See that rope at the back of the Coast Guard Boat? Well, it's attached to the Mary Ellen, who lost power on the way back from Horseshoe Bay in Great Slave Lake. Julie and Jan decided 
to take a chance on the weather to give Bronwyn and me a ride on their cabin cruiser, a 35-year-old Swedish vessel that runs on diesel. She's a sweet little cruiser that sleeps four and runs at about 14 km/hr.
to take a chance on the weather to give Bronwyn and me a ride on their cabin cruiser, a 35-year-old Swedish vessel that runs on diesel. She's a sweet little cruiser that sleeps four and runs at about 14 km/hr.We went in and out of cloud and rain showers, but the wind wasn't too strong and we made it easily to Horseshoe, where we anchored and enjoyed lunch. That's Tiffany, Jan and Julie's, daughter, who read her Harry Potter book for most of the trip.
Jan and Julie have owned the boat for five years, and put in a new engine just four years ago. But as Julie was at the helm on the way back, Mary Ellen lost power. It was just at the point when I was asking about the name. That's the original name for the cruiser, which they decided not to change. Jan is convinced the spirit of Mary Ellen has something to do with the breakdown. It definitely wasn't a case of running out of gas because the Coast Guard brought along some diesel, and that didn't get us going. So they tied up at the front-- after a speech about not being responsible for damage to the boat or injury to us, or having to leave us if someone in more distress called-- and towed us into the government wharf in Yellowknife.
The distress call was made to Inuvik and the Coast Guard there contacted the auxiliary in Yellowknife, which operates with volunteers. It took them about 50 minutes to come and get us. As we got closer to Yellowknife, they tied a rope to the side and pulled us in that way. As Julie remarked, it was rather pleasant: We had the speed of a power boat and the quiet of a kayak.
1 comment:
Hi Susan,
Here's the finale to the story. While I was driving you and Bronwyn home, the mechanic arrived. He and Jan took the captain's chair out and pulled up the floor boards so they could get a good look at our Sole 3 cylinder diesel. After checking the fuel lines, Dennis discovered we were very low on engine coolant. Once that was replenished, the boat started and Jan drove it back to the dock. The mystery now is why the reservoir of coolant didn't empty into the engine, and what happened to the coolant that was there in the first place. So the boat wouldn't run because the engine had overheated. Jan said the engine was still warm when Dennis began working on it at the dock. New boat job: check the coolant level. Top up if low!
Julie
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