“Cruising is boat maintenance in prettier places”
10.00 start on a beautiful day.
We lost the port engine again on the way over so we anchored
in the bay so A could take a look, and we could take a swim.
Close encounter with a funny looking jellyfish – perhaps too
much MasterChef watching, but to J it looks like a supersized fried quails egg
on a truffle foam - your alternative recipes in comments please!
Double engine disaster: the port engine will start, but we need
to give it some welly on the throttle, so the problem is persistent. The
starboard engine is a whole other headache; the bilge beneath is full of
diesel, and on closer inspection the gasket of one of the fuel filters has been
pushed out, allowing the fuel to squirt out while the engine is running.
We hooned it straight into port so we could address the
problem(s). Moored according to instruction on the Quai d’Accueil – a nightmare
as there were no available lazy lines for our space so we took the one next
door, and J left A tweaking the springs while she & Roxy reported to the
Capitainerie with the ships papers – only to be advised of our actual mooring
spot... Still, it’s a much better space, and here the port captain was on hand
to pass the ropes, so we were settled in by 14.15.
Starboard engine déjà vu, since the same happened (on the
other filter) while we were in Mandelieu. That time we lost hundreds of litres
of fuel which had to be hand pumped into jerry cans and transported for
recycling, before spending hours scrubbing the bilge and lining it with oil
absorbers to minimize environmental collateral damage; this time the fuel loss
was less, but the clean up process remains unchanged. But there is no better
port than St Peire to deal with such a crisis – an excellent ‘Point Propre’ –
recycling centre - is available to all, 7 days a week, right at the end of our
quay, so we could grab a couple of empty jerry cans and had the 30-odd litres
pumped out and in the recycling, and the bilges soaking in Ecover-soaped water
with oil soaks by 18.00.
The local lounge bar let us and another Brit
couple move furniture around to watch the England-Wales rugby game (without the
sound), but after a heavy day we left at half time sure the result was already
set... How wrong we were on that score!
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