Last post found me in Quebec city with Makina's crew reduced down to Mr. Fish and myself. Pierre would be greatly missed yet my feeling was that the passage must go on.
In the skipper's code there are two items of top priority. They are first and foremost the safety of the crew and secondly the safety of the vessel. Due to not yet having a dinghy up to this point the first of those priorities was in jeopardy due to the crew having no safe way to abandon the ship.
There was also the more practical element to this fact as the cheaper rental at this swanky marina; a mooring rental; would require a dinghy to travel back and forth to shore. So the nearby marine supply store was visited and a nice new rubber dinghy with a hard floor was purchased. The friendly clerk offered $200 off and a free delivery right to the dock.
During my absence Mr. Fish had worked out a course and so once the dinghy was properly secured on deck we decided to pass on another night there and instead headed out to continue the Halifax Passage.
All along the river after Quebec the tides became more and more of an issue. Not only in the sense that the flowing tides created currents that could leave a vessel spinning their wheels against; making no headway or in some cases no doubt loosing ground.
The other aspect was that many of the Marinas could only be accessed when the tide was not low. At that point one's vessel would literally be grounded if attempts were made to enter the port.
Mr. Fish had plotted a course to a marina whose distance was close enough that we should reach there before the tide was out and praise must be given as he had also factored in a Plan B port which we had to fall back upon as the tides began falling dangerously low.
It was not the fanciest marina we had visited yet glad were we to be safe at harbor.
Pleased with our progress down the river we hunkered down early as the next high tide was scheduled for 4am. Up at 3:00 we were out of the marina by 4:00, leaving a note that we would call later in the day to make payment for our slip by credit card.
This day's sail would be different. For starters there was little sailing due to the wind blowing from the north east, almost directly in our face. We were forced to motor most of the day. The wind also brought up a lot of choppy waves on the river; some measuring at least a meter. Travel was rough.
Mr. Fish, while at the helm, seemed concerned about the tide schedule. He pushed Makina a little more than would have been my choice, in the 2400-2500 rpm range. That range is not a problem for a diesel as they run for short periods at high rpm just fine. Yet to continue at such rpms over hours against a strong force of a tide seemed a bit extreme. My choice was to defer to Mr. Fish's concern about making port before low tide than to worry about the engine's performance.
With the motor running and the sound of crashing waves adding to the surrounding din, it seemed like my ears were ringing. There was a high pitched sound which could not be identified at first and assumed to be my ringing ears. However with further inspection it was identified as an alarm from the engine panel warning of overheating.
Mr. Fish, who was at the helm at the time, was asked to shut down the engine. He was understandably reluctant due to the turbulent waters. With no other choice his concern was overridden and the engine was shut down by me.
He seemed to be letting her flounder abeam of the wind, which led to serious rocking as the waves hit us broadside. My first thought was to put Makina under some kind of power. Without turning on the engine the only option seemed to be to hoist the jib.
Mr. Fish seemed, again, reluctant and wanted to restart the engine. Again that was overridden by me and the jib was raised. Once under the power of the jib the engine compartment was opened to let things cool down and Mr. Fish was instructed to tack back and forth across the channel until the issue was somehow resolved.
This worked to keep us off the shore yet we lost ground very quickly due to the intensity of the flowing tide going up river. Ground was lost that had taken us a few hours to pass through.
First the oil was checked and all seemed fine there. The water intake line was also checked to make sure the engine was getting water to cool down. That seemed fine as well. The only immediate option seemed to be to continue tacking while things cooled so that we could try turning her over again.
Once the engine seemed to have cooled down somewhat we tried restarting. To both of our surprise she turned over and started humming like a kitten at recommended temperatures. More importantly the alarm was no longer sounding.
With me now at the helm, we eventually brought her into our destination of Saint Jean Port Joli, barely before low tide and at an agonizing 2 knot speed against the current, both of us being quite exhausted from the day's events.
Before hitting our bunks Mr. Fish did some checking on the chart to get some kind of idea for the next day's passage. He seemed concerned about the distance to Rivière-du-Loup. It was over 40 kms and he felt that after what the tides and currents showed us today that it could not be reached before dark. The issue of entry to the port was not as critical as it was well dredged.
Anyone would have been rattled by the day's events so Mr. Fish should not be faulted in his decision to sign off at this point and work his way back to BC and his waiting wife.
We slept on that thought and headed out for a fair well breakfast in the morning.
It was time to take a pause myself. The constant travel had me feeling a bit weary and a break would be nice. Besides this was a beautiful tourist town with all the facilities and stores one would want as well as fine dining. Time to think of getting a new crew together once feeling fresh and well rested.
Until then...
May the wind be at your back!
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