Its Friday, December 1, and I'm leaving Peoria and pumped to be back on the river. Seven miles later, the engine just quits in the middle of the river ! ( forgot to mention that it had happened coming into Peoria the previous week, but I thought it was a simple fuel filter fix since it seemed to work, WRONG !!) I managed to emergency anchor just outside the channel, and called the local marina that had assisted me the last time this happened. Ron, the harbor master, said he would make some calls, and 15 minuts later, the Peoria Police called and said they were on their way. What a God-send they were !!!
I was moored back at the city dock by noon, trying to procure another fuel filter (unsuccessfully) and diagnose the source of the problem, since there were no mechanics available, and the Tony, the Heritage Harbor angel, was on the other end of my phone the remainder of the day .
Seeming to have resolved the problem, I set out the next morning for what was to be a beautiful, sunny, 50 degree cruise for 75 miles, my best distance yet, although the engine tried to quit several times ( for which my remedy was a good rap on the fuel pump with a rubber mallet ) Actually, I hadn't planned to travel that far, planning to moor at one off several city docks before then, but I came to realize that they had all been pulled in for the winter. In the last town where there was supposed to be a city dock (NOT!) and the sun rapidly disappearing, I moored to one of the local moored barges, not knowing whether it would leaving overnight or not and hoping they didnt work weekends. ( I didnt get much sleep that night).
Sunday morning brought a very similar day, 50, sun, light winds, and rapping on the fuel pump every 1/4 mile to make sure the engine stayed running. Used the autohelm for the first time (worked flawlessly), which made attending to the engine much easier and less risky. After cruising 45 miles by noon and my destination being another 45 miles, I decided to anchor in a safe area to try some engine fixes I thought might correct the problem. Before anchoring, I was interupted by a 10 or 12 point buck who decided to cross the river right in front of me, lol , ![20171202_144225.jpg]
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Monday morning brought some cold, nast winds and big waves on the river. I hadnt' been sucessful at correcting the engine problem the day before, but seemingly having a routine that kept it running, and only having 45 miles to go, I set off confidently for Grafton Harbor. 22 miles later, the engine just quit, period, in the middle of a long, narrow channel that was funneling all the wind and waves right at me ! I managed a quick emergency anchorage j7st outside of the channel to stay out of the way of barge traffic, but also disturbingly close to shore. I needed to let out enough anchor to hold the boat, but that also meant enough anchor to put me back in the channel or up on shore, so I also deployed a stern anchor to hold the boat in place, hopefully. Unfortuately, the wind and waves had a different idea. I was slowly hammered closer and closer to shore as I anxiously peered out of the cabin. It was only 1:00 and the weather wasnt going to let up for another 12 hours !
It was then that I had my "Galilee" experience. Being more afraid than I can remember ever being, I recalled the story of the Jesus' disciples being similarly terrified in a boat while Jesus SLEPT ! Then I recalled the apostle Paul encouraging us to be "imitators of God" , so I quietly prayed that since I was in HIS, the boat was HIS, and we were both in HIS hands, whatever happened was fine, and the, believe it or not (i hardly can), I went to sleep!!!
I awoke the next morning to find the boat 5 feet from shore, pointed in the opposite direction, and neither anchor anywhere near where I had deployed them. It was like God telling me "how do you like that trick?" lololololol
I managed to get the engine started after some effort and finished motoring the remaining 45 miles to Grafton. Words cant express the relief it was to finally pull into Grafton Harbor marina, where safe mooring, a hot shower, a cold beer, and a knowlegable, amiable mechanic were waiting for me. More on that next time. God bless *-)