Monday was a designated recreational day. I went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay State Park, a volcanic crater that has been opened by the sea on one side and filled with a huge, thriving reef system. Later I hiked up to the summit of Diamond Head at a whopping 750' above sea level. That's not high by NC standards but does provide great views of the rest of Oahu. On the way back I went to the HI state library in Honolulu and walked around the Royal Palace gardens.
Feeling satisfied that I'd experienced a bit of Hawaii, I worked on boat things all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Cleaning, washing, organizing, cataloging and shopping. Late in the day as I was searching for the pump to inflate and test the dinghy for leaks, I opened a compartment in the floor by the sink and was faced with the scene above. FYI, if you ever look under the floor of your sailboat and find what looks to be 3" of standing fruit punch or perhaps cherry flavored Jello, Well... that is a bad thing and you are going to have a long day, or couple of days if it means you have to rebuild the fuel system that feeds your generator and engine. Hey, it can't be any worse than soldering a new DC jack in a laptop can it?
Is that fuel?? Good thing the bilge pump did not turn on!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was diesel fuel. We were lucky in so many ways. One of which was discovering the situation before the level was high enough to activate the bilge float switch. I have a new found respect for a small pump you can attach to a drill and Bounty paper towels.
ReplyDeleteJesse:
ReplyDeleteAre you going to be able to keep up with the blog while you are at sea? Inmarsat has a new, mini sat service that looks like a pretty good deal if you don't have one. The service is FB150. I hope you can stay connected. Oh, have you ever seen these photos? tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/page2.htm
Tom