Yesterday we sailed to Prisoner's Harbor in good time. I started the Northern Lights generator to recharge the batteries and it didn't work quite right. I happened to notice the sea water impeller emitting black smoke and decided that I'd better shut it down before doing permanent damage to the motor. I concluded that the impeller failed because the grass I had taken out  of the filter strainer choked off the supply of cooling sea water earlier. I read the Northern Lights generator manual and decided that I could change an impeller if I had one. We searched the boat for  for the stash of generator spare parts left by the prior owners. We were sure that we had seen some in our get acquainted stay on the boat during the cold and rainy April when we didn't sail much. After turning  the boat upside down for two hours, we found a spare impeller. (For each spare part that we found that we recognized what it was for we found ten that we don't have the foggiest notion what it does or what nautical device it is used in.) Great! Now we didn't have to limp back to port and have the salty mechanics laugh at the helpless hapless lawyer on the hard.

    Of course, as luck would have it, as we were poking in the recesses of the boat, the 25-30 knot westerly wind shifted about 40 degrees toward the north and our anchorage turned from good protection to a rock and roll ride backing up to a lee shore. Although we hated to do it, we pulled up anchor and headed for another anchorage about a two hour motor away. We knew it would be crowded because it was a Saturday night, and we knew we would have to anchor in the dark for the first time. No moon; no navigation aids. We motored in the Windy Lane off Santa Cruz for about 2 hours. The weather buoy said the wind was hitting 38 knots. Swells and wind waves a good 12 feet. High Drama seemed happier than we as spray came over the bow and beam. Well, we wanted some more diverse sailing experience.

    After setting the hook, I mentally started figuring out how to change the impeller. The next morning the job went much easier than I could have predicted! However, when I started the generator, no water out the exhaust, which meant that the impeller was only a symptom of the problem, not the root cause. So for the next 4 hours I tracked down lines, disassembled hoses and tried to find out why no water was even reaching the impeller. I was confused that the lines for the generator seemed to go to the engine, and that didn't seem right. But I checked the strainer again, and again, and tested different theories. Finally, I tried tracing the water line again. This time it lead me to the strainer for the engine sea water intake. Wow, what a surprise, the sea cock was in the off position! Then it hit me. All of my analysis had been on the wrong through hull fitting. Moreover, the only problem was that I forgot to open the sea cock when I had cleaned the strainer earlier. Simple negligence is the purest form! The generator is working now, and I have concluded that the mechanics might have something about a helpless hapless lawyer. Determined to cover any outward signs of weakness, I decide to have a beer regain my composure.

    Our goals for this portion of the Channel Island experience is 1) to catch a fish, 2) to see a blue or humpback whale off Santa Rosa Island, and 3) to get to San Miguel Island because it is farthest west and has the roughest weather. When I finish my beer,I guess I'll go get started one number 1.