Saturday, August 21 we left Newport in the fog. Here is the Newport bridge as we left. The sea lions were all over the rocks at the entrance and barking away. The weather was so so. We had planned to go to Winchester Bay on the Umpqua River but by the time we got there, there were breakers all across the bar. The bar was closed to small boats and Earl decided to go on the Coos Bay which has a larger entrance. As we went on, the weather got better, but the Coos Bay bar was closed to vessels 40 feet and under. Earl decided it was a go, and I was stationed in the salon to look for large waves that could break over us from the rear, while he skied the boat in, masterfully. We tied up at the transient dock – not in retrospect the loveliest spot in the world. Earl went down to check the engine and discovered a high pressure fuel line had small leak and was misting diesel around the engine room. Diesel in the engine room is not permitted on Serenity. Earl diagnosed the problem and put in a call to a local mechanic, but he was not working on Sunday. We busied ourselves cleaning house and walking around the port area, technically Charleston, not Coos Bay. There was a locally pottery place that we enjoyed, but not much else.
Monday morning the mechanic came down, agreed with Earl’s diagnosis and said it would take at least a day to get a part. We decided to rent a car, but it was easier said than done. One of the two rental companies had no cars, and the other had only one, an SUV, for an outrageous amount of money. We took it and Mouse and I bought groceries and then picked up Earl and drove down to check out Bandon, which is famous for its links course. The beach is spectacular, large boulders and crashing waves. We had lunch at a Thai restaurant. We all like food, but something – probably the waiter’s expression – warned us off the Thai hot and we settled for the medium plus heat. Wow! I have never had such hot Thai food. The flavor was delicious, I think, but we needed to get ice cream cones afterwards, for medical reasons. Our lips were burning. Later in the afternoon, we dropped Earl off at the boat and Mousie and I took a tour of Cape Arago and a local park, Shore Acres, which has wonderful views and gardens. Quite a lovely day.
Tuesday, a mechanic returned and while Mouse and I returned the car he replaced the hose. We filled with fuel and took off for a long run. But we did not get far. About 1 hour into our trip, Earl checked the engine room, only to find diesel still misting it. Back to Coos Bay and Ed the mechanic. It is now Wednesday am and he is replacing yet another hose. We hope to get off today because the forecast is good and we are tired of sitting at the transient dock in Charleston.
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