Disappointment

I have a few reasons to feel disappointed today. For the purposes of this blog, though, I will limit my discussion to reasons related to Breeze On and our trip. 

We left Homer Smith Docks and Marina at 5:45 this morning with a plan to go to Brunswick, GA. About an hour after leaving the dock we had enough wind to raise the mainsail. As the sail was going up the engine alarm went off. That was the first time that had ever happened and we weren’t initially sure what it was. When we checked the display on the engine controls it said the temperature was too high. We turned the engine off and sailed at a very low speed in light wind for a time while we discussed a plan. A short time later we turned around toward Beaufort and George called Tow Boat US. We are now back at Homer Smith, but in a different slip. We are very grateful to Dan, the dockmaster, for finding a slip for us at this very busy time of year. We had tried other marinas that have mechanics on site but they did not have room for us. 

George made several calls in an effort to find a mechanic who would look at our Volvo Penta engine. He was finally able to make an appointment with one for November 15. In the meantime we went to work trying to figure out the problem. Was it a problem with the thermostat? The coolant? The seawater cooling system? While running the engine in the slip George noticed that the hose between the seawater strainer and the pump was collapsing at higher rpms. That seems to narrow the potential causes. 

George also spoke with Mack, the mechanic in Maryland who recently solved our rough idle issues. Mack has been very helpful in giving George some suggestions, which we will work through one by one. If we aren’t able to solve the problem here in the slip we may have to have the boat hauled out of the water and that would require going to a boatyard that is on the other side of a bridge that we could barely clear at low tide. 

During our worst moments today we have both thought we should just go home. We spent the summer unsure if we should even go to the Bahamas this year. Today’s problems seem to be a sign that maybe we shouldn’t. I try to keep my whining to a minimum when writing this blog because I do recognize how fortunate we are to be able to do this. Please accept my apology for my negative tone. 

Breeze On being towed back to Beaufort by Tow Boat US. 

George investigating the engine problems. 

This morning’s sunrise—before the trouble started.