Overnight at Harris Boat Works, Rice Lake
44°7’20.0532″N, 78°14’28.3092″W
What3Words: ///chefs.jumbo.catapulted

We were up early and I cooked bacon for breakfast! This is the first time we have cooked breakfast aboard Belisama. Up until now we have been eating cereal and toast and toasted crumpets. What a great start to the day! It’s hard to beat the combination of “le essence d’diesel”  characteristic of a fine boat like Belisama blended with the aroma of freshly fried bacon. Someone (perhaps me) should figure out a way to turn that fragrant combination into an aftershave or underarm deodorant – I think it would be a big seller and the ladies would love it! Hey Copilot, how do I make …

Bacon for breakfast – I’m a happy camper / boater

We cleaned up the galley after a sumptuous breakfast and then I settled our account with the marina. It was a bright sunny morning and the lake was calm – a big change from the day before. I thought we might be getting low on fuel in the tank that we were using – especially after our “high speed” run down the lake yesterday, so I switched the valves to feed the engines from another tank. I warmed up the diesel engines for an extended period before we cast off just to be sure that the tank switch did not cause any difficulty for the fuel feed system. The engines were running noticeably better after their big workout yesterday. Poking along for hours at a time at low speed is hard on diesel engines.

We cast off just before 9:00 am and headed towards the entrance to the Otonabee River, just a few kilometers away. While we were travelling Catherine asked me to remind her  how our anchoring system worked – just in case we ever needed it. We were only off the dock for about 10 minutes when the portside engine stopped and the trouble alarm sounded. I shut down the starboard engine and told Catherine that now was the time to put our anchoring knowledge into practice.

Thankfully the weather was sunny and warm, the lake was calm and we were in about 20 feet of water so no danger of drifting aground and pretty easy anchoring space. Once we were securely anchored I switched the fuel tank back to the previous setting and tried to start the engines. No luck with either one! Not this again!

To make a long story short, I called Harris Boat Works – which we could see only a couple of kilometers away. They sent out a tow boat and Graham, the mechanic brought us back to their marina – to be tied up on what I called “the wall of shame” to a small audience of onlookers. Thankfully everyone on the dock was very polite and supportive. It can happen to anyone, right?

Our brief trip on September 8

Well, for me, I have been boating for over 30 years and until this summer I never once ran out of fuel. Now, it has happened to me twice in less than four weeks! That “bonkers” fuel tank selector system has been moved to the top of the list to be torn out and replaced once the boat is hauled out for winter storage. Good riddance, I say, good riddance! Actually I used several more “choice” words to describe my feelings about that stupid fuel system but this is a “Family” oriented blog site so I will remain civil in my choice of words.

Being towed back to Harris Boat Works

Once we were settled on the dock Graham came back with his tools and after a bit of effort he got both engines running again. He figured out the fuel tank selector setup and we switched the valves in the correct position to feed off the tank that had the most fuel in it – plenty to get us to Buckhorn. In my defense, Graham noted that one of the valves had been mislabeled. It was labeled to be the feed line for a specific fuel tank when it actually was a shut off valve. And that valve is “behind” a three-way valve that has no markings and must be in a specific position otherwise no fuel will get through to the engines – “BONKERS, I say, BONKERS”!

Catherine decided to take a walk while Graham and I were working on the engines. She took about a 20 minute walk from the marina to Gores Landing, the neighbouring village. She came across a beautiful little stone church that looked like it had been parachuted here from a small town in England. What a treasure to find. We will have to come back another time and explore the area some more – so much interesting history here.

St. George’s Chapel – original church built in 1847, current church built in 1908 with stones from the area collected by men from the congregation

By the time all of the engine/fuel system work was finished it was getting close to 4:00 so we decided to stay put for another night.

I mixed myself an extra strong Margarita and went up to the flybridge to relax, feel sorry for myself and reflect upon the day. It only took me a minute to remember that I have a great deal more to be grateful for than I do to feel sorry for myself.

While I was up top I was treated to an informal race of high speed boats on the water. Graham the mechanic was telling me that there are several high speed boating enthusiasts on Rice Lake and they often get together for some high speed runs – with some boats capable of going over 100 miles per hour! Wow, what a rush that must be! I bet they don’t have any trouble with fuel tank selector systems.

Tomorrow we will try once again to make it to Peterborough. Fingers crossed!

I hope to sleep well tonight.

Beautiful sunset over Rice Lake – a good omen, I hope

Cheers!