Yesterday, I had mechanical issues. It started early in the morning, when I pulled my anchor to head out on the Abermarle. I heard a screeching sound from my serpentine alternator belt. Average Looper pulled up beside me and Mark came aboard to check it out. I pulled the cover off enough to take a look at the belt and it was loose. We decided it would probably be okay until we came into our next port, here in Camden, NC (next to Elizabeth City). Today, we tightened it.
Heading through the Abermarle was rough. It was predicted for 1 to 2 foot seas, but they were on the beam and seemed much bigger than 1 to 2 foot. We tacked across the Abermarle to reduce the amount our boats were thrown around. I had waves coming up over my front windows, and the visibility was horrible. Periodically, I would get a quick view and check for crab pots and where Mark and Jane were, relative to where I was. Mostly, I was tracking my progress on my chartplotter. The Abermarle was like a minefield, with the crabpots. Not only were we zigzagging across to avoid being thrown around, we had to zigzag through the crabpots. We did it though, a few hours later, we had crossed! Next we headed up the Pasquotank River, and passed Elizabeth City.
When we arrived at Lamb's Marina, I headed to the fuel dock. As I pulled up, I noticed two things... the minor problem was my swim ladder, which had gotten loose from where it was secured under my swim platform. The bigger problem was the bilge pump, which appeared to be working overtime getting water out of my boat. I can't hear the bilge with the motor running. I think it was probably good I didn't know about this on the Abermarle, as there wasn't anything I could have done. The hose clamps where the shaft is, were loose and water was pouring in around them. We tightened them, and it is still leaking a little. A diver took a look at my prop, and I need a new one. Once the prop gets damaged, it throws off the rotation of the shaft, causing a vibration. The vibration apparently loosened the hose clamps. I was asked if I noticed the vibration. Honestly, I was just trying to keep myself and my boat upright coming through the Abermarle!
Tomorrow, we are pulling the boat out of the water, on a trailer, and we will be taking care of all this.
The people are great here!
Docking at Lamb's marina was quite the challenge! I have a boat so close in front of me, that my anchor hangs over their swim platform. A few feet behind me is another large boat, and facing into my port side, I have the bow of a 45 foot Bayliner (running on one motor, because they hit a tree stump in the Alligator Pungo Canal). There are six "looper boats" here, including my little tug. We are all staying here to wait out the storm for the next couple days.
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