The Adventures of JOINT VENTURE –
Chapter II
(1975 Alberg 37 Yawl, Hull # 147)
Ken and Anita Tillotson
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Longuieul, Quebec
We are still in Longuieul, Quebec and today, our Cape Horn self steering
installation was complete.
In the process, one of our
cockpit lockers was emptied as well as the lazarette area, so we now have all
the items normally
stored there on deck and in the cockpit.
I spent most of the day bringing our log up to date and putting it on
disk to e-mail when I can.
We didn’t hear from the
mechanic Giete today.
It may be Monday before we see him again. An early night.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Today we tackled the task of
organizing and listing all the items in our cockpit lockers. It looked like an overwhelming job. Ken put things away while I listed. We worked for a few hours and than rested
(Ken took a nap) for a few hours and then we finished up. Amazingly, everything fit with room to store
the land lines and bumpers now in use.
I made up a hash of canned
potatoes, onions, butter beans, left over beef and ham with a side dish of left
over cabbage….“pretty good”, was the captain’s assessment.
We are near the area where
small cruise ships pick up people to go to Old Montreal so there are lots of
folks coming and going.
The area is lovely and Chelsey and I
take lots of walks.
Tomorrow we hope to see the
mechanic back so we can get going again.
Monday, August 1, 2005
I spent a couple of hours
washing the boat decks this morning which badly needed it. Also gave the cockpit cushions a good
clean…whatever possessed me to get white cushions?
Ken, as usual, was fixing
things here and there. Just after noon, Giete arrived and I left to use the Marina’s computer to
e-mail Joint Venture’s log to Tom and Kaye Assenmacher who will put it on the
Alberg 37 web site. Giete
was already gone when I got back…the oil and coolant leaks are fixed but
something called the feeder pump is defective and Giete
has taken it away to be fixed or will bring back a new one. Ken has removed the large pool of oil from
the bilge. I left Ken trying to figure
out why our port running light isn’t working and got a taxi to the nearest
grocery store. It cost me $9 to get
there and $9 back! The prices in the large
IGA were higher than you would find in Ontario, especially the meat. When I returned, Ken was engaged talking with
a couple of fellows from St. Pierre Island which is off the south shore of
Newfoundland. They were admiring the
boat and inviting us to visit the island.
His advice on the port light is that the switch is the problem.
Ken barbequed the rib steaks and with baked
potatoes and fresh green beans, it was delicious. We hope Giete comes
early tomorrow so that we can finally be on our way.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
We were up and getting ready
to depart as soon as Giete installs the pump. At 8:30, Giete was
here with a new feeder pump…the old one was not repairable. Within less than an hour, it was
installed. Ken started the engine a
couple of times and all seemed well, much to our satisfaction. Unfortunately, the bill was much higher than
we expected. We were charged labour for hours Giete spent
traveling…?? We took the blow rather
philosophically as this seems to be par for the course. As soon as he left, we worked quickly to make
everything ship shape for leaving. I
spoke to Ginette on the phone and she wished us bon
voyage. We had to turn around in a small
space because of a huge power launch on the dock opposite us.
The wind was blowing fairly
hard and the boat would not come around enough so I was on the bow preparing to
fend us off the power boat. The captain
elected to back the boat. The dinghy was
now beside us and forced up on the dock so I jumped off to bring it around to
the back. As I was doing this, the boat
was moving and I was stranded on shore.
We agreed that he would take the boat to the gas dock and I would meet
him there. Huge drops of rain started to
fall as I hurried to the gas dock to take in our lines. We decided to take on some fuel while we were
there. Suddenly, there was Ginette, having left a meeting to come and see us off. Hugs and kisses and we were finally on our
way. There was a fairly strong wind
behind us as we motored along. Trois Rivere was our proposed
destination. After half an hour of
motoring, Ken suddenly went below and urgently took off the steps to look at
the engine. From the helm, I saw him
grab the fire extinguisher! What was
happening! Ken sprayed into the engine
briefly and said that we had had a fire but it was now out. It seemed to be coming from the starter. We decided that we better turn around and go
back. The problem may have been caused
by the work done by Giete. So turn around we did. Now against the wind and current, it took us
longer to come back. And a glum pair we
were.
Back at the dock, we called Ginette to tell her we were back and left a message for Giete.
The wind dropped and it was
very hot and humid so we read and slept the afternoon away. We were thinking about supper when a
different mechanic came. Giete Mechanical is the name
of the company. Anyhow the new mechanic
quickly found the problem. The bleeder screw on the injector line was broken
allowing a lot of fuel into the bilge area and spraying forward toward the
starter. Also, the alternator power wire was jammed under the starter baring it
and shorting out …probably started the fire in the first place. So this was
fixed at the same time. The heat exchanger installation earlier had
necessitated the removal and replacement of the starter; it was put back with
too small of a washer and binded on the alternator
power wire. A bigger washer was fitted by the first mechanic from Geite ,
although the bared wire was not. The engine was started while we were at shore
and connected to shore power. Because of this , and
because the shore charger isn’t grounded properly, the wire was sparking
(shorting) after starting it. This alerted the mechanic to this specific
problem …the problem that started the fire in the first place. He was a good
guy and wasn’t going to bill us … Ken gave him 40 bucks cash. We readied the
boat for leaving early the next morning.
A quick supper of sausages and fried potatoes and
early to bed.
Wednesday, August 3, 2005
We were awake before 5:00 and
after off the dock by 5:30 am. We were
treated to a lovely sunrise over Montreal as we motored along.
The engine was running very smoothly and the current was
moving us along at a good rate. There was
very little wind so we powered all morning, eventually up and around numerous
islands and channels. We kept a cautious
eye on the temperature gauge and Ken periodically took a look into the engine
compartment. Late in the morning, on one
of these checks, Ken saw liquid being sprayed all over the engine. He quickly asked me to slow down the
engine. What now?
Further checking found that
it was water, not diesel. There was a
split in the exhaust hose allowing water from the exhaust to be sprayed directly
into the engine compartment. We would
have to stop and fix it. We were just
coming to the city of Sorel where the river bent and
widened. A suitable anchoring area was
marked on the chart. As we approached
this area, there were no less than 4 freighters coming and going. Slowly we left the main channel and deployed
the anchor and some chain. The boat
rested quietly as Ken worked to patch up the split in the hose. The problem was to find tape or material
which could do the job on boiling hot wet rubber. Anyway, Ken did the best he could and after
about an hour, we were ready to proceed.
The exhaust leak was now down to a drip.
Ken hoped to get better material or replace the hose when we got to Trois Rivere. We then entered the very long Lake Saint
Pierre. We motored all afternoon before
we saw the bridge at the other end. Trois Rivere was not far
beyond. The entrance in guarded by a
long spit which you must go past and then carefully navigate a very narrow
channel marked by red and green barrels.
At the gas dock, we arranged for a slip for the night. The smell from the nearby pulp mill was not
pleasant. After docking, we went to the
office to sign in. Asking where the
nearest Canadian Tire was, we were told that we could bicycle there and they
provided us with the bikes.
Leaving Chelsey on the boat,
we peddled along a lane way and then had to cycle on a sidewalk over a bridge
beside a major highway. Not having
ridden a bicycle much lately, I was kind of nervous as the sidewalk was not
very wide and buses and trucks rumble by.
At the Canadian Tire, we bought some things that Ken thought might do to
fix the hose as the store did not carry any hose of the kind we needed. Cycling back to the boat, I decided to walk
the bike across the bridge!
Back at the boat, Ken got
busy trying to do a better job with the new materials. Unfortunately, much to his disgust, nothing
worked. We would have to continue with a
small leak until we reached Quebec City where surely we could get the materials
we needed.
Thursday, August 4, 2005
Trois Rivere
It was a long way to Quebec
City so we wanted to leave early. At
5:30 am we pulled away from the dock and headed towards the narrow channel and
right into the rising sun. Blinded
somewhat, we got out of the channel slightly and went aground. No problem says Ken. Into the dinghy he goes with our anchor and
chain. A ways away, he drops it and the chain. I use the electric windlass to kedge to boat
off the mud. The boat moves but not
enough…we are still stuck. Ken goes
further away and drops the anchor again.
This time he comes back to the boat to steer and use the engine while I
use the windlass to pull us into the channel.
This time we are successful and are able to get underway once
again. Having the electric windlass was
a blessing and has proven it’s worth a couple of times already.
We motored all day having a
good current with us but the wind is 15 - 20 knots on the nose. By 5:00pm, we are outside the entrance to the
inner harbor of Port de Quebec. We
circle while we wait for the lock to open along with several other boats. Finally, we get the green light and tie up to
the small dock inside the lock. It takes
some time for about eight boats to get inside and then the gate closes. If the water was raised or lowered, it was
not noticeable to me. Anyway, we radioed
for a slip and went directly to our allotted space on A dock. There, a marina worker took our lines. When we signed in, we were asked if we had
been there before. We said yes, 3 years ago. They found us on their computer and entered
us in again. The bill for two nights was
$92. I thought that this was less
expensive than I remembered this port being.
Perhaps it is just for the one night and we will have to pay another $92
for the second night. It wasn’t until
after we had left the port that looking at the invoice, we realized that they
had charged us the rate for our 26 ft Tanzer, “Tabasco” , which we had the last
time we were there. So we ended up
paying $92 in total.
We took a happy Chelsey for a
walk on the grass and then we walked to the SAQ store (liquor store) and bought a
bunch of wine to make our store of wine last longer. We enjoyed a relaxing evening sampling one of
the bottles of wine.
Friday, August 5, 2005
Quebec City
What a day this was! First, I cut Ken’s hair which was so long it
was a mass of curls. Then both of us had
much needed showers. We then walked to
the nearby marine store. Chelsey enjoyed
meeting the resident dog and being petted by the owners of the store, while Ken
bought a piece of
hose and other items to fix our exhaust problem. Leaving Chelsey having her
morning nap, we walked a fair distance to the A J Roy store which sells alternator
belts, etc. Ken is anxious to have a
spare alternator belt. After quite a bit
of looking, it appeared that of all the many alternator belts in the store,
they did not have the right one. They
promised to get one and have it for us by 2:00 in the afternoon. Ok, we will come back. We had made a list of things which we
needed…one of the most important ones was a new prepaid telephone card as our
last one was out of time. Since we lost
Ken’s cell phone, it is important to be able to call from land lines to keep
our family up to date. Walmart sells the
best ones. We were told of several
Walmart location choices by the A J Roy guys and were given advice as to where
to get the right bus. After a ten minute
wait, we boarded the bus getting transfer tickets as we knew we would have to
change buses. We got to see a part of
Quebec City that we had not seen before as the bus took us up and down
highways, and smaller streets.
Eventually, we changed to another bus and finally got off just a short
walk to a major shopping area with a Canadian Tire, Walmart, etc etc.
In Walmart, we bought food,
some jell pads to put in my shoes as my feet have been getting very sore and
many odds and sods, including two telephone cards. We also bought a new supply of Ibuprofen as
Ken has been bothered by a very sore shoulder for more than a month. We ate at the store’s McDonalds and took a
taxi back to the marina. We had noticed
that the drivers in this city drive very fast and our taxi driver was no
exception as he sped through back streets and had us back at the marina in
quick time after stopping at AJ Roy store to pick up the alternator belt. He was a very friendly guy who told us it has
always been his dream to sail to the Azores.
Back at the boat, Ken promptly went to work on the exhaust hose while I
gratefully crawled into our bunk for a much needed snooze. Ken found that the hose was not the right
size and went back to the marine store to get the right one …. taking the old one with him.
No luck, they don’t have one the right size. Also, the alternator belt is the wrong size,
so Ken went back there to make an exchange.
By the time I woke up, Ken had patched the old hose to try to stop it
from leaking. Time will tell. To be sure
though, this is another engine problem caused directly by the heat exchanger
installation by Durham Marine. The exhaust pipe had to be cut and turned,
because its position interfered with the new plumbing for the heat
exchanger. Because of this change, the
hose that split had to be bent to a 90 degree angle. Presto …split hose in
short order.
We will leave tomorrow
morning as we have a long way to go and the current will be against us for some
of the time. Unfortunately, 7:00 am is
the earliest the lock opens. A simple supper and early to bed.
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Quebec City
We are on our way at 7:00
am. I have put the weather cloths that I made last
winter onto the life lines. Later today,
the wind is forecast to be 15 - 20 knots.
The cloths will
prevent some splashes & spray.
We left when the current was
against us slightly. Later, the tidal
current changed direction in our favor and became stronger as the day wore on;
at one point we reached 11.3 knots over the ground (per GPS). When the current is strong and against you, you want to travel
close to shore as it will be weaker there.
We were on our way closer to shore when a boat from out of nowhere,
traveling closer to shore, came right across our bow and passed us. The captain slowly moved inshore and we
passed the other boat…were you surprised?
If there is boat ahead of us, Ken will do his best to pass him….very
competitive fellow, our captain!
We made excellent time and
arrived at Cap-a-L’aigle. We circled around waiting for our turn at the
small gas dock. Ken attended to the fuel
up as Chelsey attended to her business on shore. We were given a slip along a long dock and
were tied up in no time. The docks float
and undulate as you walk on them.
Chelsey was so glad to be onshore that she took no notice of the
movement. We made some phone calls to
relatives and relaxed with wine in the cockpit.
On to Tadoussac tomorrow. It’s about 42 miles but the forecast is
calling for 25 to 30 knot winds behind us so we should make good time.
Sunday, August 7, 2005
Cap-a-L’aigle
We quietly pulled away from
the dock at 6:30 am. Very quickly , the wind gained in strength from the west, pushing
us along a great speed, the fastest was 12.4 knots; half boat speed thru the
water and the other half speed of the current over the ground. The waves were running about 2 meters and the
boat would rise up as the wave rumbled under us and splash down in the
trough. The weather clothes prevented
splashes into the cockpit. By 11:00 am,
we were at the “Grinder”, a very large navigation marker which we need to round
to set our course directly for Tadoussac which we
could see on the north side of the Saguenay
River. The new course has us taking the
waves more on the side. The boat rocked
steeply to one side then the other and water splashed across the deck
frequently. Our speed was reduced to 3
knots and it seemed to take forever to get to the Tadoussac
basin. The wind had piped up to over 30 knots and we have a 2 knot current
against us from the Saguenay river. At 12:30 pm, we were finally in sheltered
water and took little time to get tied to a dock. A short trip, but a
difficult one. After a welcome
hot cup of coffee, we strolled along the walkway towards the center of
town. We looked down at a sandy beach
where children were playing at the shoreline of the large sweeping bay. People were sunbathing and having
picnics. There is a large red and white hotel
that is a local landmark and can be seen
from far out on the river. We found a
small café where we enjoyed a cold beer and a small pizza. Chelsey could be seen through an open low
window as she occasionally looked in at the people sitting nearby. Back at the marina, we found an internet
access was available. We had problems
with it and after accessing our e-mail, the connection was lost and we couldn’t
get it back. The water is very cold here and you can feel
it in the boat. It was about 5 degrees C when we arrived at low tide but fell
to 3 degrees with the incoming flood tide.
Our next stop will be Rimouski on the other side of the river where the water
should be a little warmer.
Monday, August 8, 2005
Tadoussac
It was a foggy day when we
pulled away from Tadoussac at about 7:00 am. The fog was not particularly thick but the
radar is not hooked up. I sat on the bow
with a fog horn which I would use to warn Ken of any ships ahead. It was a cloudy morning with little wind to
banish the fog. Suddenly I heard a
booming fog horn which I knew was a freighter.
When I heard it again, I could tell it was passing ahead of us. I had warned Ken and we both watched
intently. We came out of the fog bank we
had been in long enough to see the back of the freighter heading away from
us. We promptly were into another bank
and I continued my vigil on the bow.
Occasionally the sun would peek out from behind a cloud and the fog
would lift a bit and a quick look around reassured me of no freighters. An hour or so later, the sun came out briefly
and I could see a freighter directly ahead.
Fog came in again but I was pretty sure that the freighter would have
passed us by the time we reached the area where I saw it. Later, I was able confirm this in a break in
the fog. The clouds were clearing up and
the sun was burning off most of the fog.
It was turning into a nice day. I
was surprised that we had not seen any whales yet. When we were here three years ago, we saw a
great many. Several seals popped up
their heads to peer at us, but no whales.
We pulled into Rimouski gas dock at 6:30
pm. We motored to our assigned
dock. Chelsey enjoyed her walk on the
grass around the Marina building. I decided
that I would cook the curry dish I had been wanting to
do for some time. Ken went to a nearby
marine store and came back with some material which he hoped would fix the
small leak we still had. The sink and
companionway stairs came off as Ken began his work. After a couple of hours, he had done the work
and my galley was put back together. Ken
went to shore and I had started cooking when Ken came back to the boat. He was surprised to find me cooking already
because he had planned that we would have dinner at the restaurant. I was disappointed to have missed the luxury
of a dinner out, but the curry dinner was delicious.
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
Rimouski
We started off for Matane, which was only 40 miles away. We were not very far when the Ken noticed
that the engine was overheating. We
turned it off and continued under jib in the light following sea.
Ken spent some time determining the problem. He noticed that the metal
arm holding the alternator had broken. This is something fashioned by the good
folks at Durham Marine. It broke right where it was bent. Anyhow, the heat
exchanger works by having the belt turn the circulating pump. With the
alternator arm broken there is not enough tension on the belt to circulate the glycol
to cool the engine. We would have to leave the motor off until the problem
could be fixed. So we sailed for the
time being. After 5 or 6 hours it became
evident to Ken that we would not make Matane before
nightfall so he suggested a point along the way that would provide some
shelter. We found a suitable spot to drop anchor and proceeded to deploy the
dinghy motor from the stern rail to the dinghy. We have become good at doing
this. The 6 hp, 4 stroke Yamaha weighs about 90 lbs.
We simply raise and lower it with the mizzen halyard. Ken took Chelsey to shore several times
traveling about ½ a mile each way. In the dinghy he can go 12 - 15 knots once
he’s up and planing. During the night it rained hard
several times with thunder & lightning, but it was mostly clear by morning.
Wednesday, August 10,2005
We were off by 6 am as Ken
used the windlass to pull anchor and unfurled the jib. We clipped on ‘Clipper’
(the name we have given the dinghy) in case any motoring was required. We still
had 20 miles to Matane but the wind was light. So we
sailed at 2-3 knots and enjoyed about a knot and a half of current.
The marina at Matane is subject to silting and we were concerned about
the depth at low tide. We decided to go
into a very large protected area at just before the marina at Matane .
It’s the shipping and fishing port where the chart shows good water depth.
Once inside, we tried to put
down the anchor but the electric windlass had no power. What now!
As we drifted very slowly,
Ken worked to find the problem. He found
a loose connection and we finally could deploy the anchor with hope of
retrieving it electrically. This gave us
time to look around and see where the best place to anchor for the night would
be. It was clear we couldn’t stay where
we were as there was a large docking area for a passenger ship and we were
right in front of it. Deeper into the
bay, there was a smaller area in which we could see many colorful large fishing
boats tied to docks. There was room to
get in beside them where we could anchor and be out of the way. We pulled up the anchor (the electric
windlass working fine now) and used ‘Clipper’ to move us slowly in towards the chosen area
which was fairly close to shore and dropped the anchor. Shortly thereafter, a very large passenger
liner came and slowly turned around to present the stern of the ship to the
departure terminal. We would have been
in big trouble if we had not moved! Ken
took an anxious Chelsey to shore in Clipper.
Ken then set to work to fix the alternator arm. Once he jury rigged that
fix he started the engine…it went for a few seconds and then clunk to a sudden
stop. Not good. We buttoned up the cockpit surround to keep the water out in
case of rain. It also functions as a sort of greenhouse in the morning when
it’s a bit chilly. The sun shines in the large windows and warms the cockpit.
It’s commonly 5-10 C degrees warmer in the cockpit by 8 am unless we use the
force 10 diesel heater below. We enjoyed a restful sleep in relative solitude
once the logging mill rested for the night.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Matane
In the morning, there were
two other sailboats nearby, rafted together at anchor. The weather report
indicates SW 15- 25 knots …just what we need to get to somewhere that can
provide a mechanic. Ken takes Chelsey to shore for
her business and upon returning requests my assistance to help him raise the
dinghy motor to the stern rail. Once
this is done, Ken decides to clip ‘Clipper’ on our starboard quarter for travel
there. Towing the dinghy with large following seas has its problems with stress
on the tow lines as well as the dinghy ramming the boat. This new method of
transporting the dinghy proved to be much superior when wind & wave build
from behind. As long as travel is downwind, this method is most satisfactory.
We hope to find a mechanic at either St Anne des Monts
or further along at Riviere au Renard.
As we departed, there was a light breeze, 8-9 knots says the wind speed
indicator. We are moving at 2.5 knots but with a 1.5 knot current. It is just after
high tide, so we should have current for another 6 hours or so. Ken heads the
boat out from shore in search of more wind. In less than half an hour he finds
it… 18-19 knots from directly aft. I am
below during this time and am oblivious to the build up as I type away trying
to catch up on days of this journal.
After another hour of so, I begin to notice the motion a little
more. I ask “what’s going on out there”? “26 knots …..I need your help to reef” he screams! It is very difficult to keep the boat on
course with a full genoa in this kind of wind, to prevent jibing or back winding. Once we reefed a little, control was
regained. Ken had to take the helm most
of the time in these conditions. At one
point we had a lull of 19 knots, so he asked me to take it for a while. Of course, within 5 minutes we were up to
23-24 knots of wind …Ken took over. The
wind continued to build and we had to reef twice more during the ensuing
hours. By 12:30 the wind was over 30
knots and the following seas were 2.5-3 meters with some breaking crests. We were making a good 8 knots over the ground
with less than half of our jib deployed, no main, no mizzen … and no motor. The
dinghy was fine and in no danger. We
were making better time than originally anticipated. We would be coming up on St Anne des Monts where there is a marina and hope of a mechanic. Our
ETA was now 2 pm, but by 1:30 or so the wind was howling at 33 knots with one
gust to 35 registered. We contacted the Marina at St Anne des Monts letting them know that we were planning on coming in
to anchor. The first contact yielded someone not too conversant in English; but
shortly thereafter we got someone that spoke pretty good English. I asked where
it was appropriate to anchor. I was told
the eastern side of the Marina. I
further inquired that he meant the eastern side after we entered the
harbor? He said yes. So as we were
headed for the harbor opening it became apparent that the whole thing was a lot
smaller than we thought and to make it we’d have to tack which we did first to
avoid going into a rock breakwater & then again to avoid going into the
other rock breakwater. Too much wind and the inability to tack efficiently
enough to reasonably expect to negotiate the entrance, but with no reasonable
chance of going back without hazard; the only salvation was the anchor that Ken
told me to deploy. The wind & water are swirling as 35 knot winds threaten
to drive us into the cement pier only 50 feet away. People are gathering on the
wharf as our plight is obvious. Ken has the handheld VHF and is trying to get
assistance, he’s initially told that no one can help him right now but that the
wind will die down later! Now we’re less than 40 feet from the pier as we
scramble for another anchor & rode. We managed to get the anchor & rode
to the bow, but getting the rode ready and attached and untangled, was nearly a nightmare with impending doom as we gradually
dragged toward the unforgiving cement wall. Finally, the second anchor was
thrown as far as Ken could throw it in desperation. At the same time Ken wants
me to get the third anchor. This proves
impossible as it is buried at the bottom of a full cockpit locker. Meanwhile, radio communications now indicate
that there will be help coming shortly….to pull us into the harbor. Ken gets the snubber
for the chain on the windlass that is holding us where we are. The idea is to
reduce the stress on the anchor so it doesn’t give. Now indications on the
radio are that somebody will be out shortly but will pull us to the outside of
the harbor behind the pier on the east side. As the rescue boat appears Ken pulls up
the second anchor and takes the snubber off the
windlass chain. The rescue boat with 700 hp of engine throws a line that Ken
grabs and secures to the bow. Immediately, the rescue boat is powering to pull
us in exactly the opposite direction that the windlass anchor is holding us. In
short order the bow roller bends and more chain is dragged thru the windlass as
it is
overpowered. The major threat now is that the forestay gets broken…..Ken had no
choice but to let the towline go. So now
that we’ve been dragged another 50 feet by the rescue boat, we’re only 10 feet
from the cement wall. Ken is up on the
bow trying to bring some of the chain in that got hauled out only seconds
earlier. The windlass itself could not pull hard enough without Ken physically
helping it. With one hand Ken pressed the windlass up button and with the other
he helped drag in some chain. After 30
seconds or so we were back to about 40 feet from the wall …then the anchor gave
way ….the boat was going to hit. A frenzy of attempts to mitigate the damage
with voices everywhere above us screaming direction and suggestions in French
and broken English as Anita vainly tries to hold bumpers in place. The rescue boat was back…Ken grabbed the line
and secured it. 700 hp was dragging us down the cement pier toward the rock
breakwater; the rescue boat had to get enough way on to be able to perform the
task at hand, but it was a little hair raising
to say the least, frankly at this time I had lost my composure and was
screaming. When it was evident that we
weren’t going into the rocks I realized that the rescue boat was now dragging
us and that we were dragging the anchor underneath us. The windlass circuit
breaker had blown and had to be reset before it would work. As we got close to
the dock in the inner harbor, Ken prepared the towline for release as I steered
the boat. Two or three others were trying to assist from the dock but we got
blown off the end. The rescue boat was
back and with line thrown and secured we were towed to a different dock where
we made a less than spectacular landing with the bow hitting the low lying
wooden dock. It has red paint and now so
does Joint Venture. The overall damage from the run in with
the cement pier was superficial, mainly paint scraped off
in a few places. Once the boat was well tied, I slugged back some Bailey’s and
hoping to compose myself, I tried to read while the wind generator howled in
the strong wind; charging our half depleted battery system. The wind generator works only when the wind
is forward of the beam. Use at anchor or when beating gives good results with
sufficient wind. Our travels with the
wind behind us therefore do not produce any recharging by the wind generator.
The solar panel is our sole source of recharging otherwise with the engine
alternator out of commission. Once we’re
in open water/ocean we will use our water generator. By towing a propeller attached to a line that
turns an alternator that thru a series of diodes charges the batteries; similar
to a wind generator. With our Ampair water generator we hope to not to have to
run the engine for charging purposes very often (since it doesn’t seem to run
very often!) We were secure for the
night; we lit our brass oil lamps, (we have not seen any electrical outlets on
this dock,) had
a simple meal of soup and wine and finally unwound. We had to laugh at the goings on today. What next?
Tomorrow a mechanic is coming to tell us. An early night.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Sainte Anne des Monts
A rather chilly morning as we
groaned into the day. Aches and pains
from yesterday’s struggles are making themselves felt. Ken’s tendonitis in his left shoulder is
particularly painful and I have bruises sprouting everywhere on my arms.
I leave for a much needed
shower. When I return, Ken tells me that
the mechanic will be coming at 1:00 pm.
I do the dishes from yesterday, tidy the boat and prepare to do some laundry while
the engine is being looked at. At the
marina laundry room, I discover that the machines will not be available for
some time. We need to check our e-mail
so I check with the reception person at the large “tourist building” for the
nearest internet access. She indicates
the library has it and writes down the name and gives me directions. Not bad for two people speaking different
languages. I take my laundry with me as
I noticed that I will pass a laundry mat on the way to the library (Maison de la Culture).
Putting my laundry in to wash, I walk a couple of blocks to the Maison de la Culture and at no charge,
I am given access to the internet. I
check our e-mail, my chequing account/master charge
balance, etc etc.
Back to the laundry mat, I put the clothes into the dryer and go across
the street and buy some groceries. Back
to the laundry mat, I fold and load the clothes into the laundry bag, the
groceries are in my back pack and back I go to the boat, rather foot sore. Ken lets me know the results of the mechanic’s
visit. The engine will have to be lifted
from the boat by the marina’s hoist and taken to the shop! Wow…
His opinion is that this is a
good engine that should last for years.
Some of the parts and the flimsy method of installation by Durham Marine have resulted in our ongoing problems. He thinks that a bearing in the crankshaft
has gone as the flywheel is now seized.
Tomorrow we will move the boat to the hoist by 9:00 am; hopefully,
finally winching in the anchor and rode that we have not been able to get in
due to it running under the boat.
Winching it in would result in it scraping against the hull. Tricky business. To reward ourselves for our fortitude, we
went to a nearby Poissonnerie for what turned out to be a superb lobster
dinner. Back at the boat, Ken has lit
our diesel Force 10 furnace as we relax and contemplate what tomorrow will
bring.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Sainte Anne des Monts
We awaken to the sound of
rain pattering on the deck. The sky is
gray and it is apparent that the rain will not stop soon. The forecast is for wind gusting to 50 km
today. It is fairly calm this early
(6:30 am) so we don our rainwear and prepare the dinghy to receive the
motor. We use the windlass to transfer
all the chain from the chain locker in the boat into the dinghy. While I man the 6 hp motor, Ken hauls the
remaining chain out of the water. We
make some progress and then it becomes clear that the chain runs under the very
large inflatable boat behind us causing us to pull the chain at an angle and
the anchor will not come free. We decide
to try later when the large boat has left the dock. Ken unloads all the chain from ‘Clipper’ and
lays it neatly in long lines on the dock . Wet and hungry, we return to the boat. Ken lights our Force 10 cabin heater while I
rustle up some coffee, toast, etc. Shortly after 9 am the mechanic Alain Pratt arrives
while is was raining to say that he had a job to finish but that he’d be back
at 10 or so. He arrived shortly after 10 with a helper. By 12:45 Alain had the
engine ready to be lifted. The weather wasn’t cooperating so we agreed that
later in the day or early Sunday we would move the boat with ‘Clipper’ over to
the hoist area where a large 60 ft Shrimper has been
stationed for the last few days. It
rained all morning and the wind blew quite hard so it was obvious that we could
not move the boat that day. Perhaps tomorrow. Later in the day, the rain had stopped, so I
made a few strips back and forth to the laundry and got all our clothing and
bedding clean.
The wind continued to blow
hard throughout the evening and night.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
The sun shines brightly
today, but the wind continues very strong.
Again, not a day to try to move a 10 ton boat in close quarters with a dinghy and 6hp
motor. We do some grocery shopping in
the afternoon. Alain does not come by
today … he must know that we can’t move the boat in this wind.
Monday, August 15, 2005
A beautiful
day with little or no wind for a change. At 9:00 am, Alain and his helper
is there. Ken
has the dinghy clipped to the port quarter of the boat with the motor ready to
go. They help push us out and Ken uses
the engine to move us along…backwards works best. The engine has been prepared
to be removed and the shaft has been pushed back an inch and a half so we
cannot steer with the ship main wheel . As Alain and
his helper run to the pier where the hoist is, we slowly make our way around
the dock area and slide gently into place next to the pier wall where our lines
are taken. As Alain works below
fastening the engine so it can be raised, we hear English voices. On the dock are a couple from Michigan with
their daughter and her husband and their granddaughter. What a pleasure it is to converse easily in
our own language. They ask us about the
boat and the engine problem. They have
been sailing since the 1960’s and their latest boat is 44ft long. They are on their way to the Caribbean.
Carefully, the engine is
raised by the hoist and is finally on shore.
Our new friends are there to help take our lines as we move to the
nearby dock. Ken accompanies Alain as he
takes the engine to his shop. Later Ken
is back telling me some of Alain’s accomplishments. He is a mechanical engineer, boat builder and
artist. He takes Ken to see some of his work in a nearby park. There was a replica of a bulrush
made of steel 20 ft high with little LED’s at the top. Also intriguing and in
the works was a wind harp with heads that make whistling sounds depending on
the wind strength and direction. Later
he is back to go over what he has determined so far. At least 2 bearings will
have to be replaced. An internal oil line was broken some time back and is the
source of our present engine woes. The parts are available from Vancouver but
the crankshaft will have to be machined.
There is an area of the motor (part of the crankcase near the coupling)
which he cannot open to see if there is a problem with the bearings in
there. He will work on this tonight and
let us know tomorrow if he finds more problems.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Today, Alain came to take Ken
with him to his shop. After a couple of
hours, they were back. I had finished
grooming Chelsey and was working on this journal. Ken announced that Alain was with him to
measure for a new engine..?? Looks like
the only rational way to go now. The crankshaft will have to be machined in 3
places. The bearings can’t even be ordered until after that is done. The
coupling has stripped part of the keyway out and would have to be machined. In any case the minimum bill would be $6000,
maybe more and all for a 30 year old underpowered jury rig? As result of the new engine to be ordered
& installed, the sink presently overtop of the engine room will have to be
moved. This is actually something we’ve
wanted to do anyhow. The new location, which seems like the only possibility,
initially looked as if drawer space was going to be lost. Alain came up with a solution to salvage the
drawer. Counter space created by the
moving of the sink will require resurfacing.
Lots of reorganization of the hoses and lines will need to be done. It looks like we will be here for another 10
days at least. But in the end, we will
have a 40 hp engine with a built in heat exchanger. We have been underpowered with the present
engine…when it worked. Apparently, this
problem was probably there when we bought the boat and would have created this
damage at some point. We are glad it
happened now where there is such a good diesel mechanic to diagnose and advise
us of the problems. We plan to cruise in
this boat for many years to come, so we will get our money’s worth. If we ever plan to sell her, the new engine
will be a good selling point. Ken may be
working a few more winters though.
This evening, we will barbeque
some steak and enjoy our little sailing home 500 lbs lighter
. Later tonight there is a gale
warning in effect so we have been getting ready for it. Overcoming adversity is an integral part of
the cruising lifestyle, and part of our Joint Venture after all.
Stay tuned….
Ken, Anita & Chelsey
Joint Venture