Oil where IT wasn’t wanted!

Friday, April 25, 2025

Walt began work on the hoses under the sink on a shiny Friday morning, while I turned the fresh-water pump on and off at the navigation station’s breaker bank. We found that a great deal of water had leaked onto the shelves and down into the bilge, from which it had been automatically pumped out into the ocean, and Walt was not able to fix the fittings to stop the leak as he’d hoped to do, so we turned off the water coming into the toilets and the galley and head faucets from our water tanks and thought about using water from our “emergency pump” in the galley to meet the day’s needs. More frustration!

Walt was thinking over possible solutions to our problem, including returning to Braesail’s slip at the Anacortes Marina, but, as I was sponging up the water on the top shelf under the sink, I spotted a small, black rubber ring sitting on the shelf behind one of the water hoses; I picked it up and showed to Walt: “What is this and is it important to keep?” It WAS important—VERY important! It was the O-ring that Walt hadn’t found when he last worked on the under-sink leak, and so he was able to put it where it belonged, the flow of water under the sink was staunched, and we were able to turn the boat’s water supply back on! HOORAY!!

We decided to motor over to nearby Deer Harbor on Orcas Island, tie Braesail at the dock in the small but well-maintained marina there, and give Coracle additional exercise out in the scenic anchorage. The hour-long journey was easy, and there was plenty of space at the guest dock for our boat. After checking in at the Registration Office and collecting some information about possibly moving Braesail from the Anacortes Marina to Deer Harbor after we take the boat out of charter service next season (and thus saving a LARGE amount of money in mooring and insurance fees!), Walt napped in the aft cabin, and I strolled along the docks to the cozy little general store and cafe near the shore, where I bought an ice cream treat and enjoyed browsing the well-stocked shelves. As I’d done when we visited Deer Harbor after Christmas, I looked at the restrooms and showers on the dock near the sandy beach, the information placards about bird life in the area and the history of the village (the founder of the fish cannery that once was located in the there is said to have caught, single-handedly, over 5 million salmon during his lifetime!), and the attractive houses and restaurants above the harbor’s shore.

After Walt’s nap, we launched Coracle and explored Deer Harbor’s waters, making our way under a bridge and toward the mouth of a stream and looking at the boats at the well-maintained docks and resting peacefully at anchor. We then motored near and around some islands outside the harbor, enjoying seeing an eagle in a treetop, a gangly heron on a jagged rock, the whiskery nose of a harbor seal in the water near an island shore, and many seabirds fluttering and diving as we passed. Not long before we turned to go back to Braesail, Coracle’s gas tank ran dry, as we’d expected it to do. Walt filled it from the jug we’d brought with us, and then checked the level of the engine oil. All appeared to be well, but as we were tying up the dinghy near Braesail’s bathing platform, I noticed a shimmering, rainbow-hued oil slick spreading over the water’s surface—oh dear! Walt hadn’t tightened the oil reservoir’s cap sufficiently, and oil had leaked over the motor and into the water, much to my dismay! It took some time to clean up the outboard motor, and there was nothing we could do about the oil sheen on the water, unfortunately.

After dinner, galley clean-up, some German lessons, some reading and email processing, and some watching of sailing videos, we retired for the night, with a morning departure for the Anacortes Marina planned for the following day.