Not Again!

The day Kim & Lu flew home the forecast was for temps to be pushing 80. Where was the warmth when they were here? Anyway they made it safely home to single digit temperatures.

For Pam & I it was get ready for the dinghy poker run. We launched the dinghy, filled it with gas and pulled the cord. After a couple of pulls it fired. Things are looking good considering it had not been run since Kentucky Lake.
We went to the pre run meeting toting our pfd's, vhf radio, and whistles to prove to the organizers that we were in compliance with the safety regulations. We received our instructions and then waited for the starting signal to take off. I never really heard the signal but several of the dinghy's took off so we followed suit. Bru & Sandy (M/V Coconuts) went with us in our dink so we had a load but not more than what our 25 could handle. Two of the stops were across the river so we thought we'd knock them off first. Once we were out of the no wake area I hit the throttle expecting the boat to get up on plane with perhaps a little weight shifting. Guess again. We never got to the point that we had to shift our weight. The motor just choked and sputtered as I gave it the gas. Back to a fast idle speed and continue on across the river.

We made it eventually after being humiliated by faster 15 hp dinghy's that had passed us. And the good news is that we picked up our first token without anyone getting wet along the way. Back underway we made it to the 2nd stop and decided to stop for a drink and an appetizer. Good idea. Big mistake. While we were stopped the wind picked up and our ride back across wasn't so dry. We managed to get around to all the other stops and make it back in time to check in.

Our poker hands were checked and for awhile we had the highest hand. We then had a kind of potluck dinner followed by a duck race that Pam & I participated in and would have won except for a pfd malfunction. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

Pam going head to head with our competition. The idea was to blow the plastic duck from one end to the other then switch the pfd over to your partner and then they blow the duck back to the starting line. The pfd must also be buckled or you would be disqualified. Our problem came during the pfd exchange or we would have had it!

With the temps forecast to be near 80 for the next few days I was able to twist Pam's arm and get her to put off the laundry and go out on the hook for a couple of nights. We went to one of our favorite spots, Glover Bight. Others must have had the same idea because by nightfall there were 8 other boats anchored around us.

Tuesday we woke to a nice bright sunny day which lasted about an hour before the sea fog rolled in and it never quite left for the rest of the day keeping temps around 69. I changed the spark plugs in the dinghy motor and then we fired it up and went in to Rumrunner's for lunch before exploring the canals in the area. Somewhat chilled we cut our exploration short and returned to Tourist to warm up. I never got to open up the dinghy and test it since the surrounding area is all no wake.

Rumrunner's

 A nice 55 Fleming sharing our anchorage.

For a little while we have been noticing two distinct sounds on Tourist that kept occurring at all times of the day and night. One was one of the toilet pumps running as though it had been flushed, and the other was the water pump cycling on and off without any faucets being opened.

While we travelled back to Legacy I went through a mental checklist of what could be wrong in each case. For the head I determined it was probably the duckbill valves that needed replacing. I kept thinking that until once at the dock I was able to crawl in to where the pump is located and find that the bellows was leaking causing a pressure drop. New bellows ordered!

As for the water pump, well we had the same symptoms back in Ky. Lake when we had a water leak. But we have been checking the compartments that had been flooded then and they were dry. That is until again back at the dock we opened the floor and presto. Water again! Further investigation revealed that the same tubing was leaking once more. Uff Da!

Maybe I'll just get some goldfish!

This repair should be easy. All the hardware stores carry pex tubing. Right? Right. But not in metric sizes. I need 15 mm tubing and everywhere I looked had half inch. Close but no cigar!
Knowing that I have the proper size back home and that we were headed home in a few days I plugged the line and decided to end my frustration with the local vendors and get what I needed at home.

Before we left for our trip home a group of us got together to have dinner one evening at The Roadhouse Café and listen to Lynn Richardson sing. Lynn is the wife of Legacy Harbormaster Eric and has a wonderful smoky voice. As always the food was very good and the entertainment equally good. (www.roadhousecafefl.com)

Roadhouse Gang.