Friday, March 11, 2011

SO Long Miami!

SHIP'S LOG:

After "absolute assurances" from my prescription supplier that the ordered meds will be in Ft. Lauderdale tomorrow(Saturday), I will be bidding a fond "Adieu" to Miami, the 10 foot city, with its crappy cell phone coverage and even worse Internet access, and its rather very nice weather, and will be heading NORTH . . . . to Ft. Lauderdale, and beyond.

Just to keep me sane, I was heading out to the market for ice and things, using the trip to test out my new hone-brew shear pin, but the outboard refused to start! How typical.Following the wisdom of the local liveaboards - who helped me the last time - I trace the fuel line (90% of the time the problem is fuel) and found that no fuel was getting from the tank to the motor. Even pumping the little ball in the fuel line did not draw fuel into the fuel line as far as I could tell. An d"YES" there was fuel in the tank.There must be a leak somewhere but where exactly it is I wasn't able to discover. Supposedly the ethanol they put in gas in murder on hose, especially marine ones and perhaps the one the runs from the fitting on the top of the tank into the supply of fuel is "compromised" somehow. I am sure that I will find out eventually, probably by the time I get back to Connecticut!

I actually got an email ad from Isle of Hope Marina out side of Savannah where I stayed on the way down. They are offering a "deal"of I stop on the way through. I am not sure about "Marching Through Georgia" again. It might be worth the trip outside to avoid all the twists and turns but then again, what's the hurry.

I will have to get up early to lay out the course back to Ft. Lauderdale. I haven't had to do that in a while and it will be interesting to see how long it takes to get back into the "traveling routine."

It actually got sort of cold last night and this morning. I actually had to put o0n the sweatpants and a second shirt for morning coffee in the cockpit. It was, how shall I put it, distressing. It was probably a foretaste of what is to come on the trek north. I do hope you all will get to work on that weather situation up there.