It has been a week of successes in the life of Gone Galt! We started the week with more trial and error on the fuel tank project and finally landed on success by removing one small plastic washer from the filtration system. We both stared at the tiny evil washer for several minutes, cursing it for the problems it had caused and then did a happy dance as the filter held the fuel as designed. We then began to do final preparations for departure and devised several back up plans in case we encountered unforeseen fuel issues when out on the water. We had successfully run the engines dockside for two hours but it is impossible to test boat systems fully unless you are on the open water. Knowing that we would never be out of sight of land on the route to Carriacou, we felt safe taking the plunge. Whenever boaters have been dockside for a long period of time, they tend to lose their sea legs and nerves settle in prior to leaving. You just never know what the boat is going to do after sitting for several months. Especially a boat that underwent a rebuild as major as Galt had this summer. We had done all we could to be sure we were ready, now we just had to convince our nerves. I have been trying to learn more about driving Galt so we decided it was time for me to pull Galt out of a crowded marina. Bill took me through all the steps the day prior to leaving and I was as ready as I was going to be. As with all things, it is impossible to plan for every situation. On this particular day, the situation was wind blowing across the bow. As the dockhands loosened the lines, Galt began to drift sideways directly heading for the catamaran next to us. I called for Bill to come take over but he calmly said, “You’ve got this. We’re not going to hurt anything”. One of the dockhands climbed aboard the catamaran and held Galt off the other boat. Everyone worked together and Bill gave me directions as we all worked through the problem. The next thing I knew, we were clear of the boats and heading out to the channel. I needed a little breathing time but all was well!
As we sailed down the Grenada coast, the weather was beautiful and the seas were calm. We had happily chugged along for three hours when we both heard the engine chug-a-lug slowly as it ran out of fuel. We immediately put emergency plan A into action. I stayed at the helm as Bill jumped down into the engine room, reprimed the fuel filter, changed over to the back up fuel line and cranked the engine. It fired back up immediately and we continued our journey. It was at that point, Bill was able to ascertain the exact fuel line diameter that we needed in order for the system to function. We made it easily into Carriacou. We will be in Carriacou for a few days, then head over to Sandy Island for a day of snorkeling and then we will be onto our next country…St. Vincent and the Grenandines….most famous for being a central location for filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean! Very exciting! I am sorry for no pictures this week but the internet on Carriacou is not cooperating and our sim card we purchased in Grenada (that was supposed to work everywhere) is not working….what a surprise…..
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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