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Published: August 15th 2017
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FROM AMA LOG: Monday, 8/14/17
DEPART: Forward Harbor @ 0620
ARRIVE: Port McNeil @ 1815
NM:
WEATHER: Clear skies and red clouds to east at sunrise.
PILOTAGE: Ama’s sailors were up early and ready to head out by 0620 expecting light winds and
good weather in the Johnstone Strait for an early morning departure. The
unforgettable warning sound from the control panel stopped us before we even
left the harbor. “Engine overheating,” says the Capt. An experienced crew never panics, so we
simply don our lifejackets, set anchor and open up the floorboards so the
captain, turned mechanic, could diagnose the problem. Could it be a simple air
lock in the engine? That possible solution worked last year, so Peter
opens & closes nuts, check all the fittings, all seem well so we close up the hatches. It's not long
underway, that we have to stop, this time out of the harbor, and not too far from Whirlpool Rapids and the tide
was running towards it so we hailed for help and were quickly
towed back in by a friendly local sailor on his way to Vancouver Is.
So the trouble shooting starts, books come out, manuals
found and poured over, logs from previous years consulted. At one point I swear
Peter was channeling a surgeon from another life, “ratchet”, large phillips head, rags” I was
ready to swab next. He worked for at least 2 hours and was finally satisfied enough for a test run against the anchor. We had to reset because Ama kept pulling her out so we made furious passes back and forth, across the bay, full throttle with only one boat left in harbor to dodge.
Success! It was time to set sail again, actually motoring, newly repaired, out the now familiar passage into the channel leading to the
dreaded Johnstone Strait. We lament the waste of time, knowing the loss of early
light winds means we may have to take the long way around the Strait. Instead
of danger and ferocity, a beautiful calm, sunny lake greets us.
Not long after fully entering the Strait, we realize that
the inverter doesn’t work any more. Of course, with all the hatches opening and
tools flying, we assume, a switch is not in the right position. We check and
recheck but only a fluttering dim red warning light leads Peter crawling back
down into the engine room to check voltage readings. One of the only advantageous of
being fully exposed in Johnstone, is that we have cell service. We were on a first name
basis with the Inverter manufacturer’s rep before the end of the third call but still no
luck on this repair. We may have gotten it too wet while fixing the engine,
either way, now Ama has only 12V electrical power until we make major repairs on shore.
No matter what our eyes see, we still fear this threatening,
huge body of water, large enough to be a Great Lake, fierce enough to knock
down bigger sailboats and our own knowledge of how treacherous this calm vista
could turn out to be in just a few hours. We monitor the weather when each new report comes out every 4 hours; we
track other boats, their direction, speed and general well being. We make
escape plans all along the route, “only 6 nm to the next safe harbor, and only
2 nm to the passage that takes us behind an island or temporary anchorage.”
Enjoying every last bit of sunshine we enjoy a safe journey and with no turbulence except from passing wakes, all the way to Port McNeil where we plan to apply ourselves to steady maintenance and repairs.
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