Day 384 More rapids today.

We left Bickley Bay this morning at 0945 to make the Greene Point Rapids by 1100.  We were there by 1030 and just powered through.  There wasn't much current by that time so it was easy.  The bigger problem was the winds that bucked us the whole way down the channel.  Up to 20 knots right at us.  There was no way we could take advantage of the ebb current to speed us along facing that kind of wind.  We still made it to Whirlpool Rapids by 1245 and with a 2 knot current pushing us through, we made it just fine.  Tracy stood out on the side rail and gave me directions on where the whirlpools and eddies were so I could avoid them.

The day started out with sprinkles and just went to cloudy till we got to Douglas Bay(50 28.93N  125 45.29W) in Forward Harbour.  The Sun slowly came out to play and it got sort of warm at least for about an hour and then the clouds came back with the chilly temps.  Oh well, you can't win them all.

We had our anchorage all to our selves for almost 30 minutes before another sailboat followed us in.  They had been in front of  us through the first rapids but we passed them on the way to the second.  Two trawlers came in later in the afternoon.  We finally had our first anchorage to ourselves last night but not tonight.  Forward Harbour is a gorgeous place with tall tree covered mountains all around us.  There is a pebble beach on shore.  One of the first we have seen so far.  I'd love to show you some pictures but my internet connection is really bad tonight.

Once anchored, I went about some tasks I had been putting off.   First, I washed down the deck. Anchoring just about every night can bring on deck a mess of mud, shells and gunk.  Last nights anchorage brought on some really dirty mud.  I'd scrubbed the chain as it came up but you can't get it all so out with the bucket and brush and off with the dirt.  

 The oil in the diesel injector pump needed changing. This is the gizmo that pumps the diesel fuel into the injectors that makes the engine run.  If you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember that this is a piece of equipment on the engine that had gotten missed during regular service for several years.  It still functions just fine and I was advised that since the engine runs just fine, just leave it alone and change the oil regularly.  Some say every 50 hours, some say to do it when you change oil--every 100 hours.  I changed it out today at 83 hours.  The tank normally holds 12 ounces and I got about 16 out when I changed it.  That means some diesel fuel is blowing past the seals in to.  I can get it rebuilt for about $750.00 or just leave it alone and continue to change the oil at regular intervals.  I think I'll save the bucks and do the service.  The engine seems to be just fine the way it is.  As we will hit the 100 hours on the engine tomorrow, I'll probably change the oil once we get to where ever we end up.  Our destination depends on the winds and weather.  If it is blowing to much in the Johnstone Strait, we will take a side channel and go around it if we can.  If it is not too bad, we will end up in either Port Neville or Port Harvey.  The weather will tell the story and the destination.

Since I was in the engine room, I tightened up several hose clamps and wire brushed some corrosion off some pipes that didn't look good.  Salt water will eat away an any metal given the chance.  I flushed the fitting with fresh water once done and will keep an eye on them.

Next, I pulled off the air filters.  On cars, they are made of paper and sit inside a can on the engine.  On Zephyr, they are a foam material.  One had a good bit of oil in it as one of the hoses on the crankcase cover hooks onto the top of the filter and blows exhaust gas and oil onto it(yuck).  Into soapy water and on to a towel to dry over night and they will be just fine for tomorrow.

Next, the raw water strainer(metal tube) got pulled and inspected.  It filters and keeps out the stray floating stuff in the water that might get sucked into the engine through the through hull fitting.  It needs to be inspected every so often depending on the quality of the water you float through.  We've been through some dirty water over the past few weeks.  Once cleaned and rinsed, back in she went. All done till the next time.  You don't want stray stuff getting into the engine cooling system.

After dinner, I read one of the books I bought on engine servicing and trouble shooting.  I learned a bit more of what to watch out for and what to do if some thing goes wrong.  It also went into what you should have on hand as a backup incase some thing fails.  I'll be ordering some more parts once we get back to civilization.  I have a good bit already but not all that I need.  There is always room for more parts!!

Well, it's off to bed as we are out of here at 0500 to try and beat the winds and the bad weather that is forecast for tomorrow afternoon.  We could be at our next destination by noon or earlier if it turns bad sooner that we hope.

More to come.  We're almost to the North end of Vancouver Island.  We've traveled 522 miles so far in the last 6 weeks.