Sailing.........Not quit yet

So we launched on Friday and spent the rest of the day adjusting lines and getting used to a slip.  The wind has been from the S-SW which for our particular slip is very bad.  There is a break in the sea wall that allows all the fetch from the S-SW so it is very rough.  Think "Washing Machine on a Roller Coaster".  We are taking all the waves on the bow which helps but a 10 knot breeze or greater is bad news. I keep meaning to ask why only half of the dock was protected with the sea wall?  It makes about 10 slips virtually uninhabitable.  I am very concerned about the safety of getting on and off the boat for a 10 yr old.  On Saturday, the Admiral woke up early and sick.  She slept in the truck until mid afternoon and then felt better.  It looks to be more of a migraine sickness and less of the sea sickness I was concerned about.  Sunday dawned after another rough night with SW winds but it was Easter  Morning.  Eggs to be found and baskets to secure.

After church we briefly contemplated going out for a sail but I vetoed that with the strong wind conditions predicted.  The wind filled in at 16 knots with gusts to 25 and we got blown around in the slip like a hobby horse.  2  larger boats went out with full crews of experienced sailors but it was way too much for us.

I tried to accomplish some tasks on the boat but the rocking and rolling proved too difficult.  Then the bilge pump started running.  It has been dry since I tightened the prop shaft stuffing box.  Odd.  After much excavating of lockers I was able to identify the leak. The old stuffing box on the rudder shaft had begun to leak. The one I left alone because it had never leaked before and I did not really know how to get at it.   All the banging around had created new forces to push water in.  The bilge was filling up every half hour and being pumped out.  Nothing catastrophic but definitely alarming.  I couldn't budge the stuffing box ring or retaining nut.  I soaked it in PB blaster and let it sit through the night.

And what a night it was.  We stayed up at the club house until very late hoping the winds would drop below 10 knots.  We finally went to the boat for a wild ride.  I laid awake listreningto the bilge pump and the girls fell asleep.  A long night.  The wind died down to a reasonable level about 2 or 3 AM and the bilge pump stopped working over time.  I finally fell asleep.