It's almost one in the morning and blowing 15 to 20 knots from the West as we approach the shelter of Neah Bay. There is a reef in our lee and I don’t want to back off on the throttle because the engine is surging. We are doing 6 knots which is also uncomfortable. Im looking at the boat’s chart plotter that is out of arms reach on a ram mount in the companionway and a more detailed zoom on the chart on my phone. The phone is bright so i close one eye to look at it so I don't destroy my night vision on the moonless night. Im looking for the flashing bouy lights and for the solid color from any boats underway coming or going. There's red lights on the cars driving on the shore road through the reservation that send false alarms to my brain. Once out of the swell and chop from the strait, the crew begin to put out fenders as we prepare to dock. Once we are abreast of the Coast Guard station I back the throttle off and the engine promptly dies sending us drifting silently into the bay. I put it in neutral and go to start it up again and the engine’s instrument panel goes black with a quiet click. Somewhere a fuse has blown but there is no time to track the fuse holder down or a fuse to replace it. I run forward to the anchor to find the chain jammed in the mouse hole where it comes out of the deck. I asked one of the crew to lift the headsail that it lying on the secondary anchor and undo its lashing and pull 10 feet of chain out of its mouse hole and send the anchor uncontrolled into the dark water and set the anchor alarm on an app on my phone.
Keenly aware we are anchored in the channel right off the Coast Guard station I head below to get to work on restarting. I remove the filter; it is black, and so is the fuel that pours out of it into the cup I have to hold it in. I then sent a crewmember on deck to unlash the diesel can to prime the filter and then I tried to jump the starter solenoid with a screwdriver but it was in an awkward spot shortly after I found the fuse holder and spare fuses and restarted the engine. Both my and the crew’s confidence in the boat is seriously affected and we head into the dock ready for the engine to die at any moment but the engine room is open and another fuse is ready. We approach the transient dock and I direct the crew to shine my spotlight on the dock to see the bolts I know stick out of at least 60 feet of the dock section. We land on a spot near a power pylon. A jittery recap begins through the companionway and I instruct the crew to close the door and come bellow so we can retain the heat from the previously open engine compartment. It's warm for the moment and we settle in for the night. The Vbirth is the only proper berth available the second best is the settee that makes up part of a typical U-shaped main saloon. I take the floor and an owner-provided camping mattress. I struggle with the zipper on my lightweight sleeping bag for a moment while I question the decision to bring the light bag and the general life choices that have led me there. Zipper breaks and I go to sleep.
A superstitious person would be concerned. A captain that sent a provision briefing regarding a no banana policy would as well.
Another but lesser know item not allowed aboard.
'The night is dark and full of terror"
Stainless chain looks much better than galvanized chain however it does cost more. Someone tried to get around this by shackling a 3 foot piece of stainless to 200 feet of chain. Unfortunately a shackle between these sections makes deploying the anchor difficult…perhaps even more so in an emergency. Fortunately the kedge anchor (spare) deployed easily
One of the nicest parts of the boat but sadly this seemingly benign scene hides a 2 gallon black water tank made from a 2.5 gallon water container. The container was attached to the blackwater y valve and ether blew off when the head was used the first time or was off when we got to it. Needless to say it was another thing the surveyor missed.
When heading offshore or perhaps anywhere one should be able to “dog” the foredeck hatch. This boat had no way to do this properly so we used a ratchet strap and a fender. File under “Things the surveyor missed”
In the morning I looked at the weather and discussed the situation with the crew. There was little or no wind in the forecast and 10-foot seas building to 15 by the time we were expecting to arrive at the bar if we were delayed much more. If the tanks and fuel were foul we would be looking at going through all the filters we had on board in the rolly beam sea conditions and the possibility of having to bleed air from the system which presented another issue. The engine has an unconventional fuel delivery design making bleeding the injectors hard. If filters clog and create suction in the fuel lines and then air can be pulled into the fuel system. This sometimes requires bleeding the air. The tools aboard were limited for this kind of work. The crew had lost confidence in the seaworthiness of the boat.
Seeking another opinion I called some mechanic friends of mine about the state of the fuel and tanks trying to get a sense of what we could expect moving forward. The boat is from the 60s and the tanks looked original. Over an inch of rust on the tops of both tempted me to see if I could easily poke a screwdriver through the tank. My friend Rick from Salty Boys Boat Works says he can head out and polish the fuel. This generous offer from a family man on a Sunday is not lost on me but it would put our passage in the way of big seas coming in from storms offshore.
I called the owner and reluctantly told him that we were not going to be able to proceed with the original plan with this new information. He is apologetic and understanding. After I discussed our exit strategy with the crew as some research had already been underway we found that it was going to take us 5 hours to get back to Port Angeles so we discussed whether it was safe to take the boat back at least as far as Port Angeles. There is wind forecast in the strait so sailing is an option and there is little or no chop in the strait. The guys are keen to salvage the trip and make up for all the time to get to the boat. There is not much of anything in Neah Bay and Port Angeles would have options for polishing and transportation to and fro.
We run this by the owner and decide to head back. We sailed most of the day and as frustrating as it was, the engine didn’t clog the filter. I believe this is because we were not stirring the sediment in the tanks up or that the engine service that was supposedly performed right before the departure never happened and there were many hours on the filter.
The only one way rental out of PA that day was a 20 foot Uhaul. Bringing a 6 person liferaft brings piece of mind offshore but seriously hampers travel ashore.