Trip 1, Day 10, Leg 10

Trip Day: Thursday, August 5th

0535-70F/70F.  Pretty warm for this hour, 67F yesterday, but it is cloudy!

0736-Actually cooled a bit, will make breakfast and then head out.  Solar is at 42%.

0756-70F/71F.  Sun is shining through the clouds.  Was finishing breakfast of shredded wheat with strawberries and toast with peanut butter when a fishing boat came roaring into the bay!  Always a high point!  I soon departed my spot and headed out to the falls on the south end of Junction Bay.

Tied Up At The Falls
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0900-Stopped briefly at the falls.  Took a bunch of pics and video.  The current made it difficult to tie up and depart.  I had to jump back and forth from untying on land to jumping back aboard to realign the motor to  maintain some type of balance.  Very difficult in the whirling current and steep slope to the lines!  Nevertheless, got away okay and headed out for the next boat site.

Day 10, Leg 10 AOA
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First Step Down Of The Falls
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Final Step To The Lake
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Small Protective Inlet At The Falls
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Departing The Falls
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I was heading in a generally easterly direction and at 5.6 nm I ran out of gas in Tank #1.  There was a breeze blowing me down on the windward shore of an island!  I struggled with removing the gas tank hose fitting from Tank 1 and finally had to restart the engine and try to limp to windward while pumping the bulb to gain a little leeway.  Finally after a good deal of struggle I finally got the fitting off and attached to Tank 2. What a relief when it fired up and ran okay!  

GE Track - Day 10, Leg 10
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Navionics Chart - 6.3 nm, 6.5 kts ave.

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Avenza Park Chart - Day 10, Leg 10

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I need to plan better for tank changes, I don't want to be in that situation again!  Unfortunately, I later determined there is 1.75 gallons of unusable fuel in this 9 gallon tank, which seems excessive!  That considerably cuts down the range for each tank, and as a result, total range.  I did not anticipate that much unusable fuel, one of the reasons I got caught in the bad situation I was in at the time!  I need to come up with a  way to access the remaining fuel.

The revised range on one tank is actually only 38 miles now, due to the excessive unusable fuel.  Is it just poor siphoning?  Not sure of the problem, but I now I have a revised range of 76 miles total instead of 99! That's 24% less than anticipated!

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1028-Finally, I tied up at a no-name bay on a non-improved site, adjacent to and NE of Randolf Bay.  Not a good site for optimizing solar input to the panels!  73F/75F.  Distance traveled 6.3 nm, averaged 6.5 kts.

What I'm Faced With - Why Not Tow The Car Too!
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1125-75F/74F.  Dishes were washed, after a quick swim to cool off.  

The tie up here was difficult for keeping the bow eye off of rocks.  If the eye hits rocks it makes an alarming grating sound, not good!  Besides not being good for the eye, it is nerve racking!  I had to move and re-tie about three times to find a spot where the bow eye no longer touched rocks.  

Tied Up - It Does Look Small!
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It is actually is a bit cooler today, but mostly cloudy, which is probably why?  Not good for gaining watts though!

1520-76F/76F.  Cloudy with some rain drops.  Didn't take a nap since it was cooler and cloudy.  So, I went for a kayak cruise around my little bay.  I found out that technically I was on an island since there was a small grassy cut that allows you to paddle into Randolf Bay and around the island.  Rain drops chased me back to the boat.  I struggled to get aboard and worked up enough sweat to take another swim to cool off.  I'm now preparing dinner, while listening to Pandora.  Thunder in the distance.

Finally Got Out With The Kayak!
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Lily Pads Blooming
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Randolf Bay Behind Trees - Actually I Was On An Island
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1630-Just finished grilling my tenderloin when the first drops of rain hit.  A heavy T-storm, the rain was so loud I could not hear my dinner music.  The tenderloin was accompanied by mashed potatoes, hot roll, salad, and red wine.  

Made the preemptive move to take everything out of the freezer and shutting it down to conserve my solar battery power.  It was not looking good at this point!  My solar in the morning will be at a new low!  I figured the food I had remaining in the freezer would be okay if thawed in the fridge for four days.

1706-73F/68F.  Note the temp difference inside to outside.  When I closed up the cabin due to the heavy rain, inside temperature was 77F.  The inside is catching up now after the cooling effect of the storm, but I still have windows only partially open.  

It is early but I'm thinking bed time already!  

Emptied the water out of the kayak cover, checked the bilge, but it was okay.  The "Auto" function must have kicked in, though I did not hear the pump run.  Good evening to do some reading.

1915-72F/70F. Much cooler this evening.  Supposed to go to 57F tonight, so I will close up.  

Just observed two houseboats passing with nav lights on.  Ebel Boats going away from base with only an hour until dark!  I have no clue what they are thinking, but it is not a wise move!  It may be they just could not find a spot coming out today and are still looking?  

Small Island Just Outside The Bay - Canadian Island Behind
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A gull came up with two young to check the boat out.  Came closer and closer and finally flew away and the young followed shortly.

Gull With Two Young
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Adult Kept Getting Closer
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1944-72F/70F.  Solar 37%.  I need sun!  Gen was down to 26% on Day 3, my low at 5:30 am that day.  I have shut down the freezer, so lets see what I have in the morning?  

I'm ready to fold up shop, listen to an audio book and hit the sack.