since we didn’t have a set plan, we weren’t worried about getting an early start. I started calling around to some outboard engine repair places I found online and was told by several places they don’t work on small engines or on Johnson brands. I kept calling and found a guy who said “I only work on small engines and I can take a look at it if you bring it to me.” Great! Now I had to figure this out- his shop was at a marina about seven miles ‘around the corner’ on the other side of the peninsula we were anchored in. I told Lauren the news and we decided we would go over there and anchor as close as possible to the marina but not be in the way. I took Frank to shore before we left, but a bit farther away as I didn’t want to go back to the island that says ‘Keep Off’. We pulled anchor around 11am and made our way. It only took us about an hour to get there, and we dropped anchor in about nine feet of water, making sure to stay out of the channel and away from the working barge that was coming and going from a dock next to the marina. It was a fairly exposed area, but the weather didn’t look too bad overnight. I called the guy on the phone to let him know I was there and got no answer, so I decided to go in on the dinghy and see what he thought. I made my way to his shop and introduced myself. He had just come out of the back room and was putting on latex gloves- “wow- you got here quick!” He said. “You got me just in time- I was about to start a project and once I start it will take a few hours and I can’t stop; Let’s go take a look at this engine” he explained. We walked down to where I docked the dinghy and he jumped in to get a closer look. As he was turning the throttle, the toothed piece that turns fell off. “Looks like this is the issue! This engine is old; they don’t make these anymore and it’s hard to find parts, but I have a few in the shop. Maybe I can take one and swap out the parts.” It sounded like he was talking to himself more than me. “Let’s get this up to the shop and I’ll see what we can do”. Great! At least there was some hope. I told him I could get if off and up to him and he showed me a dock cart I could use to transport it so I didn’t have to carry it. I went to work and got it off the dinghy which was not a super easy task to do by myself, but I made it happen without falling in the water. I brought it up to the shop and he appeared from the back once again to tell me that he actually has the exact same engine back there, and he would be able to get the parts swapped. Woohoo! He then told me I could go back to the boat and hang out and he would call when it’s done. He did inquire how long we were here and I told him we were anchored out in the bay and would wait as long as it takes. I returned to the boat and told Lauren the news. We were hanging out and was making lunch when the phone rang about two hours later. “your engine is done- you can come pick it up- we leave at 4pm today.” Lauren and I looked at each other in disbelief- what luck! I excused myself from lunch and went right to rowing back to the marina. I got there and saw the assistant who he had directed to do the work as I was leaving and thanked him profusely, as well as handing him some cash for the work. He was thankful and gracious and told me to settle up with the owner. I found the owner and again thanked him profusely. He told me if I wanted I could give the technician a tip to which I told him I already had. He seemed pleased with this and then told me it was $800.00- He then laughed and said since you took care of him, it is $100.00. Parts and one hour of labor. I again thanked him and took the engine back to the dinghy and got it mounted up. They had also replaced the pull cord and it started right up and ran like a champ. I returned to the boat and told Lauren the great news. We were both still in disbelief that they got it done so quick. If anyone is ever in a bind in Selby Bay, Gunther Marine deserves your business!
Now that we had the dinghy back, we weren’t sure we wanted to stay where we were anchored. Lauren has researched a bit while I was gone and found an anchorage across the bay in Harness Creek. It was only a few miles away and here is the description: “A perfect hurricane hole can hold 2 boats. High banks all around. Walk dog at Quiet Waters Park.”. That sounded good to me, as long as there weren’t two boat there already. We pulled out the anchor and cruised over there. We found the spot and there was already one boat anchored in ‘the hole’, but there was plenty of room just outside of it so we found a good spot away from the only other boat anchored outside the hole and dropped anchor. We hung out on the deck for a while, again making sure the anchor had set securely and we weren’t moving. Once we were sure we were secure, we took Frank to shore to explore the large park we were next to. They had a nice dinghy dock to use, which was nice. We walked around the park trails for a couple of hours before returning back to Klondike. As we came back we noticed a sailboat had anchored next to us. They were fairly close, but what could we do? I noticed the boat looked familiar- it was our friend from St. Michaels that stopped to look at our dinghy engine! He had taken his wife home and came back out for a few more days. We chatted a bit and then retired inside for dinner.
Tomorrow we plan on going to Annapolis, Maryland which is only about twelve miles away, so we won’t have to leave too early. We researched it a bit and found that have mooring balls available for $30/day. We are expecting some high winds again so a mooring ball sounded good to me…