It’s been a long and eventful voyage. In some ways too eventful, but on Thursday morning we turned from Chesapeake Bay into the Sassafras River. Our haven from the hurricane season and work place for the next couple of months is just north of the bridge, probably the only bridge on the river, or at least the first one we came to.
Leaving the bay with its busy shipping channels was a short lived relief. The mouth of the Sassafras is a favourite spot to sink crab pots, and we were heading straight into the blazing morning sun. It was such a minefield that I ended up on the bowsprit giving hand signals to Sandy, some of them frantic, as we picked our way through. With the sun glaring off the rippled water the floats, often dark and muddy so hard to see at the best of times, could only be spotted a few yards in front of the boat.
Once through we could relax and enjoy the hour long meandering trip up the river. It’s rural bushland with a mix of occasional clusters of cottages, and mansions on vast estates. It all looks so relaxed and comfortable. The area is very productive and we’re just enjoying the most amazing peaches, the best I’ve ever tasted. Unfortunately the season only has a few more weeks to run.
As we got up to the low level bridge Tom called ahead for them to open it, and we slipped through without much space on either side. The tide was low so we anchored and waited for deeper water. The dock is a tight fit and I had to manoeuvre in closely, then we used lines and the genoa winch to haul the boat in sideways to the dock. At low tide we sit on the bottom, but its soft silty sediment so not a problem.
As though we haven’t had enough engine issues on the trip, when I started the engine and pulled up the anchor we had an embarrassing and worrying oil slick coming from the boat's exhaust all the way into the dock.
I checked the dip stick and sure enough, the oil was muddy and not clear or just dark. A sure sign of water in the oil. From old car experience that means a blown head gasket at best, or a cracked head. Both costly repairs... again.
We jumped onto the phone to the old mechanic (78 year old, scrawny, smoking, Spiderman) who fixed the water pump problem down in North Carolina. He said far more likely to be the oil cooler/heat exchanger. It makes sense. The oil goes through copper pipes in a cylinder that has water pumper around it cooling the pipes. The oil then goes back into the engine and the water exits via the exhaust. It's why you always see water coming from boat exhausts.
A leak in the exchanger would let water into the oil, making it muddy, and oil into the water which would then exit via the exhaust... our exact symptoms. You've got to love these crusty old guys with so much old engine experience.
So yesterday I pumped out the old oil and put in new so there isn't water corrosion going on, and took off the oil cooler. It looks pretty disastrous. I'll be out in Tom's clapped out old truck next week looking for some parts, but it's likely the repair will be hundreds and not thousands for once.
If they come in threes, this is number three so we should be clear for a while to get on with everything else on our list.
There were a few local folk Tom had told us about and they were there to catch our lines and help us get into the dock. It appears we’re a bit of a novelty. I guess they don’t get many Aussies coming through with big old sailing boats and silly ideas of sailing the seven seas.
Bob owns the place, which is a little marina on his property with good facilities. He is a wealthy man who has had a change in recent years from a reputation of still having his school lunch money, to a genial benefactor of sorts. He is somehow intrigued to have us here and came down to welcome us, offer any assistance, including the loan of a car if Tom is using his pickup. He later brought his wife, Elizabeth, to meet us too.
The property has a lot of trees, and squirrels, and in the evening we watch sea eagle type birds catching fish. There are even a few Bald Eagles around, the white headed eagles everyone associates with America and Harley Davidsons, and they catch fish too. It really is a lovely place.
One of Bob’s tenants, Rich, rents a house just as you come off the floating dock and has a boat here too. He is known to get upset if people walk past the front of his place, so everyone walks by the back. But he welcomed us warmly, brought us some tomatoes from his veggie patch and told us to help ourselves to a couple a day. They didn’t look like much, but they flavour is so full I’ve never tasted a tomato like it. In spite of his curmudgeon reputation, he also offered the loan of his car, and yesterday he offered to take Sandy to a roadside stall where Amish folk sell organic fruit and vegies of excellent quality, picked that morning.
The boat at the end of the dock is a 62 foot steel cruiser and the owner, Ken, welcomed us too. They will be leaving in 2-3 weeks and we will be moving around to that spot with deeper water. He has spent a fortune doing up his boat over the years and is a good source of information because he has researched everything for his own boat, and he is a pretty thorough and meticulous guy. He has a trade account with one of the big marine suppliers here. It suits him to have purchases going through his account keeping it active, and it sure suits us to buy everything at trade prices. A match made in heaven!
Sandy went up to the Laundromat yesterday and while waiting for the machines, got talking to the local carnival owner/operator who was doing laundry as well. We saw the carnival, which is a bunch of rides and games on the edge of town. They move on every few months, but he is the third generation running it and they have never worked outside of a 100 mile area. He has never been on a plane, and when he heard we are from Australia, well, you could have said Jupiter or Saturn. In fact most people are amazed when they hear we’re from Australia and can’t believe we live on a boat!
So, all things considered, we are settling in quite nicely for the next few months. It can get hot here, but it’s a lot cooler than the Cayman Islands and Key West.
The boat is starting to feel like home. I just wish it would stop behaving like an abused child, which it is, and realise that it doesn’t need to lash out. We’re here to treat it well and do good things to it.
The next couple of posts will probably be a catch up of the trip from Key West to here.
We’re getting there.
Until next time...