Today was a disaster. (but we are alive and well to write to y’all about it, so I guess it wasn’t that bad)
It started out first thing in the morning with both of us having near heart-attacks when I almost crashed our boat into another boat in the mooring field while exiting Cuttyhunk harbor. It was a terrifyingly close call, and an epically stupid move on my part due to losing control of the steering because I thought the engine was in gear and it was actually in neutral. Some angels must have been helping us out on that one, I still am somewhat in shock over how close we came to hitting that boat.
Then we proceeded to leave the harbor and face 20 knot winds on the nose with turbulent waves coming across Buzzards Bay. We had to head straight into the wind for aways to get out of the harbor, and we bucked like a bronco making very slow headway. It was a wild, rough ride. Some people find sailing like that pure bliss and fun, but I found it pretty stressful. We were motor sailing into the wind until we reached open enough waters to alter our course for better sailing. And then our engine died. Just like that, the engine suddenly died. We had no idea why. It happened so suddenly and without warning….
Ok…..no problem….we’ll sail. There’s definitely enough wind for it! So we sailed across Buzzards Bay until we reached the mouth of the New Bedford harbor. We contemplated continuing on our planned route in the direction of Block Island/Long Island and figuring out the problem down there, but it seemed more prudent to find out what the problem was sooner rather than later. We couldn’t go all the way into the harbor under sail alone because it was straight into the wind and the entrance is very narrow. So we thanked God that we have a membership to TowBoat U.S. and called them for a tow.
That was a new experience, getting towed in a sailboat by a tiny little tow boat! The guy who helped us was wonderful. He towed us right into a narrow slip (that was impressive) in a marina that was right across the street from a West Marine and several other boat supply stores. Cap’t K. tried trouble shooting the problem and could only determine that it was a fuel supply problem. Luckily within a few hours we had a diesel mechanic on board who knew way more than us. We almost had another heart attack when he suggested that it looked like a problem with the fuel injector pump (the main reason we are so stressed out about money is because we just spent $2,000 on a fuel injector pump for Cap’t K’s car)
But on further investigation, he discovered that it was a clogged fuel pump. Apparently the wild ride we were on bucking the giant waves stirred up a bunch of sludge that had been resting at the bottom of our 40 year old fuel tank, and to make things even worse, some water seeped into the fuel tank somehow. Those two things combined clogged our filter in jiffy! With a new $30 fuel filter, he got it running again, and gave us a bunch of helpful tips on the care and feeding of our engine. Brian was another wonderful angel!We still have some trouble shooting to do on our water in the fuel tank problem, but that is another story. For now we are back in business.
So, here we are tucked into a marina slip, enjoying hot water and full electric hookup, feeling both grateful that things weren’t as bad as they could have been, and also feeling major regret for having missed the wind window we had been counting on to get us west. Tomorrow the wind is going to turn west AND die down to light and variable. So we will be waiting for better wind to make it to New Jersey.
Our plan right now is to try to make it to Block Island tomorrow, and enjoy ourselves there until Monday, when the wind is forecasted to be in our favor once more.
But who knows what will happen!!! Planning is starting to feel pointless….
Hang in there. I am a firm believer that there is a reason for things that happen we just don’t understand what they are at the time. Things will get better and more enjoyable as they go along. I love reading about your adventures.
Deb
Thank goodness for TowBoat! We had the same thing happen when we tried to cross the Gulf last year. It’s frustrating (and a little scary). But we ended up having the best crossing weather the next day. Things tend to work out for the best. We’ll be following your trip! Fair winds!
Definitely sounds like it’s a good idea to shake things up a bit before heading out into the open ocean. To bad you missed those perfect NW winds though.
Sounds like another good story to put in a book! All part of the learning and experience process I guess. Glad you are safe and making repairs in a safe marina. BTW A friend pulled the engine out of their 36′ Cape Dory, choosing to sail without the extra weight and headache; I know several who have done the same. Not for everyone, to be sure! But I am confident you too will someday get to the point you only need an engine for sheer convenience, and use it less then you ever thought you would. Hope you have some great weather to enjoy coming south. Enjoying your adventures and travails.
Steve
If only we were confident enough sailors to take our engine out entirely!! I would love that, as I HATE motoring. The most painful part of our engine breakdwon episode was that it caused us to miss out on the perfect northwest wind we had been waiting for…..we didnt even need to the engine to get west….but we didnt feel confident enough to get into an anchorage or harbor without it. One of the first sailing books I read was the first journey by Lynn and Larry Pardey on Seraphyn. They sailed around the world without an engine and I seiously admire their skills in being able to do so ( and it sounds like your friends are very skilled also!)
You guys are doing great. Engine or no engine, I’d kill for a block island weekend! The Pardeys were here a few weeks ago, my friend spent the day with them, they are wonderful and a real source of inspiration…as are you guys! Thanks for the blog!
Fair winds!
Steve
Sounds strangely familiar, only we thought we were in forward instead of reverse when we almost hit our mooring neighbor during the first week of owning our boat! Try to look at it this way, getting to know your engine intimately now and getting all the bugs out is a good thing. It will all be under control for the rest of your trip south, hopefully! Enjoy Block Island, it should be beautiful this time of year, it is incredibly crowded in the summer season.
If you ask me, which nobody did, deisels don’t belong in a sailboat. They just don’t get used enough and you end up with sediment and water in the fuel. One little air bubble and the whole thing shuts down and it takes an act of god to get it started again. I know the arguments against gas engines but they worked and very few had explosions. If you maintain it correctly gas is fine. Too bad the marine industry doesn’t agree with me. Did you clean out your fuel tank to make sure there wasn’t more sediment or water waiting to ruin your next filter? At least have two more filters on hand.