I need to research if getting your adrenaline level raised is healthy or not. If it is healthy, I am putting a lot in the bank of wellness. It happens to me a lot these days. Yesterday, it was arranged that I take Relianto to the fuel dock in the marina at Los Suenos to get the boat inspected by the officials to determine if she is worthy and safe to be used as a charter boat. The reason we brought the boat down here is to use her as a charter boat. The goal of the voyage is not complete until we are in business. Getting through the bureaucracy is as daunting as sailing the oceans. Getting the boat through inspection is a critical part of the process, that and the payment.

I paddled out to the boat on a surfboard and Meredith drove the car around to the marina. I went out to the boat early to allow plenty of time in case of any problems. Though promptness is not common here in Costa Rica, I did not want to be late for this appointment.

The Westerbeake diesel engine in Relianto has been as reliable as the sunrise. It has been stalwart and dependable during the entire trip. Though I trust it, I still check the gauges regularly. I had just cast away from the mooring when I noticed the engine temperature was up to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. That is too hot. It had always been on 180 the entire trip. I had to set the anchor as I was too far from the mooring to snag it. Note; I am anchoring in forty feet of water. Raising a forty-five pound anchor with chain from forty feet is a project in itself.

This is when the adrenaline rush started. Here I am, taking the boat to get inspected by a government official to determine if she is worthy and suitable to take out paying guests and I can’t even get her to the inspection site. I removed the engine box to expose the engine for examination. The engine box is huge, heavy, and difficult to handle but with the adrenaline surge, I snatched it up like it was a matchbox. I discovered the belt that drives the water pump had broken.

The irony of the situation is that I had a spare belt but I had taken it off the boat. When we got to Costa Rica, I stripped the boat down and had planned to carefully put back only the things I deemed necessary for local sailing. When I took the spare belt off the boat, I made a conscious decision that I would not need it until we started sailing again. I remember making that decision. If I had the spare belt, which was at our house, I could have installed it in a moment and have plenty of time to get to the appointment.

As it turned out, the agent and the inspector came out to the boat on an outboard powered panga. It was accepted that the broken belt was not a serious problem and Relianto passed this part of the certification process. Perhaps the inspector thought the boat was reliable enough to get us here from the states and she was therefore suitable to take tourist out sailing in the bay.

Life is never boring around here.

Pura Vida,

Glenn the JungleBoy

12 Enero, 2014

Casa de Olas

Playa Hermosa

Costa Rica

 

 

 

 The Belt. I wish I had this yesterday.

Huevos anyone?