This is when all our troubles began…Wayne’s theory…lack of fuel to the engine - blockage? I called the Coast Guard on the VHF radio and gave them our coordinates - they called Tow Boat US in Marco. Wayne monkeyed around bypassing a fuel valve that wouldn’t turn thus thinking the valve was faulty. No luck. I called Tow Boat and said, “the Captain said come get us”. We got towed back to Marco and about 7:45 pm, tied up at the Marco River Marina. Saturday, the 2nd turned out to be the most beautiful day…humidity was low, temp dropped to the mid 80’s , nice steady breeze - no A/C needed. I only wish the rest of the day was as wonderful. Wayne messed around a bit more in the engine room then started the engine. Holy S_ _ T !!!!!!!!!! Water was blowing out of the engine !! We’re in deep doo doo
now. Wayne fished while waiting for the tow boat. Not much else could be done because it was - say it with me now - another weekend. Sorry, this might 
get a bit technical but I must document some of the events. Week of October 3rd. The weather was amazing-mid 80’s during the day with light breeze and 60-70’s at night. David, Shannon and Alexis made a surprise visit. Plans were made for that afternoon to go to the Naples Beach Club. The last time I was there was in the late 80’s when Dr. Lusk, (a neurosurgeon I worked for), got tickets to see Peter, Paul & Mary- David remembers it vividly. This band was great and Wayne even danced to a Reggae tune with me. Took this picture at the bar.
Wayne, David, Ed, Shannon
Great time and a stroll back in time for me. To Café Luna for another yummy dinner. - the end of another perfect day. From Monday to Thursday, It was in the 80’s during the day, breezy with little to no humidity. The nights were chilly in the 60’s-70’s - perfect sleeping temperatures. Wayne worked on different aspects of the problem; he put a new piece of exhaust hose on; we had the fuel polished (Fuel is cleaned & returned to the fuel tank) thinking there was something that could cause a blockage; a diesel mechanic named Kit, bled the system - the engine seemed to be running fine. Turns out that Kit is best friends of Richard ! Small world. Wayne forgot my birthday on Thursday, the 7th - I was hurt so I went shopping for new shoes - got 2 pair of wedge-heeled Teevas - on sale, of course. We left the dock and headed South at 5 am on Saturday the 9th. Everything seemed to be running smoothly - all conditions were a ‘go’. After some time, I went into the cabin and heard a very weak alarm but I didn’t know which one. I hated to bother Wayne as he looked so comfortable but I just knew something was terribly wrong. I was surprised when he didn’t seem too worried about it but I persisted. We had been cruising about 4 hours, coincidentally, the same amount of time the engine shut down the first time! This was getting way too weird for me. He opened the engine room hatch - OMG! oil was spewed out everywhere! He shut down the engine immediately. He found a hose disconnected from the engine. We called the Coast Guard - again - they called Marco Tow Boat - again. After much discussion, we decided to be towed all the way to Key West some some 60 miles. We know a great mechanic there and we can take a bus home to get our car if needed. Thankfully, we have unlimited towing insurance. The tow began at 5 pm - we had a satisfying dinner, watched TV, used no fuel & felt like we were on a cruise ship. I went to sleep about 10. We anchored by Fleming Key at 3 am. Tomorrow, they will tow us over to Oceanside Marina where Mark de Jong, our mechanic is located.
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