Cruisin'....On A Sunday Afternoon

I love that song, and that's pretty much what we were doing on the way back to the marina yesterday.

'Cruisin on a Sunday afternoon'.

We spent the weekend "on the hook" at a quiet bay. We met up with old friends, met some new ones, swam, kayakked, and generally kicked back on this beautiful day of rest.

Of the two days, Sunday was definitely the most exciting. The morning started out with storm activity in the sky. This activity didn't last very long, nor did it curtail the escalating heat in any way. It was quick and rolled over us like a steamroller. When the weather had passed, it was soooooo hot. Because it was so hot, we decided to leave as late as we possibly could, since it would only be hotter back at the marina. There was no wind, so it was a motor trip back home. The diesel engine usually starts quickly, but today was a little slow. Once it did start, we were good to haul anchor and leave. We were traveling along, when we noticed a very quiet yet piercing sound. At first, we thought it was coming from someone's signal on the VHF radio,but we later realized that it was us, although it was difficult to track where this sound was coming from. It was so faint. It appeared to come from the engine area, and would get louder when we would reduce the RPMs. Once we got out of the channel, and into open water, we shut the engine off. My Sweetie went to check the engine compartment, and discovered an engine oil leak. There was also oil in the bilge. That pretty much ruled out the possibility of us motoring home. There was also NO wind, so that also ruled out a sail home. At this point, to our port, one of the local ferries was approaching to enter the channel. To our starboard, there was a small power boat out for a dinner cruise. We hailed the power boat for assistance, and, after explaining our situation, we threw them a line and they began towing us south. We then radioed our friends, who had departed with us, but were now further ahead. We also explained our situation, and they advised that they would return to meet us and tow us the rest of the way to the marina. We also called our marina, since we would later require assistance at the dock.

*pause*...cruising along under tow at about 7 knots.....sweet.

The tricky part was approaching the marina entrance. We had to remain tied to the towing boat until we close enough to the dock, then release the tow line and steer the boat toward the dock, and cast lines to gas dock staff. This maneuver was successful, and the boat was tied to the gas dock for the night.

It's good to have friends who will go out of their way to help you, no matter what. It's also good to know that there are still people out there who will help you, even if they don't know you.

That's the boating community in general.