4. June 2009, Thursday - Tod Inlet

I spent hot and sunny Tuesday at Montague.
Rowed ashore, hiked up the road to a public phone to contact Westmarine and see whether they stocked a replacement pump. Instead of spending $ 60 an hour for a mechanic in some shipyard, I planned to put my own mechanical genius to work.
Phone did not take my credit card, and not enough Loonies in my pocket. Somebody said, 'dial the operator, everybody does it here, this phone just cannot read cards'. Ok...Westmarine in Sidney had 3 in stock. I planned to sail to Tod Inlet, walk to Butchard Gardens Parking lot, and take a bus to Sidney to pick the pump up.
Problem half solved, time to hike along the beaches and coves and just 'hang out'. All deserted, except for a young couple with two little girls playing in the sand, and a retriever retrieving rubber bones from the water. They were going to Africa later this year, they told me, to pick up an Ethiopian baby to add to their family...
The only charitable thing I did was rescuing a baby gartersnake from the road through the local campground. These little harmless reptiles must think they have died and gone to heaven when they spread out on the hot road surface to sun themselves. Many of them do exactly that, judging by the evidence: die and go to heaven, when cars run over them and they lay there squished, providing a good meal for birds, racoons and flies. So I nudged this little critter back into the grass, to live another day - maybe.
Wednesday: hot, clear and still again. I motored the five hours to Tod Inlet, a cozy cove surrounded by wooded hills. Phoned a couple of friends on the way...cell phone reception again.
Graciously one offered me a ride to the marine store, which I appreciated beyond words.
Of course, another pequeno problemo developed on this trip - my Navigation Software shut down, 'sorry for the inconvenience, contact us online...' what 'online', I am on a boat??
The 3 pumps at the store were the wrong ones of course, the right ones, '8 weeks delivery as there are none in all of Canada', they said.
I bought a new handheld VHF radio, as the battery of my VERY old one had ceased to function from sheer old age.
We drove to another store (this is civilization after all) who did not have one in stock either, BUT their whole-sale in Victoria did. Eureka!
Graciously again my friend drove me there, after his wife fed us all roast pork sandwiches!!
The rest of the afternoon I just spent gasping and sitting on the coolest part of the boat, reading the last part of 'Rumbo al Hermoso Norte', Luis Alberto Urrea, in Spanish...riveting story.
Little boat fridge hummed almost constantly, 36 celsius outside, freezer at -3...polished the solar panel, might suck up an extra tenth of an amp that way.
Ha, Thursday morning I plumbered happily along, and two hours later, I had my new pump gushing water, nothing leaked. Another Eureka!
Time to smell the roses.
I am going to dinghy over to Butchard Gardens and do exactly that...and of course enjoy some 'tourist watching', which can be more fascinating than whale watching.
Hasta Luego! I'll be back.