Practicing patience

 Kintala's little part in the cruising world has been kind of quiet these last few days. There was some hope that the pump would be done today. Unfortunately we just heard that the big storms that rolled through the Midwest shut down the supply house for the pump parts; the parts haven't even been shipped yet and the house isn't answering the phone. So here we are, no pump, no parts, and no clue. The search for other parts goes on. Many people have offered good ideas when it comes to the great Leyland / Westerbeke parts scavenger hunt and glow plugs have been sourced; from England, shipped via Royal Mail to arrive in St. Louis with ETA unknown. Pretty soon I may be forced to admit that our cruising life has been put in a holding pattern here in Oriental, NC. We simply can't seem to get the stars to align in whatever way they need so we can get going again. As determined as we might be, as good a mechanic as I might be, when mid-November tornadoes rampage through the only place providing the parts needed, determination and skill are over matched. The only choice now is to practice the art of patience.

Meanwhile the parade of boats through Oriental remains constant. Yesterday there were two different trimarans in the marina and this morning finds two, very pretty, wooden boats tied up at the city dock. Across from Kintala sits a nice looking Cat and Princes Mia still lies just a few spaces away from us. The weather is perfect / cooler though the north wind is ruffling up the marina. Kintala lies uneasy on her lines when the wind flows from the N or NE, setting up an endless rolling motion and tugging hard at her bow lines. That leads to a low moan causing imaginations of Kintala complaining, "Another day here? But I wanna go to the ocean with my friends." (As if it's my fault the engine started barfing diesel all over the place.) Teenagers and boats have a lot in common; expensive, moody, impossible to understand, but you really can't imagine life without them. (Or maybe you can.)

Friends out ahead of us have been dealt a serious health blow. It is not my place to tell their story; but sitting here when we would rather be moving there to offer what support we can isn't pleasent. We trust there will be good news soon, but being tied to a dock with a broken boat, especially now, is not what I had in mind when we left the midwest to go "cruising".

So here we be working on little projects when we can, though the days with a good N wind blowing limits the options. The rolling makes head down, close-in work being done in the cabin hard on inner ear. A stiff wind carrying temps out of Canada makes deck work a bit cold. Some days we work, some days we practice patience. And some days that is harder than others.