September 8, 2008: Holland, Mi

I want to say that Tom and I are grateful for all our many blessings, so I try to be positive about each day. However, today was not the best day. The weather projection on NOAA was that the winds on Lake Michigan would be calm in the morning and building throughout the day. But we had an oil leak in one of our engines, and waited around all morning for the Cummings mechanic to check things out. Finally around 1:00 PM we cast off hoping to make it to South Haven today. Before we had gone a mile, our gauges showed that the port engine was overheating and Tom shut it off. He went down to the engine room, and we could smell something burning, but couldn’t figure out what. I was still driving slowly with the starboard engine when it also registered as overheating.

There are several things that were really lucky at this point. One is that we were not out of the harbor into Lake Michigan yet; we were along side the municipal docks. The other is that Tom had the telephone number of the Cummings dealership and when they called our mechanic, he was still in town. So we tied up to the wall and cut the starboard engine and waited for the mechanic to come back. It turned out that he had forgotten to reopen the seawater intakes which cool the engine, so the impellers, the little paddle wheels which pull in the water to cool the engine, had melted since there was no water. He did not have the right size replacement on his truck, but they sent replacements and he was able to get it repaired. So by 3:00 pm we were finally cured, just as the cold rain started.

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.
Winnie the Pooh

But we wanted to make some distance today so we shortened our ambitions and cast off for Holland. Even though it was pouring down rain and I didn’t get any pictures, the wave action was much gentler today so the ride was better. We passed by the Holland State park and its empty beaches. The entrance to the Holland harbor was marked by a unique red light house with the US flag standing out straight from the flagpole. The winds were coming up and projected to be over 25 mph tonight over the lake. But we are safe and dry at the Anchorage Marina on Lake Macatawa.

Psalm 94: 18-19
When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.