A GREAT MYSTERY! ! ! ! !

SHIP'S LOG:

I am faced with a great mystery . . . who or what is stealing the oil? On Labor Day, before taking a sail, I had to put 4 quarts of oil into the engine. Having already filled it up last week, I was wondering where it went. In truth, there is only two places it could go: 1.) into the bilge, or 2.) out the exhaust.

Now if it was dripping into the bilge, it would be rather obvious. A gallon of oil would make a mess, smell terrible mixing with the other stuff dwelling in the bilge, and be quite visible, filling up the sump(the lowest part of the bilge). But simple observation did not indicate the presence of a gallon of oil. So it does not appear that it is dripping/leaking into the bilge.

Secondly, if the oil wasn't staying in the engine and/or the boat, it had to be exiting out the exhaust. If the engine was burning it, it would show up in the exhaust. It would be blue-black and heavy, yet running the engine produces no visible exhaust! Of course, it could simply be leaking and being blown out of the exhaust. If that was the case, there would be an oil slick but I am unable to see one.

So the oil is going away and I have no idea where or how. I got in touch with a couple of guy at TYC who are into diesel engines and we will see what we can find tomorrow. I am sure that we will find the answer and hopefully it will be simple and inexpensive to rectify.

I took the afternoon to clean the bottom again and it needed it. The prop was encrusted and it took the long time to clean it all off. My hands got pretty nicked up by the barnacles and other crustaceans whom I evicted from the prop and shaft. The funny thing about removing the slime and marine growth was that it was much heavier on one side of the boat than the other. I guess that it is probably a function of which side "get the most sunshine," or something like that.

I am still trying to get refinanced and it sort of looks as though it is going to happen but right now, having gone through half a dozen underwriters after talking with the guys who take down all the info, it always seems to fall apart. It is just seeming to take forever and it could delay departure.

Then again there is the congo-line of tropical storms that have suddenly appeared ikn the Caribbean. The first one, Hanna is projected to come up the East Coast over the weekend and there are two more behind it, with the potential for others forming in the South Atlantic. Depending on how many storms develop and which way they go, ther could be more delays. It is amazing how such a simple thing is getting more and more complicated.

MASTER'S PERSONAL LOG:

Delay! Delay! Delay! Unexpected-potentially-expensive problem! Weather Delay! Weather Delay! It seems as though from the moment I selected a date to depart, things have poped up that could possibly delay the trip. At this point it is getting to be a bore. The refi will happen eventually. The glitches will be fixed and sorted out. The weather will pass. And the trip will happen.It is just one thing after another and it is not even frustrating anymore. It is "BORING!!!!!" I am sure that all of these little potential delays will be helpful in teaching me important things, but enough is enough! I really need to go!!