Row, Row, Row Roe...

 

Why, you ask, are we paddling our dink, Roe?

Well either I goofed and didn't properly close the gas tank lid and water got into it (likely) or the gas jerrycan I used to refill this morning was contaminated with water (less likely).   Either way, outboard engines do not run on water. 

We bundled up to make the 3-mile journey to the Hidden Falls Hatchery in the next cove north.





The engine sputtered to an inglorious silence in the middle of our trip.  Spoiler Alert - all parties did survive.   We never made it to the Hatchery though.

Me with my head in the seat compartment draining water out of the fuel/water separator.   But it wasn't enough, we could not get it running again.
We got this close to the Hatchery, but no further.   Can you see the little green building hiding behind the rocks in the lower left quadrant?
So, we rowed Roe.  Back to the boat.

Exercise is good, right?

Just some more pictures of the magnificent scenery as we rowed Roe.

Not far from this purse seiner (fishing boat) we saw 2 Orca, but they didn't come and inspect us.

Nor did the fishing boat offer us a tow.   It's OK, we were making 1.4 knots with John & me rowing so, it really didn't take us that long to paddle home.   All good and all in good spirits.

It's boating! 
We rowed by this little islet on our way back.

We were being followed by a curious seal.   He stayed with us all the way back into the Ell Cove.
We spotted an eagle in its nest at the top of this tree just on the shore as we entered the leg of Ell Cove.
Here is a closer-up.
Yea, after about 50min of paddling we finally got to Blue Redd.
Back aboard and stowed.   Now comes the challenging part - how to get the water out of my fuel tank and fuel lines.

A quick call to Adam Hill of Fresh Air Dinghy Services confirmed what we had surmised.

  1. Siphon the fuel tank to get all the water out.
  2. Drain the water from the water separator (and replace the filter)
  3. Drain the injection pump on the engine.
  4. Repeat until all water is out and the engine runs smoothly.


Carnitas Taco Night!   Yea!   And great friends all around.
And then a hotly contested game of Rummy Cube.  I like their rules where after the first person goes out we all play open so the entire the table wins!  





Not really sunset, but rather a bald eagle along the rocky shoreline here in Ell Cove.

Tomorrow we are off to Freshwater Bay about 45 miles to the north along Chatham Strait.   The weather is supposed to be relatively nice.   To catch the favorable current, we will depart at 1100 (11:00am).  The current will turn foul (against us) as we near Freshwater Bay.   The currents flow around both ends of the island and meets just south of Freshwater Bay.  We will fight it a bit for the last 10 miles or so.  I'm planning on it taking us 6 hours to get there.   We shall see.

Noche Bueno, mi amigos.

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