Christmas Day. According to our Thermometer on the poop deck it is now 41 degrees at 7:10 Am. The boat is somewhat comfortable. The space heaters take the chill off and today I have my long johns on. I got really cold last night prior to going to bed. Once I snuggled in my sleeping bag – all was well. As I sat here earlier reorganizing pictures from yesterday, I kept seeing flashes of light. The forecast calls for rain today, so naturally I thought it was lightening. Man! A vision of a miserable day in a steel boat with lightening around was not something I looked forward to. I was surprised to see it was a tug, pushing 4 or 5 big barges of coal down the river. Coal is a huge industry here. Yesterday we passed American Coal Co. at the side of river. They had hundreds of coal railroad cars lined up waiting to be filled. I would imagine that this time of the year it would be very busy for them. We also saw several power generating plants that use coal. Bob and I were discussing yesterday how the landscape is so beautiful and the industry that has etched out along the way is so fascinating looking. A marvel of our ingenuity and a testament to our lack of prescience.
The generator ran all night like a charm. We have to pray she keeps working. Without it we have no power to pump water, run our heaters or lights. The running lights and VHF are on 12 volt so we should still be able to make headway. Just won’t be as comfortable. The stove is gas and I guess if we had to we could use the oven to heat up the galley. We are loosing about 200 gallons of water a day to a leak we can’t find, nor do we know where it is going. We carry about 1200 gals. So we may have to find a place to take on more before too long. Poor Achievement! I’ll bet she’ll be happy when all of her systems are either replaced or repaired so she won’t have to work as hard.
Oh almost forgot. The first week on the boat Lionel started out by slamming his finger in the engine room door, his nail looks like heck, then a day or two later grabbed a hot pipe (I think while they were working on the boiler) and burned three fingers – two of which blistered and looked really, really painful. He caught his hand again yesterday, but did not hurt it as bad as the last time. We keep telling him he will be a total wreck by the time this trip is done. I always knew he and Bob were close, but this trip has shown just how close. They are so close in age – one time one will be looking out for the other and the next the roles are reversed. Lionel has been feeling for Bob every time a system doesn’t function as it should. This trip will certainly strengthen that bond.
I finally hear someone in the Galley. I would bet it is Victor. It is now 7:42AM – soon time to get the rest of the crew up and moving. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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