Adventures at Sea …continued

Yesterday, January 14 we used the Zodiak and a friendly neighborhood dive boat to load up the luggage and Crew who had spent 6 days in Cozumel for an unscheduled “vacation.” Some of those crew had spent 2 nights in one hotel 2 nights in another and 2 nights in the local evacuation center. We want to thank the local churches and the dive shop for their hospitality and assistance. What a blessing to know you have “family” wherever we go in this world!
After the Crew ashore returned, we had a pre-sail meeting and did the fire and boat drills. Our agent came aboard ship with our clearance and we gave him our immigration list. By then the wind had kicked up a bit so maneuvering away from the buoy where the anchor had been located was tricky, but Capt. Tim did an excellent job and we were away. We had heard from the tug that they were fairly close by so we headed out to meet them. About 1 hour in to the trip the engine overheated. We were adrift again, but at least this time we were drifting in the right direction – far enough from shore not to be in danger and in the general direction of the tug boat. The offending parts were located – a cool water intake valve and the sea chest clogged. (OK, I don’t know what a sea chest is, but obviously you don’t go very far if it isn’t working!) The engineers worked on it for about an hour and a half then got the engine back up and running. A bit later we could see in the distance the lights of the tug boat. Her name is the Kirsten Grace – a very appropriate name to rescue a missionary ship! How great it is to have an escort for this poor little bucket. It seems that one thing after another has happened, so we are glad of the company – just in case.
The sail has been going well. We are doing about 8-10 knots and the tug boat remains with us. We are in a “convoy!” I’ve never been in a convoy before so here is another new experience! It is choppy out so that makes it a challenge to walk from here to there and trying to sleep while being tossed around in the bunk is interesting, but you’ll get no complaints from us. We are SO glad to be on our way! If all goes well we expect to be in Mobile on Tuesday.
Both Bill and I were able to get off the ship for awhile while we were anchored. Bill got in two dives. He says it looks very different than Honduras. He got to see some huge groupers, lobster, big French Angel Fish, a spotted Moray eel, different kinds of choral formations and a Flamingo Tongue Snail and a bunch of other creatures. He had a pretty good time. I went in to town with a friend from the ship and we did some shopping and had lunch. We got back to the dock a little early and waited for the Zodiak to pick us up. Two cruise ships were docked there and we spent the time people watching. What fun…people of all different shapes, sizes, languages, foot wear and clothing (or lack of it!). When the Zodiak arrived we got in. It is a very large step down from the dock to the boat, and I fell in, which for me was a relief as if I fall, I usually fall in the water. On the ride to the ship the water was rough and we all got soaked. Again, I’m not complaining…I was very thankful to get off the ship for awhile.
Hopefully the remainder of the sail will be uneventful. I’ll write with an update as time allows. Love to all!