Hilton Head, South Carolina Part 2

If you have been keeping up with our Voyage a la Maiden, you know Captain Bill Burr and I have been at Harbour Town Marina in Hilton Head, SC since last Friday afternoon. It turns out that our original diagnosis about the turbo issue was incorrect. Yes, friends and neighbors, Hensel is usually most accurate at making assessments, be it man or machine, but in this case his brain synapse must have malfunctioned. The world-renowned mechanic Mike Levy from Williams-Detroit Diesel arrived Monday morning with a wrench that he must have borrowed from Tony Soprano and went about providing

me with a day of questions and answers. Well, as Jimmy Buffett has said, he had me scratching my head with “answers to questions that are bothering me so.” It appears that the turbos are fine, although the port housing showed distinct signs of salt water intrusion. Not good. Even worse was the salt water intrusion we found among the pistons. Worse still are bent rods caused by this issue, not to mention the corrosion and scoring issues to the beloved pistons. The smoke in the engine room upon arrival was actually caused by an exhaust leak which also needs tending to. And, all the while, we have the threat of a Category 1 Hurricane (Alberto) heading our way. Well Mike, do your magic and let's get our girl ready for our next waypoint. Many thanks to the new friends and neighbors we are making here at Harbor Town, especially our starboard slip neighbor and local, Archer Crose, aka Mayor, and to port, Howard. Also to our harbour master staff and our gracious dockmasters Jimmy, Greg, and Abbie, who puts on a great smile and even looks good in foul weather gear! In my book YOU, Inc., I wrote: “What happens to you in the big board game of life means very little...What you do about it makes the critical difference.” So, what I am going to do is live well here at Harbor Town and enjoy the process of working with Mike to get our girl healthy once again. We'll be seeing you!