Going, going...

Goodbye from neighbor and friend, Damon....mmmm

We had several things on the boat that we discovered during our shake down cruise that needed to be fixed or improved, as well as servicing the engines before we pulled out for Panama.  The generator just will not cooperate.  I am almost convinced that the problem is in the thermostat, but I am afraid if I try to take it apart that it will require a gasket set, and more likely the thermostat is special and will have to be ordered from the states.  This would likely take weeks and that time is not available.  I have decided that as long as this generator had set up and was not used, that the parts just need to be exercised; then they will go back to work properly.  I hope this proves to be true.  To make this trip without a generator would be difficult.  I depend on it to charge the batteries every couple of days, and when it comes to making water, the generator is absolutely necessary.

We changed the oil in each of the engines, drained, flushed, and put new coolant into the cooling systems.  Flushed and cleaned the bilge, and generally checked out the entire boat.  We had some work to have done on the bikes.  A couple of cables had broken on Edie’s bike, one of the brakes, and the gear shifter cable, and the handle grips on my bike had deteriorated, and needed to be replaced.  We had the laundry done, and the boat was cleaned to pristine condition, and Louis cleaned the bottom just before we were to leave.

Cruisers develop a special relationship

John and Niki had also come back from Loreta, a couple of days after we did, and were docked right down from us on Dock 5.  They planned to put their boat in San Carlos, and return to Alaska for the summer.  John had taken a job as a consultant on some sort of airport work, and was planning to spend the summer funding new electronics, new solar panels, and a radar tower: great improvements on an already great boat. Then they plan to come back here for the winter. 

Niki decided that we should have a going away dock party, so two days before we left there was a gathering of about 15 people, some I knew and some I didn’t, but we all had a wonderful time.  At this time of the year most of the cruisers had gone back to the states for the summer, but there are always enough people around to have a party.  Everyone was generous with their best wishes, and Sharon and I both felt very special.