Fuel and Puncture

Yesterday morning we began the process of moving the boat from F jetty to E jetty. Electrical work had started the previous day on F jetty and we did not have electrical power that night. The prospect was for no power for up to 2 weeks so we made a request to move which was quickly accepted. Our plan was to incorporate the move to E jetty with a run to the fuel dock which is up the Richmond ship channel and I had scouted the previous day.

Then Barry came along and told us that he had heard that power would be back on that night. We talked to the electricians who confirmed it so we decided to stay put. By then the wind had kicked up to over 10 kt so we decided to postpone the fuel run.

Instead we took the no. 74 bus to Contra Costa College then transferred to the no. 72 bus to visit the Hilltop shopping mall, which boasts 150 shops. The mall is anchored by a major department store in each of its four corners: Sears, Macy's, Penny's, and WalMart. I found the same old problem with this mall: too many boutique shops selling too many similar things that given that I'm a meat 'n potatoes bottom feeder shopper are of no interest to me. I was looking for a spear gun but the directory under "sports" listed 13 sports wear shops, e.g. hats, T-shirts, shoes; and not one true sports gear shop. However, we did purchase some useful items and I got a hair cut that turned out to be too short but it will grow back.

This morning the wind was light and we decided to do the fuel run. It gave us a chance to do alive trial of a clever technique described to me by Allan Miell at American River on Kangaroo Island for tying up to a jetty. I got a long and fairly light (about 8 mm) rope and tied one end to the bow and the other end to the aft cleat. The rope had slack and passed completely outside of the boat. As we approached the fuel dock I threw the rope over one of the bollards on the dock. At that point the boat was safe because it was attached to the bollard from both ends. I then went to the bow and took the slack out the rope bringing it close to the dock and once this was done I stepped onto the dock to make fast the main lines. This will be very useful for a single handed approach to a dock. I've found that I can throw the loop of rope out 8-10 feet and once that rope is around a bollard the boat is safe without my having to jumped off the boat.

We took on 15.8 gallons (60 liters) of diesel which translated to a fuel consumption of 1.8 liters per hour.

In the afternoon Brenda went off for an internet session and I took the bicycle to West Marine to return the cartridge of South America charts which was the wrong size for my chart plotter. When the replacement cartridge arrives early next week I'll do a swap with them. On the way back I dropped by at Elizabeth's shop and yes, the spray dodger was ready as promised. When I got back to the bike I found that it had a flat front tire (after all, it was Friday the 13th) and I had to walk the bike back to the marina with the dodger tied on the seat.

Back at the jetty I saw Bud, who gave me a tour of his fine boat to complement a tour that I had given him of Pachuca. Bud said that he'd bring me a tire repair kit from home. Soon I had the bicycle wheels up and removed the front wheel, feeling like a 12-year-old again. Soon Barry and Joyce passed by and Barry gave me a hand with the bike. We found a pin hole on the road side (as opposed to the rim side) of the tube. I agreed with Barry that I should have spare tubes and he suggested WalMart. He offered to lend me his car and I thanked him very much but said that after some of the driving that I've seen around Richmond it would be a lot safer for me to take the bus. I told Barry that I didn't want to risk an accident with his car and he understood.

Barry and Joyce have invited us to join them for a day sail around the Bay on Sunday and we are looking forward to that.

The weather, by the way, has been mostly crisp and sunny.

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