November 11th
An important day in Canada and the US too… remembering the fallen and those who fought with them. The rift in America because of the election brings into sharp focus the need for calm heads and a drive for peace, so the mistakes of the past will not be repeated now or in the future.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Sea of Cortez..
Lawrence and Tom are in the engine room diagnosing a big gremlin that has reared its ugly head. We organized ourselves this morning to leave, the boat was all washed and the Grady was made ready. Tom took the Grady out to meet us, we motored out grandly to connect with him – figured out the new tow line ( wow it’s big and long) and thus connected we headed up to Partida. After a while, all happy and full of breakfast, someone realized the gauge registering voltage was reading zero. Meaning the alternator was not doing its job. Batteries were quickly getting down to a “uh oh” zone. Much talk and consternation and suggestions ( I call it brainstorming) Phyllis pointed out that the gauge was doing its job again .
Great. A problem with the electrics that solves itself. No one can trust that! and sure enough… after a while.. back to not reading. We started the generator and quickly put the batteries back in their healthy zone, and reminded our crew we have a wing engine and hey, a Grady if it came to that… although that last resort would be that… a last resort.
A few more discussions and a thorough investigation in the engine room unearthed nothing, really. The decision was made that troubleshooting in a nice bay was probably better than going back to the dock, so we kept heading out. Yes, we do have a spare. No, it wasn’t with us. Alternators aren’t supposed to just stop working, or so I am told.
I kept asking “what would Bob Senter say” and suggest digging out his business card and firing up the sat phone, but I think the guys see this as a challenge. I can see the cogs turning in Tom’s head and Lawrence is dredging up all the knowledge we picked up at our Bob Senter Know Your Lugger classes.
So we kept going and dropped the hook in Partida. It’s a bit windy, there is one other boat here but it’s far away – there are some clouds in the sky, the wind comes and goes. Phyllis and I made quesadillas for lunch and served the leftover Calzone from Tom’s dinner last night ( from the Italian Restaurant at Costa Baja… fabulous food) ( I had prawns and took some back to the boat, but only had three this morning because I found a cat on the way home. ) (You’re welcome, Cally).
After lunch, while Phyllis did dishes I put on my suit and jumped in! wonderful! You can see the bottom but it is a bit murky, probably because of the wind and the storm we had yesterday. Also there is a channel connecting this bay to the other side of the islands – so the water is a lovely colour but it is slightly cloudy.
The guys have spent an hour in the engine room, coming up with theories – Something to do with a shunt and voltages and conductivity. Now they have quit, because they can’t determine which theory is right until the engine is started and no one wants to do that now. Time to cool everything down and make it more comfortable for the crew in their quarters ( which they share with the engine room door). I see it is 4:20, which means the sun goes down in an hour! so time to sit outside and have a bottle of water, and enjoy life.
OK, Captain T just went in for a swim and has come out fairly quickly, complaining of a jellyfish sting. I told him I thought maybe there were jellies but he pooh poohed me. Talking another story now!
If they are there, there aren’t a lot – but still, a bit owie. I’m thinking it might be tide and wind current bringing them in.
So here we are. We have made it… bent but not broken! Not sure what tomorrow will hold, whether I will have a chance to kayak or snorkel or maybe we will take the grady around and explore the caves again. Depends on the tide, as we can’t get through the channel unless it’s high. Or maybe we can do a little exploring around the island. I do know there is a gremlin on the boat that needs hunting down so possibly the guys will be busy doing that.
Wind is coming up and the sun is going down. We had such a late lunch no one will be hungry for a while, and I have a strong suspicion once the beds in the guest cabin are made up, they may be filled pretty quickly! Out on the water all day, hot sun, drone of the engine, and spending time thinking really hard tires us old folk out pretty quickly!
Now I am watching the sun go down, avidly – Tom swears he saw a green flash the other evening, after we all agreed that doesn’t happen here. Looks possible… going to keep my fingers crossed. Some discussion right now about who brought the clouds and the little bitty rain storm ( although Cabo got hit harder)… however it is a relief from 35 plus degrees so no complaints here. Well, not many. And with that, time to watch the sun hit the clouds. Phyllis is putting together dinner, a rice and bean dish with chorizo sausage. Delicious! The cruise ship Northern Ranger sure knows how to eat!