Genesis is Finally Home

Genesis is now tucked in her berth in Vancouver.

She arrived in Victoria on Jun 9 and was unloaded June 10^th. Quite honestly she wasn’t as dirty as I expected but there is lots of cleaning to do. We were lifted by slings into the water and tied against the freighter until we could get her up and going.  We couldn’t get the engines to start. The genset had no problem starting, so we put on the battery charger and started to charge the starter batteries. It was at this time that Cam noticed that there was no antifreeze or water in the rad or overfill container. As he glanced at the exhaust system he noticed several things. A large hole had blown in the exhaust manifold.  He gerryriged the hose and with good old duct tape fixed the problem. He assured me the duct tape would work because the hose is not under any pressure.  He decided to see what would have caused the build up and sure enough in the riser were rust, impeller parts and whatever else blocking the flow of water. This very well could have been the problems of the overheating transmission that plagued us for months.

After hours the batteries were still not charging and even trying to jumpstart from the genset battery wouldn’t work. We also appeared to have no battery power what so ever. It was just at that moment I noticed that the main battery switched had been stepped on and cracked. I pushed it in and voila the engines turned over without a problem. So more duct tape on the battery switch so that the connection would remain.  We had been splashed into the water at 1030 hr and it was now 1500hr.

It was sunny with clouds and about a 10knot wind. The seas now had the current against us but the seas were a mere 1 -2’ chop. A piece of cake! Well our patience awarded us with the observation of 8 – 10 Orca Whales chasing a school of salmon. It was awesome. In the Southern Gulf Islands we have not been so fortunate in whale spotting.  We then saw dolphins, seals, and minke whales. Welcome home Genesis.

We were only making 4.5 – 5k so it was decided to make a call into the Port of Sidney. It was after hours so we just pulled into an end slip. By the time we arrived got everything stowed it was nearly 2100 hour, so up to the pub at the top of the ramp for dinner.  By the time we got rooms at the nearby hotel and into bed it was midnight. A very long day.

Cam and Murdo had decided it would be best to also check the riser on the port side engine before leaving and being out in the Strait of Georgia. Well they cleaned out that riser as well and the water flow appeared to be much better.

It was a glorious day on the Straits; the calmest that I had ever experienced. Sunny with no clouds what so ever.

We were just getting ready to enter the Fraser River (1 hr.  from home) when all of a sudden the port engines  temperature gauge spiked. The left engine was immediately turned off and at the same moment the starboard engine gasped and wanted to quit. We managed to keep it going and limp into the anchorage next to wreck beach. (A nudist beach) No one was there as the water is to cold as is the air!

Well the port exhaust manifold had a problem that Cam managed to fix enough but the raw water pump just could not pump enough water so keeping the engine cool would be a problem. Sounds like a heart. Anyways , the starboard engine problem appeared to be dirty fuel. The fuel filters had water in them.  We had a decision to make. Get a tow in or come in on one engine that could crap out against a tidal current meaning that we would be getting in at night. Doing the night thing doesn’t scare me. Been there done that many times. Murdo said “Genesis has been on a wonderful trip and left here under her own power you need to have her come in under her own power. We can make it work.”  The currents were mild, the engine did not quit and at 2230 hrs we went under the swing bridge with all 26 country flags on the mast to show the countries Genesis took us to. We pulled into the Delta Marina and started the port engine just so we would have 2 engines to dock with, it would not be enough time to cause the engine to overheat.

So this journey is now officially over. It has been a joyous and emotional journey. I equate it these days as like being in a storm. There is much turbulence with thunder and lightning but there must be some rain before there can be any rainbows. Rainbows will shine again for all that know us and we will have a lot of help from Ken.

I am now in Newfoundland and will be here for a few weeks to help out with my daughters move.

My Mother was from Fogo Island and I hope to check out where I came from. The next blog will be all about a province very proud and different than most of the other provinces as it has many more years of history.

I will add pictures to this blog when I am back in Vancouver as they are on Murdo’s  iphone.