Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men.... we took Galt out for a test run last Sunday so the diesel mechanics could tweak any last minute changes before we left on Monday. We were about 10 minutes into our run when there was a loud screaming sound followed by the loud screaming of the diesel mechanic. We hobbled our way back to the Heritage marina where the guys pulled the top off of the engine and stared at it for at least 3 days (their female partner was down sick so, of course, no solutions were quickly coming!). After deciding that it was not going to heal itself, they began disassembling it again piece by piece trying to find the problem. After pulling it completely out of it's comfy little nest again (and sitting it right in the middle of our salon), it was discovered that a small piece of metal had broken loose, spun the main cam bearing and clogged up the oil hole. Thus, the reason no oil was flowing through the engine. We weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Now, keep in mind that Bill had already taken his car to his girls in Florida and I sold my car last Friday knowing we'd be on the river by Monday. Now our 2 day car rental has turned into a 2 week car rental. However, I do have to say that watching Bill get in and out of a Ford Fiesta has been a little entertaining! I have been trying to stay entertained by binge watching Netflix and I even had Bill suffering through a bit of Love is Blind....desperate times, desperate measures! So, we are hoping to try to launch again by the middle of next week before my brain rots.....we shall see!
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One week you are on a boat in South Carolina and then the next you are on your way to Greece! That is what happens when you are a mother and you miss your baby girl. Rather than sit around and "supervise" the diesel engine repair guys that were well into their third week of refitting Galt's engine, I decided I would take a quick trip over to see my daughter, Kaarin, in Greece where she is studying for the year. Bill graciously offered to take over the "supervision" of the engine repair (which basically involved staring at either one guy talk to himself throughout the day or two guys arguing about whose idea would work the best....answer, by the way, was usually neither one until their female partner pointed out something obvious which, of course, worked! So, I hopped onto a plane and took a very direct flight which involved Charlotte to Boston (change planes) to Newark (change planes and airlines) to Athens. After a short 17 hours, I arrived in Greece. As I was settling into my hotel in Athens (Pi Athens, I highly recommend!), I heard Kaarin's voice outside my window as she was getting out of class and my heart was happy! We spent the next 4 days reliving our previous trip to Athens but this time, Kaarin was my own private archeologist tour guide. She knew every inch of the city and gave me so many facts that I was pleased to see that all of this college tuition is paying off. Our most humorous portion of the trip was when we saw the sanitation workers going on strike and literally throwing trash out of the garbage truck onto the street. I am not sure they found us filming them for Kaarin's Snapchat quite as humorous! All too soon my visit came to an end and my return flight was even more direct....Athens to Newark, "sleep" in Newark airport until check in time at 4 am, then to Boston and then to Charlotte. Only 24 hours to get home! Bill had done such a fine job with his supervision task that the engine repair was complete and we are now on Galt full time! We are spending this weekend finishing up some last minute projects and hope to depart from our port in Pawley's Island early next week. Here's to hoping the next blog post will be from somewhere further south and MUCH warmer!
Educational fact for the week: The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification. During ancient times it was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.[2][3] The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.[4] In late September, we started our adventure in Portland, Maine. We had purchased a boat! Then, reality set in....we had a boat in Maine....we needed the boat to be in South Carolina. In order to move the boat from Maine to Virginia, we knew we were going to need some help. For those of you who do not boat, you learn very early on that you can't just "pull over" and park it. From Maine, we were going to be on the move 24/7 so we needed a captain and crew. We hired Kevin, our captain, and Kyle, our crew and from the start, knew we were in good hands. As we started out of Portland, we had a pod of dolphins as escorts and we learned very quickly that lobster pots sneak up from out of nowhere. We headed through the Cape Cod canal which was a beautiful trip. We had one night that we "bailed" out and stayed at a marina in New Jersey due to weather. After getting some much needed rest, we tackled the Chesapeake Bay which is definitely something everyone should try at least once. After 6 long days, we landed in Hampton, Virginia. We said goodbye to Kevin and Kyle and sent Bill back to work for a few weeks. In late October, Bill and I set out on our own to move the boat down the Intracoastal Waterway to South Carolina. We learned the hard way that the channel markers don't necessarily mean that there is an actual channel! However, we also learned that thinking quickly can get you out of tight spots and back on your merry way. We met so many nice people along the way and enjoyed our days of motoring along rivers and canals and even went through an official lock. We made it to South Carolina in a little over a week....I am sure you are currently asking yourself, "Why would it take over a week to get from Virginia to SC?"....good question....Gone Galt may be beautiful, but he likes to take his time....at 6 mph, it can take awhile to get anywhere! Once again, learning that in boating you may have a schedule, but you get there when you get there! Education fact for the week: The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Boston, Massachusetts, southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following the Gulf Coast to Brownsville, Texas. Some sections of the waterway consist of natural inlets, saltwater rivers, bays, and sounds, while others are artificial canals. It provides a navigable route along its length without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea. Many species of plants and animals can be seen along the path of the ICW. For further information visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway Our trusty crew after we wore them out!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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