It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Best of Times

Thursday, August 16

Alas, have the sweet sound of the engine once again on the An Cobh……and it didn’t take long to ready ourselves for the departure we’d been anticipating.  After saying our good-byes to other fellow cruisers, and employees that we had befriended, we were off and not looking back….well almost…..I had to take some pictures of Plymouth from a different angle.

Lisa helping with our spring line as we were tied to the slip

Anxious to get back on the water!

One last look at the Plymouth Rock as we head out of the Marina, from a different angle

We had been held "captive" too long

Duxbury Pier Light where it all started 16 days ago with our boat being towed

While under way Tim removed the mainsail cover and I was half expecting to see moths fly out!! It had been over two weeks since we even thought about sailing. However, the winds were calm so sailing was out of the question, but that was fine by us since Tim wanted to test the engine under a full load for a few hours to be sure it was faring well……and it did. Relief came over both of us as we were able to relax a bit in the comfort of knowing this 33 year old Westerbeke engine was going to keep us sailing after all!

Scituate Harbor, MA

We left Plymouth on Thursday, the 16th around noontime planning on spending an overnight on a mooring in Scituate Harbor that evening, then onto Gloucester Friday morning. We were heading north finally !!  It was noticeable that there was still a leak but we thought it was some residual fuel from the work that had been previously done.  

No such luck I’m afraid. Ahhhh hhhha…….never let your comfort zone get the best of ya!  We’re still not out of the “repair” mode with this boat. While on a mooring in Gloucester Friday evening, Tim discovered yet another more serious problem with our diesel system. Evidently we have a pretty major leak with the diesel now, and nobody is there on the week-ends of course! 

Researching the problem

Tim spent hours himself working on it to see exactly where the leaking was occurring and it’s going to need some expertise from a working yard in Salem, which is about 14 miles south of Gloucester. We’ll head over there first thing in the morning! You noticed I said “SOUTH”…what happened to going NORTH???

It’s rather discouraging for both of us, because of the time, let alone the expense, that’s been spent on this engine, and now we’re no longer even considering going any further north, so we most likely will never even get to Portsmouth, NH, let alone Portland, Maine as had originally planned.  Who knows what is next on the agenda? We’ll take it one day at a time. When you lose a certain amount of “trust” in your engine, it’s very disconcerting.

Now it's Tuesday, August 21st and things are looking up again, as the diesel problem was quickly and expertly remedied by Dion's Marina in Salem. Such an emotional roller coaster this has been! Very pleased with their efficient work getting us back into the cruising mode again.

As the drama unfolds, we are now, once again in Gloucester, this time at anchor and enjoying the peace of mind of a good running engine. Our plans now include Portsmouth tomorrow evening, and then onward towards Maine with the weather in our favor. Life is good!

The outer harbor of Gloucester, just inside the break wall, with all the peace and serenity you could appreciate