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AM
Who would have guessed
that an early start (6:45am) would have been short lived.
In hindsight, the signs were all there:
1. Saturday night at time of
sign-off between the Admiral and First Mate, the final
transmission from the Admiral was answering question the
First Mate had on ETA (estimated time of arrival) to DC.
Against the better judgment of the Admiral, a response was
given. First mistake…. [Editor's Note:
Yeah, sure, blame it all on the First Mate.]
2. Leaving the port of Charleston,
SC and rounding the bend to see sunrise. Red skies. Saying
grandmother use to utter in such moments – “Red sky in the
morning, sailors take warning.” Second significant warning
signal that all might not be well
3. Immediately after sunrise the
wind immediately increased. Looking behind us and back at
Charleston…dark, ominous clouds were gathering. A third
sign?
Thirty minutes into the
trip we were traveling across a wide open bay, busy with
vessels passing in front of us…the largest being a 500-foot
ocean-going freighter. The wind continued to kick-up and we
looked longingly to the small channel that we were
attempting to reach to get out of the wind and the busy
commercial channel of Charleston Bay.
Suddenly, the starboard
engine alarm went off. The gauge indicated that the engine was
running hot and needed to immediately be turned off. The
starboard engine is the side with the powering steering
control. Losing that engine meant we were now without power
steering and running only on a single engine. Poseidon and
his mischievous mermaids and mermen were playing with us on
this Sunday morning!
The first thought was
that something had been sucked up – such as a plastic bag –
into the water intake. This is not an easy check as it
requires going into the ‘drink’ and looking at the intake
port. Again, not something that is done in the wide open
bay. Better to go back, on one engine, to the safe harbor
where we had just left.
Hence, two hours after
leaving Charleston, we are back. Captain Michael has gone
over the side and does not see anything from ‘down-under’…
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Michael Checks Engines, Charleston Harbor
Translation:
Sunday service. Not to be confused with Sunday Church
Service, although this is something we probably need to do!
Call has gone out and it
has been answered. This afternoon, Kent Buttrum, from
Custom Products & Service, is to visit us on the ‘A-Dock”
at the Charleston Harbor Resort & Marina. Kent’s business
card states, ‘Done Once, Done Right.’ We sure hope
so.
Meanwhile, as the weather
station has informed us, a storm named ANA is brewing and
shall be heading up north along the coast. We will know
more in a few days but, the forecast is for it to move very
close off our East Coast by mid week. Because of a lot of
wind shear, the Storm may not make Hurricane strength but,
could be a very strong storm. Adding further to this
weather excitement is the news from the National Hurricane
Center that there is a larger storm gathering strength just
behind ANA! Forecasters are indicating that this is the
Tropical Train from Africa kicking in. A then the THIRD
storm brewing in Gulf of Mexico. Hmmm…things seem to occur
in threes it seems. I don’t want to jinx things any
further, so I shall leave the question in my mind, unspoken.
For the moment, the
Admiral and two Captains stand down at rest. Good time to
do some laundry….and wait. Water taxi, anyone!
.jpg)
Water Taxi, Charleston Harbor
From:
Anderson, Bill
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 12:15 PM
To: Canright, Shelley
Subject: RE: Admiral's Log, Sunday, August 16 -- Unscheduled
'Day of Rest'
Ugh.
I was wondering if those storms would catch you. Actually,
things are looking pretty good right now:
On the other hand, a little further south, there is this:
All hands on deck! Time to get a move on!
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