Fingers Crossed - 6/15

Quijote has hit a bit of a snag, a minor catastrophe if you like.  Yesterday morning we roused ourselves early to do a 38 mile day to Sook. I asked Kevin to fire up the engine a few minutes early to give the batteries time to charge a little before we fired up the electronics.  This is becoming increasingly necessary as we proceed, so it's looking like a full replacement of the house batteries will be in my future after I return home.  Kevin did as I asked and the engine was purring away as it always does. Moments later a wail started coming out of the engine room, followed by billowing smoke.  We shut the engine down and took stock.  The starter motor was burned up. My guess is that the pinion gear got stuck in the engaged position and it burned itself up.

What to do. We were anchored in Port San Juan near the town of Port Renfrew. Thankfully Vi and Thomas had mobile phone service. Thomas had to be in Victoria the next day, so we had three things to work out: finding a new starter motor, finding a way of getting it to the boat, and finding a way to get Thomas into town and on the bus back to Victoria.

The last of those was accomplished with the help of a fishing boat and some phone calls to the bus company.  So we're down to three again.

I called a marine supply in Sook and they were able to find the right part in Vancouver. It's being overnighted to Sook, but unfortunately Port Renfrew is remote enough that no delivery service operates out here. They suggested I call places around town and see if I could find anyone making the drive.  With low expectations I called the marina, and hit the jackpot on the first try.  The woman in the office is making the trip this afternoon, when the part is expected to arrive, and will pick it up for us.  Then she'll ask her husband to run it out to us in his boat. What luck.

So we wait.  If everything works out as planned, we'll have the part in hand this afternoon, a day and a half after destroying the old one.  If the part is delayed or it's the wrong part, we'll be waiting a lot longer.  Best case, were home two days late. Worst case, we start worrying about our food, water, and battery levels.  It's been a stressful kind of boredom.

Meanwhile gale force winds are blowing out in the strait making it a boisterous, stressful kind of boredom.  Vi has been sitting in the cockpit to mitigate the nausea that comes with so much rolling around at anchor.  We can't wait to get out of here.