Engine Tribulations

Our little 4hp, 4 stroke Yamaha has conked out on us once again. We already brought it to the shop twice and they "fixed" it well enough to get it running for 3 or 4 outings before we are back at square one. I'm just about ready to chuck the thing in a dumpster and get a new outboard, but my partner in crime is somehow motivated to give it one last try. We are done bothering with the (apparently) marginally incompetent repair shop, so we loaded the engine in his truck and he is going to try and fix it at home. Failing that, we are looking at getting a new outboard, an option I would almost prefer at this point.

Some pics of the bluenose

Here are some pics of the boat. Yes, the hull of the Bluenose is inexplicably painted red. We intend to remedy that, soon.



This is the cockpit. It is a large cockpit as it is more designed as a racing boat with only a storage cabin.



This is a picture as we approached Morro Rock under sail. The sailing gets very tricky here, because the wind gets blocked and can also be swirly here.



This is the boat in the slip next to ours. This boat has an interesting history. It was built in, I believe, the 1950's in the Amazon rainforest using crude hand tools and indigenous wood. A man and his son sailed it down the Amazon and into the Atlantic, all the way up to Florida (I don't know how it made it to the other side of the continent, but I'll assume it was towed across). We spoke with the daughter or granddaughter, I forget which, who I think keeps it there mostly for nostalgia's sake.


A common sight in Morro Bay are sea otters floating on their backs and enjoying VERY fresh crab. Sorry for the poor quality of the pic, but all these were done with my i-phone.

Santa Barbara and Channel Islands

I should mention that we had a great sail in Santa Barbara with a 32' Catalina. The first day was a bit foggy, but we had decent, steady wind all the way across to Santa Cruz Island. We anchored in an area called "Prisoner's Cove". This wasn't really our first choice, but some of the other coves had boats in them and since this was our first attempt at anchoring overnight, we were a little skittish. The anchoring went fine. For the record, the Channel Islands have some pretty good swells, even in the coves, so if you anchor there, expect an up and down, "where the f&&k did I put the dramamine" kind of night.
On the way back the next day, the sky was clear and the wind was strong. We had to reef down the sail for most of the ride across and still rarely went below 5 to 6 knots. We were thankful for the experience of reefing on the Bluenose the previous week, as it gave us a little more confidence and less reluctance about reefing the sails on the Catalina.
All in all, it was a great experience, but I think we both agreed that future sailing in Santa Barbara would probably not include an overnight in the Channel Islands.