HI from the Wye

We are still at Quarter Cove on the Wye River...a truly beauthiful spot.  (38 52.7 N  076 09.3 W)  In my last Blog I meantioned that there was only one other boat in this cove and that was tied to a dock in front of a home.  Well the owners came by yesterday, we complimented each other on our good taste in boats (the boats are identical) and they  invited us to their home this evening for dinner.  In addition, they suggested we use their dock to take on water in their absence.  We took them up on their offer and filled our water tanks to the brim.  Again, people on the Bay are just terrific!

Speaking of the Bay, last week we motorsailed  from the Bohemia River to the Rhode River as we previously mentioned.  There was little or no wind and the course was clearly marked by buoys every mile.  Trudie was on the helm and navigating down the river; I was getting antsy looking for something to do.  I remembered that the hour meter on the engine had stopped working so I decided to diagnose the problem.  Out came the test meter and I started fiddling around.  I touched a wire to the hour meter...SPARKS !!!!  AND THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY WENT DEAD !!!  WHAT THE #@%& !!!!  The entire engine/starter circuit stopped working....and the engine could not be restarted.  In fact, when the key was turned, nothing...absolutely NOTHING happened.  We were right in the middle of a main shipping channel leading to Baltimore, with HUGE ships transiting the Bay.  There was little or no wind, but we had our mainsail up which allowed Trudie to sail to the edge of the channel.  This took approximately 20 minutes to go a couple of hundred yards to clear the channel.  We made it without any ships passing by and were able to safely anchor just outside of the channel so I could begin diagnosing the problem.  Trudie was great, assisting where she could, but most of all keeping me calm.  (Later, she admitted that she was not looking forward to call for a tow or worse, spending the nights anchored next to a major shipping channel.)   An hour and a half later the enging roared back to life and we were on our way.  I found a circuit breaker hidden away mounted on the back of the engine in a very inaccessable spot.

What I (note: "I" not "WE")  did wrong:  working on major systems while under way is a low percent move.  WE have agreed that I won't do that again.  We agreed that I am limited to cleaning and polishing and keeping my hands off all major systems.

What I did right:  1)  We had the mainsail up even though the wind was very light.  This permitted us to sail out of trouble; although it took at while.  2)  I had ordered a complete engine manual, together with a parts diagram just before leaving.  Being able to use the wiring diagram contained in the manual  to trace the problem saved the day. 

We averted our first real emergency by keeping our heads, and working through the problem.  It was a true team effort. 

Next Blog:  Last nite's CRAB ADVENTURE....or the crew goes down Tobacco Road......  See ya......