An outboard engine on a cruising boat is a very important piece of equipment. It’s like your car at home. Without it – you’re stuck with wherever you can row or take the “mother ship.” Our outboard right now is dead. Michael has tried everything he knows to fix it. Yesterday he took it apart at least three times and cleaned the carburetor (which seems to be the culprit). Now this is a new outboard – bought in June 2007 and hardly used until now – so that makes this all that much more frustrating. This morning, we woke up and tried again this morning – finding some new “gunk” and hoped that cleaning that would be the ticket. No joy. So now we’ll eat the cost of a marina for at least one night and get the outboard to a Yamaha dealer to see if they can do something QUICKLY. The marina and repairs do serious damage to the cruising kitty.
On a better note – the oil change was successful yesterday. Michael accomplished that messy task changing oil and all the filters (oil and fuel). Just in time for the fuel filters(they were looking pretty bad!).
The other good news was we cleaned the refrigerator and there was no spoilage and a stock of cheese was found on the lower shelf. There goes the cholesterol count! Some beer was also located.
The big news of yesterday was Jack on Anthem. All his varnish work in the marina literally paid off! He was approached by a still photographer who wanted to use Anthem as a background and location for a magazine photo shoot. It all worked out and yesterday morning they all showed up. Jack motored Anthem around the anchorage with models on board and a chase boat with the photograher following along, snapping away. It was a hoot and we have been teasing him ever since. They spent all morning on board , and weren't too demanding. He did have to move the fuel jerry cans, and take off the sail cover, and pull up the anchor so he could motor. All the guys in the anchorage were disappointed it was not a bikini shoot. Jack was happy and it was very entertaining for the rest of us.
What a "GQ" pose from the guy in white.
Make up!!
"Jack, steer more out of the sun!"
Last night, the boats of Sapodilla Bay were invited to “Inspiration Lady” for a party. This is a Brewer 48 custom built sailboat – built by the owners Jackie and Gary. It took 23 years to build in a shed in Canada – now that’s dedication. They did everything themselves – then sold the house, their possessions and sailed from Canada to here. They are continuing south for a planned circumnavigation. The cockpit could hold 12 people for the gathering. Lots of treats were provided from the various boats and good conversation. There are such interesting people who are cruisers. One guy, Theo, taught accounting in Dubai, Beijing, Malawi and also worked in Pakistan.
Cruisers of Sapodilla Bay enjoying sundowners.
It was a fun evening (much needed for Michael). Today, we’ll head into South Side Marina and impose on Simon and Charlyn the managers to drive us to the outboard repair place and hope they can help us and do so at little to no cost.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all the Irish and Irish wannabes out there.
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