Just Like Home - May, 2021

We (Jim & Lori) rolled into the Escanaba Municipal Marina on Monday evening at 5:00 sharp, just about 24 hours later than planned. We had opted to make a side trip to Hancock since it sounded like Rick could use a little more alone time with the drain pump in the forward head. After finding the boat key and letting ourselves in, we decided not to push our luck testing the galley systems and headed out to grab some Culver’s for dinner.

Knowing the forward head was still out of commission I was some what hesitant about trying out the aft one in the captain’s quarters but weighing the possibility of running to the shore facilities in the middle of the night, I decided to pull down my big girl britches and face the macerating toilet. It worked. Nuff said.

The next three days have been all about testing various systems and exploring our new abode on the water. Tuesday morning Rick came by to give us an orientation. We started with all the bridge systems: radar, weather station, VHF radios, GPS, bow thrusters, stabilizers and probably a couple others I forgot. Davi joined us just in time to take the Perseverance out for our first spin. We got into some appreciable swells but the stabilizers kicked in and kept the rolling to a minimum. It was a very fun ride...as much fun as you can have at 8.2 knots.

Wednesday morning I was up early and noticed it was pretty calm. I mentioned to Jim that it was probably the best weather we‘d have for practicing docking for a while, then I rolled over and went back to sleep. I was mid-dream sailing gently across the Silver Sea on the Dawn Treader when the Cummins engine roared to life under my bed. Not one to go to sea without coffee, I threw on some clothes and sprinted for the galley. I had just about figured out the newly purchased coffee maker when someone yanked the shore power cable and, as you may remember from the Sweden trip, you can’t make coffee without AC power. This was a crisis but by now the rest of the crew understands there is no compromising here. They quickly recalled much of Rick’s brief intro to the power systems and figured out how to engage the generator and make the coffee go. They complained (quietly) that you couldn’t have bow thrusters while the coffee was brewing but they managed. This proved to be the first lesson in power management.

Happily, our first unsupervised voyage was a success. We all took turns leaving the harbor, circling the buoy and docking. We also tested out our radio headsets which let the crew update the captain on the proximity of bow and stern to the dock without yelling or frantic gestures. We concluded that system was money well spent in that it kept everyone‘s blood pressure down but it was kind of weird having two other people in your head. No one got hurt (except I whacked my head on the railing while tying up) and we didn’t put any new scratches on the boat so we’ll call that good.

Thursday was a cold, windy day...perfect for testing out the galley systems. It did not begin well. I was putting away groceries and decided to make a place for empty cans under the sink. Immediately I realized that the cardboard box I was using was soaked. A cursory investigation revealed that the drain had cracked completely in two and was the source of the deluge. Jim dove in with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, liberated the busted part and headed off to Menard’s. Meanwhile, Davi decided to proceed with the test of the oven by baking pre-mixed chocolate chip cookies. We learned several things in that operation. 1) You may use either the cook top or the oven but not both. 2) You really need to have Shore Power 1 AND Shore Power 2 enabled if you want the oven to heat. 3) If you are using the oven and your heater kicks on, Shore Power 1 & 2 will not be enough to keep you from tripping a breaker. 4) The smoke detectors work.

This was a successful test because the cookies were good and put Jim in the proper mood to quickly replace the drain in what was probably his least stressful plumbing project ever. In fact, it was very similar to the repair he tackled at home with Quang a few months ago. Yep, the Perseverance is starting to feel just like home.