Chilling at Hingham Shipyard Marina

PM's Perspective

I find it unreal that today is our eighth day of our two year adventure.  At moments it seems like we have been on this course for eternity.  At others we can't believe we have been doing this for as many as eight days -- where did the time go?  A part of me thinks that we have been cursed.

First, our departure can only be described as "unpretty."  We originally planned to leave on Wednesday, July 16, headed for Wentworth Marina just outside of Portsmouth, NH, but the weather forecast was abominable.  We delayed a day.  We awoke on Thursday to the promise of a beautiful weather window.  We walked to our favorite breakfast joint, One Fifty Ate, on Benjamin W. Pickett Street and devoured the unique breakfast item only the multi-tattooed owner-chef Joshua could create -- the hippie (toasted bagel with humus, mixed greens, shredded carrots, match-stick cut cucumbers, with salt, pepper and olive oil drizzle topped with uncured apple smoked bacon) -- that we wouldn't be able to get for the next two years. It was particularly delicious and savory.  We took showers at the "comfort station" and returned to the boat to perform an engine check, say our final goodbyes and shove off.  The engine check went well, the engine started and hummed, the electric switches were turned to the cruising positions, and we went to the fly bridge to turn on the instruments.  The radar turned on, the depth finder turned on, the speed indicator turned on.  The GPS, nada.  The GPS had no power to it.  What was going on?

Bob double checked all the usual items.  The cords to the unit were solidly connected.  The switches to the unit were all turned on.  Only one thing to do -- take out all the clothes in the V-berth closet to get to the electric panel and check all the connections in there.  The clothes were removed, the door to the electric panel opened.  To me it looks like a bunch of wires of different colors and thicknesses just thrown in there -- very chaotic.  What a confusing, colossal mess!  Bob started to look for loose connections and blown fuses.  He replaced one fuse and tightened a few connections and viola, the GPS got power.  The one thing we didn't check was whether it was receiving data from the antennae but that's another story.  The doors to the electric panel were closed, all the clothes went back in the closet, and we were ready to go.

Our departure time was around 9:30 AM.  The superb marina staff and fellow boaters helped us with the lines as Velomer backed out of the slip.  The only problem was that the sun and the moon were lined up such that we were experiencing the lowest low tide of the year just as we attempted to depart.  As we eased out of our dock run and entered the main channel Bob noticed Velomer was not quite responding the way he would like.  He looked at the rear of the boat and noticed the prop was churning up vast amounts of mud.  We had hit the bottom!  Fortunately, he was able to put Velomer in reverse and slowly back up to dislodge the boat in search for a deeper part of the channel.  How embarrassing!  Our first few moments out and we hit bottom!  What a way to start our two year journey.  But wait!  There is more to come.

Once into Portland Harbor proper, we noticed that our boat icon on the upper helm GPS was not moving with us.  Something was wrong.  Once out of the harbor and going southwest toward Portsmouth, I took over the helm while Bob went to find the problem.  The clothes came out of the closet, the door to the electrical panel opened. The only problem was that the rocking and rolling of the boat while underway made it impossible to check the circuitry.  Any lurch could set off a stumble which in itself could cause vast numbers of wires to disconnect.  Bob was able to get the lower helm GPS unit working with the icon functioning and brought it up to the fly bridge.  This unit is ancient in terms of tech life and the viewing screen is only 2" by 2" (compared to the newer unit bought less than two years ago with a 12" screen), but it worked and along with the paper charts and looking where we were going got us to Wentworth Marina.  This experience really made me appreciate the courage of early mariners who sailed off into the wild blue yonder with only a knowledge of the stars, no charts, no GPS and limited provisions.  Talk about jumping into the void.  We have not only GPS but radio, Sea Tow, the Coast Guard, and the credit card.  I shouldn't be complaining.

Once safely docked at Wentworth, Bob investigated the electrical connections, connections to the antennae and everything else he could think of that may be the source of the problem.  He finally got on the phone with tech support at Garmin.  Robert, the first techie he spoke with, suggested it was the antennae leads.  After hanging up the phone and trying that solution, it didn't work.  The second techie suggested something else which also didn't work.  At this point it was after 5:00 PM in Kansas where Garmin headquarters is located and tech support wasn't available until the next day.  That evening we got to spend some quality time with our niece Rachel that got our minds off the GPS issue and into the issues of the thirty-somethings.  Rachel and her husband Jeff are the new entrepreneurs of the 21st century!  Both are extremely smart and focused professionally.

As soon as 9:00 AM Kansas time rolled around the next morning Bob was on the phone once again.  Duane, the third techie, suggested a software update and that didn't work.  Steve, the fourth and final techie, suggested he replace the fuse again (for the third time).  Bob resisted saying he's replaced it already but at Steve's recommendation did it anyway and that worked.  Ahhh, the feeling of sweet relief as something goes right! We were so stressed out by our GPS angst that we decided we needed another day at Wentworth to enjoy all systems working on the boat.  That joy was shortlived!