Yes friends we have a potty tale to tell but not about a tail. But first a word from our sponsor.
No- one has yet correctly guessed the purpose of the African art object I presented in the last blog. So because we do not wish to have unawarded prizes I will extend the contest and give yet another clue. It would more likely be found in an office than in a house. Here are two additional views to assist you.
Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
On Thursday we awoke and began to prepare for departure. Clearly we were running out of freshwater in the tank and pumping pockets of air. Time for a refill and we had time this morning. So bleary eyed from sleep I gathered the necessary equipment and stepped out onto the dock. Hooked up the filter and hose and opened the deck fitting and inserted the hose. There was excellent water pressure for a change so it should have been a relatively fast fill.
As I stood there I was getting an occasional whiff of raw sewage which can occur when people let their holding tanks get full and flush a head. The air being expelled through the vent hose can be pretty aromatic. It just would not go away and I began to look around. About this time the high pressure of the hose caused it to blow out of the fill hole and land in the water. Then Jan stuck her head out and said the toilets were bubbling air inside and what could cause that? I said the tank must be full and she protested it could not be. Well, it turned out we were both right. It could not be but it was. Then Jan said could you have mistakenly been filling the waste tank with water. One, folks that woke me up for sure and I glanced at the hose rapidly filling a tank. It was the wrong hole leading to the wrong tank! I was about to overflow poop all over the boat! I dashed to the hose and jerked it out just in time. Now we had an empty water tank and a waste tank full of poop water.
The solution was to quit pooping and wait till the next marina to pump out plus sterilize the end of the hose with Clorox and fill the 100 gallon water tank which I did. I am now the butt of many jokes as you can imagine I am having to put up with a lot of crap.
We were approximately one hour out of Little Current getting hit by 2-3 foot beam seas and rolling pretty good when the Canadian weather service declared a squall watch for the North Channel and predicted large hailstones. Now that is not what every boater wants to hear with 25 miles left to the next port. But somehow it blew south of us and we made it to Gore Bay with no real trouble. As Kismet went to their slip I notified the marina I could not go to a slip until we pumped out first because I was full of you know what. The man came back and said he would not hold that against me as he had been accused of the same thing many times.
A Gore Bay we had a perfect location because of the dock height to try a project I had been delaying. I got out my electric wax applicator and began cleaning the “whiskey burns” off the starboard side. What you say are am I talking about? Well, I got the term from Russ Campbell at the Allatoona Yacht Club and he doesn’t drink a drop. Apparently when someone has too much to drink and scrapes a dock they say it is a “whiskey burn”. I assure you none of ours were acquired that way but we had plenty of burns so I tried to buff most of them out. It was fairly successful but I paid for it later in sore muscles because I had to lay on my side on the dock and hold the side of the boat with one hand and the vibrating applicator with the other. Quite a job but at least it looks a sight better. Plus the damage repair estimate has come down considerably from before.
On Friday we decided to make a run across the channel to Blind River. The weather prediction was not good but we figured an early start could beat the bad weather and it did. We took a few 3-4 footers but not so bad as it could have been had we tried it a few hours later. We are now safely behind the seawall at Blind River Marina and will watch the weather from here. The weekend is to be high winds but we have to keep moving. Got to see a man about a parrot but that story will have to wait.
But for now I need to tell you about the South African Consulate. Three days ago when we arrived frazzled in Little Current, a man was there to help tie us up. And when we we secure he stepped over and said that Jan looked like she had a Penetanguishene haircut. Remember the picture in Vincent’s salon? His name was Marc Couse and he is a faithful reader having learned of our voyage from the Bayliner Owners Club. It turns out that he has followed our journey with great interest and has a Bayliner in the next marina. He heard us on the radio and rushed over to meet us. He even brought us a North Channel pennant which we now proudly fly. And he did all this while trying to get out of town to see about a very ill mother-in-law. When he gave us his card it turns out he is the South African Consulate at Sudbury. How about that sports fans? Thank you so much Marc and we pray your mother-in-law recovers fully.
Our old friend Seabiscuit has been entered in a local antique boat show and has been delayed while cleaning up to showroom specs. Seabatical has wandered off somewhere and is anchored. Passport has fallen behind and 20BUCK$ is already in Racine, WS.
Finally, I have not forgotten about the cliff diving pictures. I think of them each time I see the Olympics. So as soon as they arrive you will have them.
