We awake to another gorgeous morning at medicine beach. Breakfast was Mexican. Reheated the leftover pulled pork with tomatillo sauce and scrambled some eggs. That along with some small corn tortillas, cheese, and salsa – and voila! Breakfast!
Because yesterday was such a long day underway, today will be a lay day doing a few projects. But first things first. Dave starts up the generator to charge up the batteries. Only to find that it dies. Those paying close attention will know that just last week Dave installed a new fuel pump and carburetor in the generator. So to find that its not working now – Ahhhhhhgggggghhhhhh! Ok, apparently the project list has now grown. So Dave tries to star the main engine to charge the batteries instead – only to struggle with getting it started due to the starter battery issues. Double sigh.
Moving on to something he can make more progress on… Dave has brought along the parts for several projects. One of which is to install a new kitchen faucet for filtered water. Apsaras has a filtration system so that we can filter the water coming from the cold water tank before it reaches the kitchen sink. But the filter system is so slow, that it makes things like washing dishes near to impossible. Years ago Dave installed a valve under the sink that allows us to bypass the filter when doing dishes. But its kind of a pain. And if you don’t switch the valve the tendency is to use hot water to get more water flow – which uses up the hot water (and hence – more importantly – the electricity to heat more water). So Dave has always wanted to install a separate faucet for drinking water. And today was the day to do just that! The guys were going to drill another hole in the Corian countertop to install it. But then the notion dawned that there was already a hole where a goofy dish soap dispenser was installed. So we tossed that old ugly thing and the guys installed the new faucet – no drilling required. Just a bit of plumbing. The challenge was that one of the fittings was stubborn, and didn’t want to seal up. Drip, drip, drip. The fitting needed Teflon tape. But the tape couldn’t be put on before installing under the sink. So it required contortionist maneuvers to install it because the kitchen area is tiny.
But the end result is great! And it has the added benefit that someone can grab a glass of drinking water when someone else is working in the kitchen.
The next project was to begin installation of a new electrical meter. Installation involved snaking wires from the main house battery compartment under the floor boards to the command console where Dave sits. Melissa thought the boys were still working on the faucet, and was wondering why we needed to snake plumbing through when the water lines are already in place? Dave – thinking about the snaking of the wires was confused by Melissa’s comments – then got the idea to maybe snake the wires through a no longer used water line! Great idea, alas it didn’t quite work, and the boys struggled to get the wires run. And then they realized they were missing a fuse. Dang it.
Ok, time to make a store run anyway. One of the reasons we are here at medicine bay is because there is a liquor store here and we need to stock up. Dave goes to put the 2.5 HP motor on the dingy. Only to find its not a happy motor. Ug. Ok, we have the 20HP motor, so Dave decides to put that on instead. Only to find that dies too and he struggles to get it restarted. Pull, pull, pull – till he is exhausted. Eventually it starts up and Dave decides to go for a full throttle run around the bay to blow out any bad gas and any build up on the spark plugs. And fortunately, that seems to have made it somewhat happier. Ok, so now we have at least one running dinghy engine.
Now off to the store for wine, beer, eggs, and coffee. Before departing Kirkland, Melissa had assured Dave, multiple times, that we had coffee beans. Fresh beans she had brought home with her from Thailand. They lasted exactly two mornings. At which point Dave stopped asking about the coffee. This got a big laugh when Melissa sheepishly admitted that indeed we needed more!
After loading up the rolling cart with liquor we headed back to the skiff. We wouldn’t all fit – so Jim and Dave took the cases of wine and beer back to the boat while Margaret and Melissa hung out and waited. The boys got the big heavy boxes back aboard without anything going overboard!
Back on the boat, Dave starts to think about working on the 2.5HP motor, only to find that we somehow don’t have the spark plug wrench. Melissa is sure we bought one years ago – because we both remember having to borrow one. And Melissa is sure she bought one shortly after that as it’s a “must have” tool. Alas we can’t locate it – even after a pretty thorough search.
So the boys decide to take the skiff into town to get the fuse and fuse holder they need to finish the electrical meter installation, and to look for a spark plug wrench. They manage to find the fuses needed at the gas station. Though it was a close call because the gal who ran the place was annoyed at having to stay open a few minutes past closing – so she turned off all the lights as a way to express her annoyance. Oh well. Plus they found some Canadian bacon at the grocery behind the gas station – needed if we want more eggs benedict at some point. The 20 HP motor “only died once” on the way back to Apsaras but started back up on the first pull.
By the time the guys returned, it was time for drinks and dinner. Melissa fixed a smoked chicken salad with dried cranberries, spinach, and a Dijon mustard dressing.
At this point we had to make a decision – whether to head to Princess Louisa – which is a bit of a haul, or hang out in the gulf islands. Its clear that with the generator issue and the engine start issue, plus both dingy outboards acting up – we might be smarter to hang out where we are in range of spare parts purchase. And the weather is supposed to turn a bit – so long hauls in the rain can be sort of a pain. Plus its clear that Dave wants to explore some new anchorages. So we decide to hang out in the islands!
Murder game puzzle solving has now begun in earnest. Jim has done the cross word puzzle and the word circle games which seem to lead us nowhere. But we haven’t connected all the clues yet.