Sept 17-19 Wye Island

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There hasn't been much to talk about during our stay at Wye Island. That's kinda nice!  We watched the birds & turtles.  

During the quiet a unique bird call was heard.  Lois got a picture of the culprit with her telephoto lense.  This was a new bird for us, so the bird book was consulted, as well as our special resource of good friends who reallyknow something about birds.  On an explore in the dinghy several more of the same bird we observed, usually standing on a partially submerged tree branch just out from the wooded shore where the bird seemed interested in the small fish nearby.  The bird is the green heron.

We also worked on our ailing port engine.  After motoring many hours  the port engine stalled when throttled back in the final approach to this anchorage.  Once settled in,  Brent did some basic troubleshooting, then tried to locate a mechanic who would make a "housecall".  Many if not most outboard service places want you to bring the engine to them.  On Second Star it is possible but difficult to remove either engine, especially while the boat is in the water.  We found a very pleasant mechanic in nearby St Michaels, but the earliest they could help us would be 5 days from now.  Through our network of friends we located another mechanic back home, just in case.  Talking to that mechanic was very helpful and inspired Brent to remove and clean the carburetor.

Removing the carburetor required working head down in the engine compartment being extremely careful to not drop anything into the water below.  This task would turn out easy compared to the task of reinstalling the now cleaned carburetor and getting all the fiddly bits properly connected and aligned.  But the engine started right up and has run well since.  Brent will probably do more tweaking when we get home, but for now the engine is doing what we need it to do. 🎉

Speaking of home, sitting here in beautiful Wye Island the thought of returning to our home has slowly settled in.  When setting out our plan was to take each day as it comes and turn for home when ready.  We both feel that pull to move in the direction of home.  

There is then the matter of weather.  Saturday the wind is blowing in right direction but strongly.  The forecast looks ok, but 2 minutes after pulling anchor we get weather information over the radio that makes us both think another day at Wye Island is a good idea.  Back to our anchorage!





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