Define Cruise - Fixing Your Boat in Exotic Places

We had a nice relaxed itinerary for yesterday. We stopped and had coffee, used the wifi, and bought bagels. Then we were headed for a marina, fuel, pumpout, showers, and laundry. By the time we got there is was closed. So we decided to keep going to the next town to stay on the free wall. But the wall was full, so we kept going to lock18. They don't have a place to stay, but the lockmaster let us tie up to the end of the dock. It was after 7:00, and we had been travelling for 11 hours, we were done.

I managed to get an oil change in after dinner. Made a big mess that we had to clean up, ruined the rug, and there was no garbage cans. Then we boiled water and had a nice shave and cockpit shower before bed. Not a bad evening, but long.

This morning we were ready to go when the lockmaster opened the locks. But Vita wasn't. Her engine promptly died. It took two hours to go over everything, and I found some loose connections in the fuel system. Diesels don't like air bubbles. I got everything tightened up, bled the system, and away she went. I wanted her to run for awhile before we decided to leave. Plus I figured if I was playing with the engine, I might as well give everything a little tweak. Tighten the alternator, changed the air filter, clean up around the engine, etc....

We got off just after 10:00, thru the lock and stopped in the Little Falls, NY. What a gorgeous spot. We got a pumpout, showers, wifi, shopping, and did our laundry. Where will end up tonight, who knows, but I think tomorrow is a stay put day. We need a day off. Sleep in.

Little Falls, NY.

 Little Falls, NY.

A Pair of Canadian sailboats. A CS 36, and an Ontario 32, from Barrie. We've been chasing each other down the canal. They are ahead now.