As I sailed out the cut, it was hard to believe it was the
same place we’d entered yesterday.
Again, it was wind against current but there was just a gentle swell
coming in from the ocean. We’d raised
the mainsail and exited the cut with such ease! Once out in the open water, we raised the headsail and had a very
nice sail south. The waters had a
slight “chop” to them but they were a hundred times better than only 24 hours
ago. It made me realize when we get to
doing these longer passages, how dramatically the seas can change so
quickly. I will have to keep this in
mind when we’re struggling thru rough waters that in a very short time, the
seas could calm and we’ll be a peace.
But I also have to remember the opposite can occur and not get too
complaisant.
About 1 hour out of the entrance to our destination (George
Town area), Larry started the motor.
Our speed had dropped quite a bit and we didn’t want to enter the cut
after dark. He motored along for a
brief time when all of a sudden there was a screeching siren. We quickly realized it was the alarm for the
motor. The motor was overheated! We shut it down (luckily we were still
sailing so could still make progress) and Larry searched for the problem. My husband is amazing. For so many people, this would be the end
and they would simply radio for help.
Not Larry. He worked until he
found the problem. Something had been
sucked into our water intake (that cools the engine) and water wasn’t
flowing. He took apart the necessary
things, found a hose that would fit and was able to release whatever was
blocking the intake by blowing into the hose.
(Larry: basically, I blew air
out the bottom of the boat where water normally is sucked in for the engine;
blowing away whatever plastic bag, or sea life had gotten sucked in). We started the engine again and all seemed
fine. We monitored it closely as we
entered George Town but Larry’s repair seemed to work. No more problems.
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