Flickavoyages: The Dumbest Thing

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Up at 7:00AM to a beautiful morning. Winds turned westerly in the night, forecast for NNE later this morning. Cockpit coffee as usual. Watching boats leave the anchorage. Early morning lunatics out running. Watched a woman swim the channel. Paddle boarders and kayakers out.

I was just thinking that I am all storied out. There could not be many other stories out here to write about, we have run into so many interesting characters, but of course there are many more stories, at least one for every person on this planet, and that means 7.125 billion and growing fast.

So, here is a story.

I reflect on my life and think of all the great things that I have been fortunate to experience, but I will also think of the many really dumb things I have done and of that one really dumb thing I did, that really, really dumb thing. I think that I should be glad that that’s as bad as it could get, and just when I think that, just when I think that that one thing is pretty much the dumbest thing anybody could do, well……I do something really, really dumb. I mean really dumb.

Like this morning.

Daily routine on Flicka to get going involves, among other things, checking engine oil and water le. So dutifully, that is what I did. Engine oil OK. Water level OK. Wait, did I check the water level? Let’s be sure. I’m glad I did because it seems to be low. So I proceeded to add water, lots of water, about three-quarters of a gallon in fact, right into the engine, that is, right down the oil filler tube.

Let me repeat that for those of you who do not know about internal combustion engines. I put WATER, where the oil is supposed to go.

When I realized what I had done, when I realized that I had topped my list of all time dumbest things I had ever done, I became overwhelmed with the possibilities, the infinite possibilities of dumb things I was capable of. At that point all I could do was set down on the sole of the main cabin and contemplate the end of times.

After I had recovered from the shocking reality of my error, I had to face the humiliating prospect of informing Emily of my bad. But she, being one of infinite patience and understanding, and also herself knowing silently that this was small change compared to the infinite dumbness of which I was ultimately capable, accepted our situation for what is was, and waited for me to calm down.

And once that happened, I figured out a course of action and implemented a solution, which involved pumping out the oil and water mix (easy enough on this well designed engine). For those of you who are chemistry challenged, oil and water are immiscible (do not mix) and oil is lighter that water, thus the water I added to the engine settled out into the lowest part of the engine, the oil pan. So I was able to pump out almost all the water, maybe a half cup remained. A consult with my Nanni diesel specialist, the most knowledgeable Klaus, in Annapolis, confirmed that the world was not ending and that that amount of water would “steam” out quickly.

So pump out the oil/water I did with Emily’s help (always the calm one on the job) and by 12:30PM we were underway, having lost nothing more than time, which is the same as having lost nothing.

Now, for the rest of the story.

Our lives take twists and turns, and for every twist and turn some opportunities or experiences never happen and others do. So on this day, on this morning, if I had not pulled off what I figured to be the dumbest thing I had ever done, we would not have encountered Saga Blue, a twenty-five foot sailboat with a father, a mother, a tiny new born baby and a vivacious little dog aboard.

We had just left our Wrightsville Beach anchorage at dead low tide and followed a tortuous and shallow channel out to its junction with the ICW, where we “touched” the bottom a time or two and once we turned into the ICW, there was Saga Blue dead ahead. We followed her through the Wrightsville Beach Bridge and passed by close to port.

There was momma, with baby strapped securely to her front side, baby peering around at this marvelous scene unfolding before its very young eyes.

We spoke to these folks (the baby didn’t say much) and got a little information about them, including their website which documents their adventure. Its http://www.bonniesea.com/ if you are interested.

Mother and Baby on Saga Blue

After Breast Feeding the Baby, Mother Goes Forward to Do Her Duty

So this morning, within a four hour period, I went from the depths of despair, to the heights of inspiration, thinking about that young family and that baby on that tiny boat. If I had not done my next dumbest thing we most likely would not have seen these guys.

The moral. Keep doing dumb things!

We trudged eastward with a freshening wind on the nose as usual, past Mason Inlet, through Figure Eight Island Swing Bridge and Rich, Little Topsail and New Topsail Inlets. Passed West Onslow Beach, Ocean City Beach, Sea Haven Beach into Chadwick Bay and finally past the New River Inlet, to our anchorage at mile 244.5 ICW, for a thirty-nine mile run. We are anchored in Mile Hammock Bay, a safe and protected harbor which is part of Camp Lejeune, US Marine Corps base. Where one is likely to be entertained by military air and or ordinance practices. What fun!

US Army Corps of Engineers Boat on Chadwick Bay

That did not happen. There were ten other boats here and we had a very pleasant evening, watching a brilliant sunset and an eagle perched on a branch next to its nest, likely guarding its young.