the myriad other tasks necessary to get us off the dock. Said our goodbyes to Tommy "Russ" Russell Jr. and Pete a Shepard Point Boatyard. We were full of expectations and optimism. It was sunny and breezy.
Pete2 thanks for mentioning long-term chartering. That sounded exceptionally good by the end of the day (read on). I should also mention that the people of NC have been the best people. Morehead City has always had my back, found my dog, and softened this piece of Deer Isle granite I call a heart.
Since this is my blog, "along with the sunshine, there has to be a little rain sometimes". We had a few hiccups involving air in the hydraulic steering, anchoring on the side of the ICW for 16 hours, starting the engine and using it for the 2 minutes it would run to better position us on the other side of the ICW, so as to not wake up at midnight sleeping on a porthole.
It was an edgy depressing evening as we contemplated this hideous turn of events. Why were both the generator and engine not able to run more than a few minutes. We rationed electricity, not knowing when we could replenish. I bled... the fuel lines multiple times. I wanted to show my appreciation of the situation by using anagrams of swear words, e.g. THIS, MAND, DYSLEXIA.
Finally, bed at 7, up at 0100h, repairs completed by 4, back to bed until 0630h, and some truly mind altering realizations by 1100h. Turns out the pressure was too great to pull fuel from the port tank. Obstruction? I threw 10 gallons of diesel in the almost empty starboard tank and we were off by 1130h. Oh almost forget to mention that I switched the hydraulic lines for the steering during the night. We motored the previous day turning the wheel left to go right. You talk about a mind exercise! It was great to get that corrected.
We entered Camp LeGuene about 1400h. We glided through the swing bridge about 1515h. Glided because the engine kicked out just before entering. Smile, wave and pretend you know what you are doing. Works every time.
We made Mile Hammock Bay by 1600h. Multiple tries to get the hooks to set, but eventually we were able to sit in the cockpit and convince ourselves the worst was behind us.
Will on Voyageur, we are sorry for the late start, and we will try to catch up for dinner. Whoa, flashbacks to Prairie Home Companion.
I started this last night, but now it is 0600h, and the rain has arrived. There is 100% chance of thunderstorms today, and a fair chance of rain Friday. We may stay here today and I get to play in the engine room. Room? Harry Potter had more room. I do want/need to make the 60 gallons of diesel in the port tank available for use. We have used about 3 of the 10 gallons in the starboard tank.