On a very slow boat to Galapagos
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Wed 27 Feb 2008 17:33
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01:14.709S 85:41.796W
We are still plodding along with no wind at about 4
knots using the engine at full blast with a current of 2 knots against us.
We have never motored for this long before and have been worried about the
health of the engine (it's one of the few things that we did not replace before
leaving on this trip).
Last evening, Don did his routine engine check and
found oil on the floor of the engine room. The shift lever shaft seal on
the transmission is done for and leaking transmission oil at an unhealthy
rate. Don rigged an oil collection bucket from a cut off cranberry juice
container and every 4-6 hours has been pouring the collected oil back into the
transmission. We do have some transmission oil on board, but less than one
quart, so we're hoping Don's oil recycle rig will keep us going. We've
sent an email to the company that supplies these seals to ask if one is
available for fast shipment to the Galapagos. If the answer is yes then
Don will swap out the old seal with the new one when we get there. In the
meantime, we will continue to slog along with our fingers crossed.
Our latest ETA at the Galapagos is early Friday
evening. This is a full day and a half later than planned. If the
current from hell lets up then we will get there sooner. The weather is
still beautiful, the sea is flat and the deep sapphire blue color has returned
to the water. All of this is great, but we would sure like to see
the flat sapphire blue water pass by us faster.
Oscar is still surviving well. He taught me
the Ecuadorian card game of 'Forty' and I won the first round (beginner's luck),
then he won the second round (Ecuadorian skill). Later in the evening he
discovered the Garage Band software on our Mac and began to happily compose his
own music while periodically exclaiming, 'This is like Christmas for me!'.
Glad someone on this boat has the talent for music composition because it
certainly isn't Don or myself.
More tomorrow - hopefully from a faster
boat.
Anne
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