Made it...but...

First Light lived up to her name as the sun was just breaking the horizon when we started our departure prep. Around 0600 the lines were pulled on board. We motored out the channel into the river, then hung a right. The engines were running so smoothly that we started thinking the fuel pump problem wasn't just a fuel leak. We settled into an easy cruise at 1600 RPM making nearly 8 knots. The wind was blowing a little harder than forecast making the seas a bit choppier, but it was an easy ride as we searched around for our sea legs. Along the way, we saw several pods of dolphins, which always brings a smile. We also saw a whale, our first in spite of all the miles and years we have living on a boat. We were also kind of glad when the whale swam off. Seeing a critter as big as your boat not too far from your boat is a bit disconcerting.

About 2/3s of the way here Deb went down to do her engine checks. One of the cameras was a bit fuzzy, (we think it might have been the heat in the engine room) so she lifted the steps and crawled in to take a look. There was a bit of coolant under the engine and she noticed that the overflow tank was empty. The engine temp was showing normal but that was clearly not going to last much longer.

So, somewhere in the middle of the Delaware Bay, I brought the engines to idle and shut down the starboard side. I left the port side running to have enough steerage to keep us bow into the waves. Deb added some coolant and looked around to see if she could spot the leak. She didn't see anything obvious so we fired up and kept going, keeping an extra eye on the starboard engine temperature gauge. It settled onto its normal reading and never moved the rest of the way down the bay. After putting up the canal in the company of the holiday weekend boat drivers, we turned into the Coast Guard anchorage and, after a couple of tries, we found a place among those already here to drop our hook.

As we traveled the length of the bay, Mare's Tail clouds in the sky suggested weather inbound. The various weather apps we use agree. So we will be anchored here for at least two nights. Tomorrow will give us a chance to find the coolant leak and hopefully fix it without too much ado. If that happens, the weather forecasts suggest we might be able to head to Atlantic City on Wednesday. If the repair becomes more involved, we will have to come up with a different plan.

No more First Light at the end of the dock

If pressed, I would have to admit having a few pretty dark minutes out there in the middle of the bay with yet another mechanical. But what choice is there but to keep going? Right now the boat is our only home. But our home isn't where our home is. We like living on a boat. We like travel on a boat. (We don't really like working on a boat.) So, like always, we will just have to see what the next moment brings.

Early morning barge traffic headed to Philadelphia

The birds own the lighthouses.

The anchorage at Cape May